Entries Tagged 'copywriting tips' ↓

Whether you are a copywriter, business writer, sales professional or the guy that just happened to get lumbered with the sales writing tasks, you need to make sure you always deliver the strongest material possible.

Creating strong, compelling sales copy isn’t always easy – especially when you have to write about the most boring subject known to man. But whether you enjoy the subject matter or not, you are duty bound to produce something that is interesting, persausive and strong – something that will sell.

Our guest blogger, Jamie Hudson, has put together his list of 11 ways to make sure you deliver excellent creative work every time.

Whether you’re doing creative work, overseeing it or judging work that’s been presented to you, these tips will help you decide if it’s as good as it could be.

1. What’s the budget?

It’s no use coming up with mega-budget ideas if there isn’t a mega-budget. And no, it’s not usually worth presenting the ideas to the client in the hope that they’re so impressed they find an extra £50K to spend. Come up with something creative within the budget. Sure, it’s a tighter brief but, as the saying goes, give me the freedom of tight briefs.

1. What is the objective?

Gather names? Provide qualified leads? Build sales? Get approval orders? Gather information? Obviously, different objectives need different solutions. But you’d be surprised (or perhaps you wouldn’t) how often creatives launch into flights of fancy without first thinking to themselves, ‘What are we actually trying to achieve here?’

1. When is it wanted?

In other words, never, ever miss a deadline. If it’s too short, ask for more time. But not too much. Having twice the amount of time doesn’t usually make the ideas twice as good. Ideally, you need not quite enough time to do the job – it gets the adrenaline going.

1. Who are your prospects?

Think about the person who’s going to be reading your sales copy. What do they like or dislike? What are their hopes or fears? What do they need? What will make their life easier? What motivates them? Get a picture in your head of just one person and sell to that person.

1. What’s the benefit?

This is what is your reader most interested in so get it right upfront. Is it better, cheaper, faster, bigger, smaller, newer, more advanced than the competition? Has it got unique benefits no other product or service can offer – a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? Then say it and show it in the most dramatic, eyectaching and innovative way you can.

1. What’s the offer?

Next to the benefit, this is the most important part of the communication. What are you giving the prospect? A free gift? Money off? A free trial? Free membership? The first chance to buy? A special bonus? Highlight the offer. It’s what’s going to make people act now!

1. Have you thought of everything?

In other words, have you worked up every single idea – good and bad? If you have the germ of an idea, but don’t know if it’s any good or just rubbish, work it up and then forget it and move on to the next idea. Don’t labour over it. You need to get the bad ideas out of your head to let the good ones come through. The same with copy. If you’re faced with a blank screen, just start typing. In the middle, at the end, anywhere and you’ll soon get into a flow. Then cut it down to the right length. It’s always easier to make long copy short than the opposite.

1. Are you being precise?

Give exact details of savings, specifications and benefits. If you save £49.99, say it. Not £50. If it has ten features, explain them all and the benefits each one brings. If it’s new and improved, say why. If it has a great spec, pick out each term and say what it means.

1. Is your copy easy to read?

Does it have short words, short sentences of no more than 16 words and short paragraphs? Does it flow well? Can you read through to the end without stumbling on any phrases or having to stop and try to work out the meaning? Carrying words always help. Try using words and phrases like, And, Moreover, Indeed, What’s more, This is why, In fact, In addition, and so on.

1. Do people understand?

Never assume that what is obvious to you is obvious to everyone. That’s why you should show your work to people not connected with the job. They might spot something you’ve missed. And even though it’s your precious baby and it’s going to win you awards, be prepared to change it, if the opinions are valid. Not just, ‘I don’t like that colour’.

1. Have you answered the brief?

Throughout the whole process you must always refer back to the brief. At the start, when you’re trying to get a handle on the job – the product, the benefits, the offer, the target market, and most important of all, the objectives. When you’re halfway through the job, or perhaps gone off in the wrong direction, check the brief. And when you’ve finished, check again, and if you’ve answered the brief, go and tell the suits to sell it hard. Better still, go to the client and sell it hard yourself.

Giving away free stuff may sound an odd way to make money but it works.

I don’t mean you have to give away products or services, but rather information and knowledge.

Take this blog for example. I am a freelance copywriter and I use this blog to provide you, my readers, with information about copywriting and marketing. I hope these blog posts give you plenty of ideas and tips about how you can improve your sales writing and marketing activites to make your on (and off line) businesses more profitable.

By providing you with knowledge and expertise I show my own knowledge level whilst empowering you.

This practice can be tied into the six psychological shortcuts of influence which will help you convert more sales. Reciprocity is a key factor in triggering a psychological need to give something back – i.e. you give me something for free therefore I feel that I must buy from you.

The mechanics of this and other powerful triggers are explained in this excellent post Educate to Dominate Your Competition by Copyblogger. Have a read and it will show you jusy how powerful this conept can be.

Website copy – brochure copy – email content – newsletters – sales letters etc.

It doesn’t matter what you are writing copy for, if it isn’t effective, interesting and commanding it won’t have the desired effect.

The copy you are writing is designed to be read by your potential clients. Therefore it should always address them and their needs.

What is the simplest and most effective way of doing that?

By using the words you, yours, you’re and your.

I want to ‘we’

Well if you do you’ll become very lonely. The one thing that I see again and again are websites (and brochures etc.) that constantly bang on about the company.

“We were established in 1989….”

“We utilise the full range of skills offered by our diverse workforce….”

BORING

Remember what I said earlier? You are writing for your potential clients. They are reading your copy therefore it should address them.

