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The 7 Stupid Surprises Of Copywriting

Don't get me wrong. Copywriting is fun. But over the years I've had a few "aha" moments that sometimes felt really, really stupid in how obvious they were. Here they are:

1. Many, many professionals can't write.

Whatever it is they earn, whatever they do, if "writing" isn't explicitly in their career description, too many professionals can't write. It's amazing.

2. Copywriting is about people

Because copywriting is a form of marketing, it's easy to forget what it's fundamentally about: people. You simply can not write excellent copy unless you understand your target audience. You need to have such a good grasp of what your audience needs that you can tell them exactly how you give it to them.

Copywriting is about identifying people's needs and helping them achieve those needs through your product.

3. Copywriting is surprisingly formulaic

While a website promising to teach you the secrets of copywriting may be exaggerating, copywriting as a whole is highly repetitive. Some phrases just stick with the human mind and make it happy. "Free," is one, along with "Secret," "Only," and others.

Copywriting is a lot like normal writing in that it must use powerful imagery and clear, concise language. Where it differs is in its heavy use of emotional, often clich language. This is in part because normal writing is about communication, while copywriting is about communicating action.

There are no sure-fire methods to copywrite. But there are standard phrases that work and studying them is a must. Those phrases and approaches tend to make copywriting more formulaic than traditional writing

4. Many copywriters have lame writing on their website

Regardless of how convincing your testimonials are, if your website's writing isn't that great, why should I believe your writing for me will be better? Making sure that every word on the site is well-chosen is a must for any business. But for a copywriter to have a weakly writen website is inexcusable.

5. "You" is a earth-shattering word

When copywriting, you must respect your reader. And the best way to respect the reader is by addressing them directly. The power of personalizing the reader can lead to further interest and a possible sale, especially in fields where the writing is extremely impersonal.

This can work best in cases where the reader may be feeling strong emotions, and letting the reader know you understand their situation can mean a lot.

6. Screwing up is really easy - and expensive

Here's something depressing: If you choose just one word wrong in an ad, you could lose hundreds of prospects. One word can change the entire emotional appeal of something from exciting to boring, or from action into inaction. The great copywriters - as judged by the sales their writing induced - could take a seemingly very well written piece and change just a few words and - voila increase effectiveness.

That skill is a combination of years experience and innate genius. It's what separates the greats from the good.

7. Forget people - it's all about the $

Yes, to copywriter effectively you need to understand your audience. But ultimately, it's just about making money. Good or bad, copywriting is about selling stuff.

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posted by lewiston-auburnwxtgnkct @ 7:32 PM