Archive for the ‘Copywriting Tips’ Category

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Do You Believe in the Products You Market? The Better Way to Write Ads

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

A few, crisp, relevant & witty words can be like a golden wrapping on your product; attracting users to it as if it was a gift! A company uses advertisements to market its product and influence purchases if possible. But are the advertisers there yet? Can a few words really change your mind about a product? They ought to, as many dollars are spent on them but does budget alone decide the success rate of your ad campaign? No it does not! The words and the concept in your online ad matter the most.

When creating an ad copy, don’t go filling more air in the balloon, keeping it simple and light is the key. For example,

“Our food is fresh. Our customers are spoiled.”

This ad belongs to Fresh Direct which is an online grocer that delivers fresh food on order. Their ad says they sell fresh food which can spoil you. Isn’t it so apt! It’s a one-liner, witty & crisp and does demand both attention and action or a likelihood of action. And what really makes it unique and shining like a bright star is the conviction that comes through so naturally.

Successful advertising is NOT a complex bundle of words. You do need to impress your audience but confusing them will get you nowhere. Use creative copywriting as your tool to break through the onslaught of other messages that consumers are exposed to day in and day out! All that you really need to achieve this are the two things:

1) Know the Product
2) Trust its Goodness

So the lesson to learn here for the copywriters is to believe what they’re selling like its their own. And ads will automatically appear to strike the bull’s eye or the customers’; depends whoever is drawn to it first. :)

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Question that Every Writer Dreads

Monday, June 20th, 2011

A simple (yet dreadful) question: Is what you write being read?

Before you blink and pass this one, let us assure you that every Seth Godin/ Steve Jobs and (oh how could we forget!) Mark Zuckerberg was anonymous at some point in their lives. So, its all good, you still have the ground under your feet and some really great potential to shake the same!

We’ve all been in and through a phase that meant no comment streams, no likes (off or on FB), no mentions and worse of all the ever so friggin demoralizing rhetorical question – is it even being read?

Pre- Socia Media B(l)oom!
Before the dawn of social media broke and down came the angels, read social media experts, parting the smokey clouds; we writers had no choice but to rely on our writing ability (or disability) to initiate that hard-to-get response from the reading tribe. Remember the time when you couldn’t tweet or viral your post and prayed to Apollo (Or may be that was just me :P ) for sending your way some readers who understood you or what you wrote.

Times changed and became incredibly social and before we knew Facebook and Twitter made the dead and gone word-of-mouth strategy seem alive and kicking!

Living in the Social Media B(l)oom

Now that we’re part of the bubble, we ask the same dreadful question: Is it being read? Well if you’re again shirking away from the question, then we got a problem. Also if you’ve tried every social media strategy there ever was to get those readers to your page and still wait for the first legitimate comment to pop-up; first like to come from someone you don’t know, we again got a problem and that to a big one!

How to Get Read

Depending too much on social media isn’t qutie enough. If you thought that Twitter was going to put the spotlights on your blog then you were very hopeful. What social media does is put it out there for everyone to know that its there but it can’t force those poor beings to like or comment on it if they don’t want to. Social media is indispensable in making your title read at least or bring the read to your post. However, for the reader to respond to your post; you’ll have to be old school and follow the traditional rule of Writing Brilliant Copy!

And that means….

  • Intrigue your readers
  • Pick their interests
  • Address Problems, offer solutions
  • Involve them, weave them stories
  • Inspire a response – One that you can see. A person nodding in agreement with you looking at the screen won’t do you any good. So don’t forget to add relevant call to action to your copies

We don’t guarantee a Steve Jobs for your blog but definitely it will be more alive then it already is. Sometimes all that is required is to face our fears and answer questions more honestly to get to that promised land of fame and obviously ‘Likes’!

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You Write What you Are or Do You?

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

Remember Descartes? The 16th century philosopher who dropped a philosophical bomb with his “I think, therefore I am” and inspired quite a few of existential affirmatives over the following centuries. He did get it right, our existence is defined to a certain extent by what we do and how we do it.

The one for us reads like – I tweet, therefore I am or I FB therefore I am and they’re those whose worlds are their vritual lives. As a copywriter doing 3000 – 4000 or more words a day, can you replace think with write in the original Cartesian assertion and do it without blinking?

If you blinked then there may be more to you than just being passionate about words. This is not that bad a thing per se because the copywriting tribe is as such doubly disposed – familiar with the classic Killer and the Poet Ogilvian split?  Read more at: http://www.copyblogger.com/get-rich-copywriter/

May be I am, therefore I write could be more appropriate for writers.

