Headlines set the tone for the rest of the copy. If your headline is jokey, or dark, or businesslike, that suggests that whatever follows will carry on in the same style. So you're not only telling the reader what you're going to say, but how you're going to say it too.
To write problem/solution copy, take the benefit you want to highlight and combine it with a situation your reader is facing, or something they'd like to change.
Simple writing flows from clear thinking and deep knowledge. Albert Einstein said, 'If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.'
The mother of all copywriting templates is AIDA, which stands for 'Attention, Interest, Desire, Action'. Many other copywriting formulas are broadly similar to AIDA, or simply expand on it.
When you're planning, just plan. None of the wording in your plan needs to go into your actual copy. If you get drawn into thinking about words and phrases, write them down and come back to them later.
As a copywriter, one of your most important jobs is to turn features into benefits by making them 'face outwards' towards the reader, so they can clearly see how the product will fit into their life.
'If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think.' – David Ogilvy
The mother of all copywriting templates is AIDA, which stands for 'Attention, Interest, Desire, Action'. Many other copywriting formulas are broadly similar to AIDA, or simply expand on it.
To persuade the reader, carefully choose arguments that tip their emotional balance, so that the benefits of acting on your message outweigh the comfort of ignoring it.
Copywriting is like a bridge. On one side is the person who will read your copy. On the other side is you, along with whatever you're selling. Your job is to get the reader to cross the bridge and give it a try.
The client may use simple, direct phrases that they'd never put down in writing, but express important truths about the product. Don't be afraid to use them in your copy.
David Ogilvy found that five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. So it's worth spending time on yours, because it might be your only chance to get your message across.
Copywriting is like a bridge. On one side is the person who will read your copy. On the other side is you, along with whatever you're selling. Your job is to get the reader to cross the bridge and give it a try.
Copywriting is like a bridge. On one side is the person who will read your copy. On the other side is you, along with whatever you're selling. Your job is to get the reader to cross the bridge and give it a try.
Tone of voice is the personality of a brand, reflected in its words. Just as you might recognise the sound of your favourite band, or the style of your favourite painter, so you can recognise some brands by the way they write or speak.
Copywriting is writing with a job to do. Writing with a practical purpose. Usually, that purpose is to make the reader think, feel or act differently from the way they did before.
Don't fall into the trap of writing for your client instead of the reader. Instead of trying to please the client with the copy itself, impress them with the thinking behind it.
A copywriting brief is simply a document that says what your copy needs to do. It's the mission statement for your copywriting project, helping you know your destination before you set off.
Don't fall into the trap of writing for your client instead of the reader. Instead of trying to please the client with the copy itself, impress them with the thinking behind it.
Stephen R. Covey says, 'Seek first to understand, then to be understood.' If you don't really know who your reader is, you won't be able to write for them.
'Why' and 'because' are powerful because they promise insight as well as information. The reader feels they're going to gain some deeper understanding, instead of just being handed a bunch of facts.
Copywriting is writing with a job to do. And when it comes to being creative, your job has three parts: to dramatise benefits, answer the brief and sell the product.
Copywriting is writing with a job to do. Writing with a practical purpose. Usually, that purpose is to make the reader think, feel or act differently from the way they did before.
Simple writing flows from clear thinking and deep knowledge. Albert Einstein said, 'If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.'
Don't fall into the trap of writing for your client instead of the reader. Instead of trying to please the client with the copy itself, impress them with the thinking behind it.
A brand's tone of voice needs to be consistent so that readers realise when the same 'person' is 'speaking'. Consistency paints a clear and stable picture in readers' minds of what a brand is like.
'Why' and 'because' are powerful because they promise insight as well as information. The reader feels they're going to gain some deeper understanding, instead of just being handed a bunch of facts.
'If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think.' – David Ogilvy
One way to find a humorous angle is to take some aspect of the product, then exaggerate or twist it until it becomes funny. Try applying the seven deadly sins – pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth – to the product and see where that leads you.
Your reader isn't eagerly waiting for your copy. In fact, they'd rather not read it at all. You have literally seconds to capture their attention before it jumps to something else.
When you're planning, just plan. None of the wording in your plan needs to go into your actual copy. If you get drawn into thinking about words and phrases, write them down and come back to them later.
Copywriting is writing with a job to do. And when it comes to being creative, your job has three parts: to dramatise benefits, answer the brief and sell the product.
When you write engaging copy, you talk to your reader as an equal. You appreciate that they're probably busy, bored or tired, and they didn't ask for your message. Basically, you treat them as you'd like to be treated yourself.
If you try to appeal to everybody, you'll end up appealing to nobody. Instead, you should focus on the people who are most likely to appreciate the product and its benefits, because they'll be the easiest to persuade.
To persuade the reader, carefully choose arguments that tip their emotional balance, so that the benefits of acting on your message outweigh the comfort of ignoring it.
For each sentence in your copy, ask yourself, 'Would I say this out loud, to a real person?' What would you think if someone said that to you? And how would you feel?
Steve Jobs said, 'Creativity is just connecting things.' He meant that 'new' ideas are never completely new: they're just new *combinations* of things that already exist.
A good copy structure lets your argument unfold in the reader's mind in a clear, logical way. It also makes the reader's experience easier and more enjoyable, so they're more likely to remember your message and act on it.
David Ogilvy found that five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. So it's worth spending time on yours, because it might be your only chance to get your message across.
Different sights, sounds, feelings and smells prompt different thoughts. To get words flowing, change venue – a different room, an office breakout space, a café, a park or anywhere.
'If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think.' – David Ogilvy
'Why' and 'because' are powerful because they promise insight as well as information. The reader feels they're going to gain some deeper understanding, instead of just being handed a bunch of facts.