Tell them how you will help them.

“The comprehensive financial review will save you time….”

“Your life will become so much easier when you buy….”

“An effective website will make your company standout and get you noticed….”

See how much better that sounds? You are talking directly to your reader. You are showing them exactly what you can do for them. They will be able to see at a glance that yours is a company that puts their needs first – a company that cares.

So, when you’re next writing some marketing material remember, ditch the we and go for you.

This is the first guest blog written by Jamie Hudson a freelance copywriter based in the Midlands. In this post he writes about the simple steps you can take to improve your writing. Hopefully this will be the first of many guest blogs to be featured on FreelanceCopywritersBlog.

Do you have something to say about copywriting or marketing? If so get in touch with your ideas and perhaps you too can appear here on a guest bloggers slot.

But now, without further ado here are Jamie’s 7 easy ways to improve your writing.

Everyone needs to be able to write well.

It will help in every area of your life, professionally and personally. It will help you to recognise good writing in your own advertising and marketing communications. And spot bad writing which is harming your brand, proposition and offer.

It will help you to communicate more effectively with your colleagues, business partners and outside suppliers. Use these guidelines and you’ll be able to write better creative briefs, internal documents, proposals, complaint letters, even love letters to your partner.

The ability to write well is vitally important for all of us. After all, if you can’t say what you mean, how can you mean what you say?

These seven tips can be applied to any kind of writing. They will give you a set of guidelines you can refer to.

1. Never, ever try to be clever

Communicate your thoughts and feelings, your views and opinions as simply and clearly as possible. You are not trying to show everyone how clever you are. If you come up with a word or phrase that you are particularly proud of, cut it out immediately.  Any piece of writing should make the reader think, ‘Great, I want that product now,’ or ‘That strategy is spot on – let’s do it’, or ‘That’s a cracking brief’

Not, ‘Wow, that’s really clever.’

2. Read it out loud

By reading aloud you’ll see if it flows nicely and leads smoothly from one point to the next. You’ll also quickly discover any passages which hold up the flow and need cutting or rewriting. And remember, a piece of advertising copy shouldn’t sound like advertising copy. If it does, rewrite it. 

3. Give us a KISS

It’s a much-used acronym, but one of my favourites: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Use short, simple words, not long, complicated ones. Use short sentences. Did you know that the easiest to read sentence is eight words long? While sentences of more than 32 words are very difficult for most people to take in.

Use short paragraphs with only one thought per paragraph. In particular, try to ensure that the first paragraph is no longer than one sentence.

While we’re talking about simplicity, lots of writers think that if they’re writing about complicated subjects, they have to use complicated language. Not so. The Wall Street Journal is written in a language that’s understandable to a 17-year old. But not the front cover. That’s meant to be understood by a 15-year old.

4. Mind your language

In almost every type of writing, you should use words that ordinary people use every day. Sit on the bus or tube and listen to people talking. Hear the kind of words that they use. For example people don’t undertake things. They carry them out. Or better still, do them. Get the idea?

Oh, and forget jargon too.

5. Don’t use that tone of voice with me.

Tone of voice – when it’s right, you don’t notice it and you take in the message. When it’s wrong, it’s irritating and you feel either talked down to, or up to which is just as bad. Above all, always try to write in the language of the person you’re writing to. The language they themselves will use every day.

6. Your most powerful word.

So what’s the most powerful word in any kind of writing? Suppose you’re inspiring your colleagues, selling a product online, writing a DM pack or wooing a lover – what’s the one word they want to hear more than any other?

Free is good.

So are Save and Save money.

Even New will attract attention.

But the best word you can use is You. Along with Yours and Your.

7. Get a freelance copywriter to write your copy for you.

A copywriter knows that to get their readers to do what they want they have to get inside their heads and understand what makes them tick.

Psychology is therefore a big part of the copywriting process.

Understanding how your reader feels, what they are looking for in life and what problems they are looking for solutions to is the real key to effective copywriting.

It sounds rather daunting, but it is something that can be easily achieved.

Put yourself in the shoes of your reader – why would they want the product you are selling? What will they get out of it? What problem could they have that would be solved by it?

OK, that may seem too much like guess work for many, so how about doing a bit of research. I am sure you know people from all walks of life, many of whom could be prospective buyers. Talk to them; ask them their opinion on the product. Tell them about it and see how they react. Ask them:

• What would make them buy?
• Why they would buy?
• What they would hope to achieve from buying it?

Armed with your newfound insight in to why they would buy, you now need to incorporate into your copy some psychological triggers that will encourage them to get out their credit cards:

1. People love surprises – tell them they’ll get a surprise free bonus when ordering.
2. People want an easier life – make ordering easy and give easy product instructions.
3. People like security – tell them you provide a secure ordering process and privacy policy.
4. People like compliments – praise them for considering your product.
5. People are curious about how it will affect their lifestyle – use ‘Secret’ and ‘Confidential’ to pick their curiosity.
6. People like to invest in their future – use the words ‘invest in your product’ rather than ‘buy’.
7. People like to have the newest or latest things – use words like ‘new’, ‘just released’.
8. People want their problems solved – tell them what problems they have and how your product will solve them.

For many people buying is an emotional action rather than a rational one. By utilising these psychological triggers you can persuade them to buy your product.

The result? Happy customers and a happy copywriting client.

Sally Ormond is a professional freelance copywriter. She has worked with numerous companies spanning a wide range of industries. Her comprehensive range of copywriting services helps her clients save time and money while increasing sales and their market visibility.