Think, Be & Write
Our thoughts make our being – that’s what Descartes said in the 16th century and defined existence.
When we write, we think and become, not necessarily in that order. There’s a correlation in thinking, being and writing and if  you want you can go be whatever and write whatever. A faculty that comes in very handy when you writing a sales copy or content for websites, in other words -


When Writing to Sell
We can’t let go off either the marketer or the artist in us while creating persuasive copies for products or services. A writer having multiple ‘selfs’ must ‘be’ what he or she is writing. We write but before the keypad is punched or the pen finds the paper, we think and become. And who we are is what makes our copies and eventually the influence it exerts on its readers.

A writer’s thought-process and the self he/ she dons is very powerful and can actually transform a nonchalant copy into one that can trigger a buying revolution. So don’t push aside your thoughts even when you have to deliver 10 articles in a day. I know it gets very hard to keep the mind sharp as a saw after draining on 10 different topics but if you don’t stop and think, you’ll lose on all that made your copy readable, better-than-others and unique. Also a copy that is mechanically written is likely to have more errors than the one written with a cogent thought and personality behind.

What to Remember
A sales copy or online content written to engage readers is not Post-Modern poetry wherein any and every thought goes and may be kept in a Post-modernist museum. Content is a well crafted message that communicates information useful for the readers and is vital to their making buying decisions.

A writer who thinks like a user or becomes the user can hit bulls eye in his or her copy. I know it’s hard to be all of them at the same time but once you ace it, that creative drive won’t dwindle.

So what does your Cartesian statement read like – ‘I think & write, therefore I am’ or something else?

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Can Your Special Offer Stand On Its Own?

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

In a race to grab the biggest piece of the pie, businesses flood markets with deals and offers of all kinds and keeps. So in a fleet of really well paying deals, how does your special ship (read offer) stand out? Hopefully by not igniting the cannons.

Moving on from the watery metaphor, lets get to vital things – presenting the offer.
More often than not it is the way information is presented or delivered which influences the reciever more than what the actual offer is. So if you can manage some cannons that’d be great! Cannons in your copy of course, still stuck on the metaphor, are we?

That’s good because we’re going to share a few techniques that are no less than any other explosive stuff. Here we go:

Put the Spot-light on worth in dollars!
The first thing you can do is highlight value-addition to the customer in terms of dollars. Put the $$ savings in the first line itself, so that even before users trickle down, they will do it with a favorable prejudice. Your product is your main offering and the offer is a value addition so make it look like one. Here is an example of an offer that will gather more than just cursory reading.

Pay just $549.95 for Services worth $1000
Only at ABC Automotive
Offer Valid till June 30th 2011
or
Save $450.05 on Services worth $1000
Only at ABC Automotive
Offer Valid till June 30th 2011

Make Offers Stand Out
Offers are common and not at all a new phenomenon. However there are only a handful of those that are uncommonly presented and hence have more takers. Like this one:

Eat all you can for only $7 per person

Now this sounds more appealing and has a call to action. On the other hand, this may sound a little bit desperate but we all resolve to desperate measures when the profit graph seems to drop down like a flaccid worm.

So if you’re one of those who would cringe at the thought of sounding in dire need of buyers then you need to know that offers and deals are a great way to scurry up the dipping profits and increase conversion rates. What’s more, everybody is doing it and earning too. Plus you don’t even have to sound desperate, only funny.

This too is important
Once your headline is done catching customers’ attention, use the body of your copy to mention the details but don’t flush out the excitement that your headline just created. Divide the copy into three parts:

  • Value to the customer
  • Real facts about the offer and product. (but presented interestingly, see how Groupon markets its message).
  • Instructions to avail the offer.

An offer is a strong sales call which pulls the customer towards your product with each word. These should be announced with the same excitement (cannon firing if you may call it) so that customers stop and pay attention to it.

Offers might be a cost you have to bear but if you use them well, these can generate large sales and cover-up for the reduced margins. And even before you realize you’ll be happily sailing to richer shores!

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Content Strategy: How to get it Right

Saturday, May 28th, 2011

What is your content strategy? Do you have one?

Content strategy means jotting down everything about what your copy is, can or will be – before you start creating it. A well documented content strategy works like a shiny but very useful add on to your project reports/ propositions that your clients eagerly await every month.

Having said that, content strategy is more about sharpening your craft as a wirter than adding some bling to a client proposition. With a content strategy in mind, it is hard for anyone to lead astray into irrelevance while creating content for various web pages.

The key elements of any content strategy are:

  • Objective
  • Design
  • Measurement
  • Time-lines, creation
  • Optimization, proof-reading and
  • Presentation

Also, creating a content strategy involves answering three relevant questions:

  • Why to write?
  • What to write? &
  • Who to write it for?

When strategizing content creation for any website, particularly, eCommerce stores, keep the following in mind:

Usability
You write content to enhance the usability of the website. This includes directions, instructions, guidelines and even 404 error pages. Remember those buttons saying ‘Click here to read more’ or a ‘quick four step guide’. Explain how to place your order, or what can a user do if not buy immediately. These will enhance the usability of your website manifold.

