The following tips are simple techniques that you can use to make your marketing copy and corporate communications more readable, more persuasive and ...
The following tips are simple techniques that you can use to make your marketing copy and corporate communications more readable,
more persuasive and more effective at selling. These suggestions get more useful as you move up the list – so the last tip is the most powerful technique of all.
10. Get Feedback
Ask someone to confirm that your copy makes sense. Does it make them want to buy? Do they understand what you’re selling? Can they spot any spelling mistakes?
While it’s a great idea to ask for feedback, be careful that you don’t end up writing copy by committee. Five people might have five opinions on your copy, but they probably aren’t all right. If you’ve done some research into what makes effective copy, then you’ll be able to decide which opinions are worth heeding, and which aren’t.
It’s a good idea to ask someone to review your copy who is “naïve”. By that I mean someone with no prior specialist knowledge of the product or service you're selling – someone who represents the target audience for your copy. A naïve reader will provide a tough test for your copy, and if anything is unclear or poorly explained, you’ll find out.
Listening to criticism can be difficult, but your writer’s skin will soon toughen into a thick hide, and you’ll find constructive feedback nothing but useful and interesting.
9. Don’t be Boring
Your copy might be correct, but is it boring?
It’s easy to get obsessed with marketing principles when writing copy – there are lots of rules to follow, and all kinds of advice to cloud your thinking. So it’s easy to forget that you also need to be interesting.
It’s worth re-reading your copy to make sure it isn’t so mind-numbingly dull that it sends you to sleep before you can absorb all the features and benefits. Yes, your customers need information, but there are ways of presenting information that will keep people awake, if not entertained.
Here are three quick tips for keeping your reader awake:
1. Surprise them. Say something in a weird way. It might stick in their head, like a persistent headache.
2. Edit. If you waffle, you will definitely bore people.
3. Avoid clichés. If your writing is a series of clichés, people will get the feeling they’ve already read your copy. And they might not want to read it again.
8. Cut Yourself Out
Autobiographies are fine for the famous. For everyone else it’s probably best to cut yourself out of your copy. So if your copy begins anything remotely like:
“We at Jazzclapper Bargain Drains are the best drain supplier in the world. We offer three hundred kinds of cast-iron drain and we are renowned world-wide for our hyper-efficient supply-chain system. We offer sterling service and…”
This copy is full of “we”. The reader, or potential drain buyer, might be feeling a bit left out. If the copy was more like:
“Are you looking for a comprehensive range of cast-iron drains? Call Jazzclapper Bargain Drains today to see if we have the drain you need. If you happen to need a drain that we don’t have, our unique stock system means we can find it for you in a matter of days.”
This version of the copy puts the reader, rather than Jazzclapper, at the centre of the copy. Naturally, your customers are really interested in their own needs, wants and desires, so make sure you put them centre-stage.
7. Edit Deftly
Editing is a crucial part of the writing process. But editing does not just mean removing words, or attempting to make a piece of writing shorter. You should look to remove unnecessary words. The part of editing that requires the most thought is deciding exactly what is necessary and what isn’t.
When writing, always keep in mind your purpose. If a word or sentence doesn’t help you convey your meaning, then consider removing it. Skilfully edited copy will be easier and more pleasing to read. It will deliver the right information at the right time, and will be more effective at selling, persuading or motivating.
It’s easier to edit someone else’s work, so you might want to get a kind buddy to do your editing. However, choose one buddy, not a whole gaggle. If you start writing by committee you’ll end up with something that’s as bland as a Hollywood blockbuster, and equally memorable.
6. Remove Jargon
Jargon in this case means terminology that is particular to your industry. So any kind of language that might not be understood by your reader.
But, to be honest, when I think of jargon I’m really thinking of something much worse: management speak. So things like:
• going forward
• deliverables
• paradigm
• eventualities
• synergies
• incentivise
These are awful, evil words that you should only use if you want to obscure your meaning and sound pompous. Copywriting is about communicating. You can’t communicate if you hide behind indecipherable language and strange words that don’t really mean anything.
Always consider your writing from your reader’s point of view. Will they know what “offshoring” is?
5. Explain Features
Don’t forget to tell your customers about your products and services. This might seem obvious but lots of people get so caught up in marketing theory that they forget to tell people what features you’re offering.
Remember too that your customer probably doesn’t know as much about your product as you. Explain it from the beginning and don’t leave anything out. Your customers are interested in your products and services, so don’t be shy in explaining them.
4. Appeal to Emotions
Sometimes it pays to get emotional. People are often driven by their emotions and it’s worth understanding this when marketing your business.
Can your products allay fears or reassure the anxious? Copywriters often use envy, status anxiety and guilt to play on their audiences’ emotions.
While I don’t agree with some of the manipulative methods employed by marketers, it is still essential to remember that humans are emotional animals, and much of our decision-making is affected (if not entirely led) by emotional factors.
The lighter side of emotions
Appealing to emotions doesn’t have to involve manipulating your market. You could use brighter, bolder language that makes people smile and laugh. Use honest, emotive language as a way to engage with people.
3. Highlight Benefits
A wise copywriter once said, “People buy holes, not drills”.
The point being, of course, that when someone buys a drill it’s because they want a hole. And that’s a crucial point. Because if you try to sell someone a drill it’s essential to remember that you need to discuss the kind of holes that drill can make.
So if you’re a web designer, most of your clients won’t be interested in how you make their website or the technology that keeps it running – they’re just interested in having something that helps their business. People who want websites generally just want more sales, more brand awareness or a better way to communicate with their audience.
If you’re writing copy, remember to highlight the benefits of your product or service. Ask yourself, what does this product do? What can it offer to a buyer? How will it change someone’s life?
Common benefits include time-saving, money-saving and money-making. If your product can save someone time, or make someone money, you shouldn’t have much trouble selling it.
2. Use the Active, Not the Passive Voice
Here’s what I mean. Below are two pieces of copy for a hammer:
Passive
This powerful hammer can strike nails into the toughest timber.
Active
This powerful hammer strikes nails into the toughest timber.
Using the active voice often shortens a piece of text. It also removes a layer of words that otherwise form a softening, smothering blanket between you and your reader. It’s important that your copy retains a sense of urgency, so use the active voice.
1. Speak to Your Reader Directly
The best way to make your copy more appealing, more persuasive and more effective at selling is to address the person reading it.
Use ‘you’ wherever possible. You shouldn’t be afraid of addressing your reader. Be direct - speak to the human being that is reading your writing. All of your customers are people and they will appreciate being spoken to directly.
