10 Tips for Eye-Catching Copy

You could write the most interesting copy known to man, but if it isn’t laid out in an eye-catching way it won’t get read.

We humans are a fickle bunch – if we are going to take time out of our precious lives to read something, we want to know it is going to be interesting and (more than likely) benefit us in some way or another.

Therefore your copy has to look attractive. Hands up all those of you who have browsed the shelves of your local book shop and chosen your next read by its cover? And when you flick through the pages have you been put off when faced with an impenetrable wall of small text?

The look of your copy is as important as the content itself. By following these 10 tips you will be able to create eye-catching copy.

• Colour – without going overboard, use colour graphs and charts (if appropriate) or pictures.

• Highlight – if you are using incentives and guarantees, make them stand out.

• Simple – keep your sentences simple and short.

• Be bold – place your important words and phrases in bold.

• Pictures – visuals can be attention grabbing. If possible use ‘before and after’ images.

• Headline – this is your opportunity to grab your readers’ attention. If in doubt use ‘free’ or ‘new’ in your headline as they always make people sit up and take notice.

• Stand out – your keywords and phrases need to be obvious so use them in headings and sub headings which are in a larger font to the rest of your text.

• Bullets – make your benefits stand out by listing them as bullet points.

• Divide and conquer – breaking up your copy with sub headings makes it easier to read and navigate.

• Adjectives – use these to make your product stand out – incredible! High power! Sizzling! Just don’t go overboard with them.

Sally Ormond (Briar Copywriting) is a freelance copywriter offering a comprehensive range of copywriting services to businesses locally, nationally and internationally.