Communication
Each word on your website represents you (the brand). Unless you are operating in a monopoly, you very much need to devise a message that your content should carry. Bringing forward the values that you as a business adhere to or offer, is and can be communicated through content.

Search Engines
Your content can make your website search-engine friendly. All the web pages that rank top for certain keywords should be optimized for that keyword. Placing the keywords repeatedly in your content, makes your web pages optimized for search engines which further lends visibility to your website.

Content refers to everything that conveys meaning. Build your content strategy with usability, communication and search engines as key elements and see your website where you want it to be – ranking top, right?

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Expert SEO Copywriting Tips

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Search Engine Optimization is what puts your website/ product where everybody on the Internet can see it and know about it. It gets you among the top ranks in organic searches (which is not half-bad at all) and attracts relevant eye-balls.

SEO copywriting is one essential element of search engine optimization and one that ensures that no greatness is lost to the explorers of the web world. So what does it (SEO copywriting) involve? Only keywords?

There is something beyond the general rule of thumb about using keywords in SEO writing – the secret ingredient – that actually makes the ‘check out button’ on your website used more often.

The Secret Ingredient – Applying mind & common sense

Any kind of writing even SEO copywriting must never be without its slice of uniqueness and creativity. So while the standard must be followed, the sensational and shock should not be sacrificed. In other words, let the story impulse still be the guiding metaphor. On one hand, the content on the websites must be wisely and strategically infused with keywords that helps a website go up in search engine ranking but on the other it must be interesting enough to make the reader stick to it like a bear does to honey. Search engines love good content but readers love exciting content.

The SEO Aspect

Now we can’t leave behind the SEO out from the SEO copywriter, so here goes. Content with relevant information and keywords, intelligent formatting and zero grammatical errors is what search engines are looking for. Optimized content means content that is not only for the readers but for search engines as well. The keyword density in any copy must neither be too much nor too scanty. Stuffing keywords can get your web page penalized as it may be perceived as spam by the ever-so-vigilant search engine bots.

Need help? Check out ‘the’ 7 SEO Copywriting tips

SEO copywriting should begin and end with one mantra – “Content is King”.

  • Create flawless content – no grammatical errors, spelling errors.
  • Use H1 tag – for your title tags and ALT tags for internal hyperlinks.
  • Keep in mind the keyword density.
  • Bold, italicize and underline content that requires the reader’s notice. Don’t overdo it or for keywords.
  • Use keywords in meta tags and then use the same keywords in the first line and the description tag of the content.
  • Interlinking and hyperlinking is a must.
  • Use Google Adwords Keyword Tool to look for your post related keywords.

Writing for the readers and keeping the search engines happy at the same time can be a task for a copywriter! But with correct measures, a little more confidence and may be coffee, you can get to the treasure at the end of the rainbow and create that elusive top ranking copy.

P.S – Unlike paid/ sponsored listings, SEOed copies can be created for free or for very less money. So don’t let this slip out from your fingers!

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Using Contractions

Friday, May 20th, 2011

Contractions are when words are shortened by omitting some parts of the words and fusing them with other words. We use contractions a lot more in our speech than while writing. It has just become the way we speak and converse. Though the speech patterns and style of youngsters and seniors differ greatly, yet usage of contractions can be found in both.  Americans are known for their love for them.

Some of the most common contractions are:

  • Do not – Don’t
  • I am – I’m
  • He is/ He has – He’s
  • You are – You’re
  • I have – I’ve
  • I will – I’ll
  • You would – You’d

Contractions in Formal Writing

We use contractions on daily basis but you will rarely come across them in formal writing. However, things are changing now and you can find them sprinkled here and there in a copy. This is mainly due to  In informal and personal letters, we can make use of contractions and slangs but rarely in formal exchange (written and spoken). If ever contractions are used in formal writing it is within quotes. For example, in a novel or a story, to express a protagonist’s feelings, a writer may use a sentence with contracted form of words within the quotes. But not otherwise!

The easiest way of using contractions is to put an apostrophe wherever you miss the letters. For example:

  • cannot is written as can’t (the ‘no’ is replaced by an apostrophe)
  • I would is written as I’d (the ‘woul’ is replaced by an apostrophe)

Contracted Words without an ‘apostrophe’

Contractions not only make conversations casual but also crisper. Colloquial speech is full of contracted words and are used very commonly – gonna (going to), wanna (want to), gotcha (got you), lemme (let me), gimme (give me), gotta (got to), kinda (kind of) etc are a few examples. These are confined to informal speech and are avoided altogether in written or formal communication.

Contraction is important part to our speech and its usage suprisingly conveys the message a bit faster.

Well would you rather answer “Hi wassup?” or “How are you?/ How’s life?”

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