Headlines!

The headline – it’s the biggy. It’s the element in your copywriting that gets someone interested enough in your advert, article, letter or email to want to read it.

Oh yes, many an hour have I sat at my desk with my head in my hands desperately searching every last grey cell for the inspiration to find that illusive killer headline.

I know I’m not alone – every freelance copywriter in the world has gone through it. One day you’re on fire with headlines pouring out of you, the next, your creative flow has mysteriously dried up.

Get a kickstart

So how do you rehydrate those creative juices? Simple, look around you – books, newspapers anything that has copy can give you enough of a spark to get you going again.

Dave Navarro has written a post on Copyblogger called 5 Sure-Fire Sources For Headline Inspiration. This is a great blog describing how by looking at magazines, ads, email subject lines and Digg you may be able to find the inspiration you need to carry on.

How do you get your inspiration?

Do you find it in an unusual place?

Hey, that’s a thought, I wonder what is the most bizarre place you have been for inspiration….come on, who’s first to share their experience?

In the business world a newsletter is a great tool to keep in touch with your customers to keep them informed with what’s happening in your world and, of course, keeping your name in their minds.

But there are so many companies out there who are getting it badly wrong. In my post about newsletter marketing I gave you some tips about how to use a newsletter. Sadly, many companies are using them as glorified adverts.

That is such a bad idea.

Your newsletter should give added value to your relationship with your client. Granted, that would mean once in a while you may want to convey a special offer or details of a new product. But do that only once in a while.

Adding value is all about reciprocity. Give information, share tips, bring them some news that will benefit them. By doing this regularly you will earn your clients’ trust. In return, they will be more likely to come to you when they need your services.

The temptation to write a newsletter thinly veiled as an advert is too much for some people. I came across this post recently by inbox marketer explaining that Good Newsletters Aren’t Brochures which has some useful tips on this exact point.

Q: What happens if your newsletters are just selling, selling, selling.

A: The recipients will unsubscribe, forget who you are and buy from your competitor who has been providing them useful hints and tips.

I recently wrote a case study about a powerchair manufacture, Dragonmobility,  for one of my clients. But this isn’t any ordinary company.

During my telephone interview with the Managing Director, Dan Everad, I was completely enthralled by his story. Most of us go through school and possibly university and then opt for whichever career we like the look of at the time. But for Dan, his vocation chose him. His daughter was diagnosed with an incurable neuro-muscular disorder at the age of 17 months. Dan was determined to give her the life of high mobility she deserved so she could play, develop and blossom into an independent young woman. So he invented the first commercially available elevating powerchair.

By using his chair young mothers can play on the floor with their children one minute and then elevate themselves to eye level to hold a conversation with friends the next.

To Dan, every customer is unique and as such every powerchair that is produced is tailored to their needs. He is currently developing one for a disabled and blind client that uses sonar technology to navigate a room (as a bat would).

You may be wondering what all this has to do with copywriting – well, quite a lot.

As a freelance copywriter I work with numerous clients covering a broad range of industries. If I adopted the same approach for every project I worked on I would soon be out of business.

The 2 most important questions I need to ask myself are:

What does my client want to achieve?

Who is my audience and why do they need this product?

OK, technically speaking that’s 3 questions (and, yes, before you bombard me with emails, there are many other questions I would also need to ask), but they are vital to understand how I should tailor my writing.

In the same way as Dan looks at each customer individually to ensure his product does what they need, I have to look at my target audience to asses how best to put my clients’ message across.

A copywirter also needs to be a good listener – let your client talk you through a brief, listen to everything they say (and what they don’t say). Ask questions – the more information you can get the better. Fully armed you can then write laser guided copy that will penetrate your readers’ defences.

The good old British reserve seems to be holding back many businesses from getting the exposure they deserve.

A large part of the work I do is website copywriting. When I am sat with my clients going through the copy they need on their website I am often amazed at their lack of ‘shoutiness’ about their company’s achievements. Normally there is the obligatory page of testimonials which often are just a list of waffly quotes. Rarely do you  find testimonials of substance.

Readers don’t want to see that you were ‘nice to work with’ they want to know how your product/service helped – what was the ROI?

Likewise with the ‘News’ pages that companies like so much. The problem is that what is on them is hardly ever news. Here you should list things like:

• Awards given
• Donations to chairty that you have made
• Large contracts you have won
• Success stories

And don’t forget to press release it too! It’s all well and good posting the information on your website but unless you get it out there in a press release who’s going to see it? If you have a blog, blog about it and link it back to your website – this generates those all important back links.

As Jon Morrow states in his recent post The Susan Boyle Guide to Being Loud and Proud, “The true giants of this world aren’t quiet. They are as loud as they are tall.”

So next time your company does something well SHOUT ABOUT IT.

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.