By Lisa Slater – MYCCUK
Creating effective marketing copy takes a little effort but it’s worth it if you want to get results. Just sticking a load of words on a page that sound “okay” won’t inspire your readers to act. What’s the point of spending loads of money posting direct mail letters, paying for online ads or printing lots of new brochures if they don’t get results?
In this two-part blog, I’m covering the basics of planning and writing effective copy for your sales, marketing or advertising campaign.
Part Two: Writing
Different types of copy need to be approached in different ways. The length, amount of detail and style will vary depending on the purpose of your copy. A Facebook Ad will be far shorter and much less in-depth than your website copy. A flyer handed out at an exhibition will contain less information than a brochure that customers have requested. However, there are some things you can apply to every type of copy; here are some of my top tips.
Keep the brief in mind
In part one of this blog, I covered some of the questions you need to answer before you start writing:
• Who is the target audience?
• What action do you want people to take?
• Why should people respond to your copy?
• When is your copy going to be seen?
• Where is your copy going to be seen?
Once you have answered these, you’ll have a clear idea of who your copy is for and what you want to achieve. If you want to be successful in achieving your goal, keep the answers to these questions in mind as you write.
Write directly to the reader
Talk to your reader. Instead of saying, “we offer competitive rates”, say, “you’ll receive competitive rates”. Instead of saying, “our clients love our range of colours”, say, “you’ll love our range of colours”.
Focus on your USP and benefits.
You need to let your reader know why they should invest in you. What makes you better? Are your products bigger, faster, stronger? Is your service cheaper, friendlier, more straightforward? What are the benefits of your products or services? Will they reduce cost, make life easier, increase profits? People won’t buy from you just because you want them to; you have to give them a reason.
Use AIDA
AIDA is a simple format for creating sales and marketing copy:
• Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Action
Grab the readers attention, generate interest in your product or service, make the reader desire what you are offering and then ask them to take an action.
Write first; edit later
Your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect so just concentrate on getting the key points down on the page and then go back and edit them later. Don’t rush your copy. Write it, leave it overnight and come back to it with fresh eyes, then leave it again and give it a final proofread. You want your message to be as clear as possible so that it inspires action. Spend some time making sure it’s right.
Whatever the purpose of your copy, the most important thing to remember is that you are writing for your reader, not for yourself. Put yourself in their shoes; what would they want to know and what questions would they have? Keep your message clear, simple and engaging if you want results.
If you’d like to improve your sales and marketing copy, then check out our Write to Sell workshop. We cover the sales and writing skills needed to create effective copy for websites, adverts, social media, direct mail, press releases, blogs, emails, brochures and more.