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You Re Not Done Yet Eight Strengtheners For Your Sales Copy
Young Writers > > >
Writing sales copy for a new or to-be-relaunched product takes a lot of energy and concentration. When you finish that first draft, take a rest. Then go back to what youve written with this sales copy checklist, which outlines the eight most frequent corrections and improvements I make on copy given to me by clients or students.
1. Pronouns. Do you have a preponderance of "we" or "I" and very little "you"? Wherever possible, change pronouns to "you," which comes across as more captivating and relevant to the reader than "I" or "we." In many cases, this seemingly mechanical rewording task forces you to ask yourself, "Why should the reader care about this?" or "What does this mean for customers?" Thats great, because shoppers and information seekers are looking for whats meaningful to them, not for a monologue about the company.
2. Verb tense. Hunt for places where you used future-tense verbs ("will ____") and change them wherever you can to present tense. This conveys more confidence and has a stronger impact. For example, change "Before leaving, we will check all pipe connections to make sure they are tight" to "Before leaving, we check all pipe connections and make sure they are tight" or even better, "Before leaving, we make sure all pipe connections are tight."
3. Extra verbiage. Now find all the spots where your writing takes the long way around, and make your choice of words crisper and more direct. Get rid of the extra helper verb in "Together, we work to create reachable goals," for instance, changing it to "Together, we create reachable goals." Instead of "In almost every case, executives who have the intention of fostering teamwork do not know the best methods of getting optimal results," write "Usually, executives who want to foster teamwork dont know the most powerful techniques," or even better, "Few executives know the most powerful teamwork techniques."
4. Unnecessary sentiments. Wherever you said things like "It goes without saying that " or "When we say X, its not just words," either express the idea in a stronger, more interesting way or leave it out. Remember: If it truly goes without saying, then dont say it!
5. Sentence variety. Look at the length and types of sentences in your copy. Do they mostly have a simple, short "subject, verb, object" pattern? If so, combine some sentences and sprinkle in longer sentences starting with a subordinating word like "when," "because" or "through." Are most of your sentences long and complicated? If so, make some of them short and stark: "This works." "Not any longer." "Benefits sell." By helping the copy to flow, sentence variety keeps the reader reading.
6. Bulleted lists. Bullets organize points for fast, easy skimming. You can make bullets even easier to read quickly by adding short, boldface headers to the beginning of the bullets. The same goes for numbered lists as in this article, where each point starts with a summary of the topic in one to three words.
7. Company focus. Never assume that you can say something once and have the reader keep it constantly in mind! Suppose the copy youve written describes a service for chefs. Although many companies provide this service, only this company specializes in providing this service for chefs. Instead of making this point just once, drive it home repeatedly by adding the word "chefs" again and again throughout the copy: "For chefs "; "When chefs "; "Chefs find that "; and so on. This drumbeat of specialization also helps attract search engine traffic.
8. Call to action. Most copywriters know that you need to ask for a response to get a response, by ending any piece of copy with a call to action, such as "Call today to start a free, no-obligation discussion of your needs" or "Order your Wonder Widget now." But on a multi-page web site, I usually see a call to action missing on most of the pages. Probably people are thinking that visitors take a certain sequenced path through the site, getting eventually to the page where theyve placed the call to action. Thats not how people engage with web sites, though. To prompt action, end every page on a web site with a call to action.
Although many other factors also contribute to the power and success of copy, the neglected ones above have a surprisingly strong impact on readers when consistently applied. They create lean, lively, relevant writing. Practice these techniques and enjoy a more vigorous response!
Young Writers > > >
BONUS : Young Writers
If you are between the ages of 8 to 18 and love to write, be it short stories, plays or poems, then you are a young writer. For the writer nothing is more satisfying than finishing a story, play, poem etc. In fact some young writers decide to make it their career of choice. This is not always an easy path but if you have a passion for it you will ride out the difficult times. Here are some tips to help you.
1. Read widely,a good writer is one that reads constantly and widely. This helps you to get a good idea of how the language is to be written and exposes you to several different styles of writing. Reading is an excellent way to develop good grammar. You shouldn't just stick to modern works of fiction but you should also read classic authors, study their work and the way they developed their characters. Your aim as a writer is to create characters that your readers care about, once they care about the characters readers keep turning the pages.
2. Write everyday, this may be in the form of journal writing or adding to a story, poem or whatever you may be writing. Make it a routine. You have heard that practice makes perfect, well this is true for writing as well. You might want to have a special desk or area in which to write, many writers have a favorite spot in their house in which to write, being in that space puts them in touch with their creative side.
3. Editing is important. It often surprises me as a writer, how many times I revisit and review and rewrite a piece. You may think it's perfect but a few days later when you approach the work with a fresh eye you may find there are more flaws than you saw before. So be prepared to edit a lot. You might also consider showing your work to a trusted friend, who could proof-read or help you edit. Don't let the number of edits you have to do discourage you or let you question your ability. You might write something today that you think is brilliant and a few days later you hate it and just throw it out. That is part of the process.
4. It is often said that you should write what you know. This certainly makes writing easier and more believable. It is also true that writers should be researchers so whatever you don't know you can always find out about through extensive research and then it will become something you do about. Live vicariously as well, remember you can learn a lot from others especially those who are older than you. Listen to their stories, they may inspire you as a young person to write something great.
5. Share your writing with others by joining groups and entering writing contests. This gets you into the habit of putting yourself and your work out there. These experiences are valuable as it provides feedback that you can use to evaluate your writing.
If you are between the ages of 8 to 18 and love to write, be it short stories, plays or poems, then you are a young writer. For the writer nothing is more satisfying than finishing a story, play, poem etc. In fact some young writers decide to make it their career of choice. This is not always an easy path but if you have a passion for it you will ride out the difficult times. Here are some tips to help you.
1. Read widely,a good writer is one that reads constantly and widely. This helps you to get a good idea of how the language is to be written and exposes you to several different styles of writing. Reading is an excellent way to develop good grammar. You shouldn't just stick to modern works of fiction but you should also read classic authors, study their work and the way they developed their characters. Your aim as a writer is to create characters that your readers care about, once they care about the characters readers keep turning the pages.
2. Write everyday, this may be in the form of journal writing or adding to a story, poem or whatever you may be writing. Make it a routine. You have heard that practice makes perfect, well this is true for writing as well. You might want to have a special desk or area in which to write, many writers have a favorite spot in their house in which to write, being in that space puts them in touch with their creative side.
3. Editing is important. It often surprises me as a writer, how many times I revisit and review and rewrite a piece. You may think it's perfect but a few days later when you approach the work with a fresh eye you may find there are more flaws than you saw before. So be prepared to edit a lot. You might also consider showing your work to a trusted friend, who could proof-read or help you edit. Don't let the number of edits you have to do discourage you or let you question your ability. You might write something today that you think is brilliant and a few days later you hate it and just throw it out. That is part of the process.
4. It is often said that you should write what you know. This certainly makes writing easier and more believable. It is also true that writers should be researchers so whatever you don't know you can always find out about through extensive research and then it will become something you do about. Live vicariously as well, remember you can learn a lot from others especially those who are older than you. Listen to their stories, they may inspire you as a young person to write something great.
5. Share your writing with others by joining groups and entering writing contests. This gets you into the habit of putting yourself and your work out there. These experiences are valuable as it provides feedback that you can use to evaluate your writing.
