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.

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 ) 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’!

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?

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!

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?

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!

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?”

Proofreading is one of the most important aspects of successful copywriting. Any article that you write for the purpose of sharing with people, make sure it is properly spell checked. And by spell checked we mean, you do it yourself! How can you trust your machine to understand what you wish to write.

Better explained:

Your sentence says: ‘His pen fell’ but you have mistakenly spelled ‘his’ as ‘is’. Your machine’s spell check will still approve it as ‘is’ is a word. The same way if your sentence says: ‘Let me wear that shirt’, where ‘wear’ has been written as ‘ear’, the spell check would approve it hands down! This is because it is just a machine that has a software to check your spellings and not what you mean to write in that particular sentence.

Trust only yourself!

Reading and editing your copy on your own is very important. It not only helps in making changes in the content but also helps in pointing out wrong spellings. Using correct tenses, articles, form of verbs, punctuation marks, contribute in making a copy worth a read if not millions. You may consider it the most basic of the entire job, but trust a copywriter’s word, it is the most important job in creating a high ranking copy.

Keep the search engines happy..

If you are writing for the web, even the search engines do not appreciate a poorly written copy. Spelling errors and grammatical errors are the worst thing that can or should happen to your copy! Start proofreading now! Once the copy is done don’t stay away from it, sit back and think about the fate of your copy.

A copywriter’s word – Do not leave it in the hands of your machine’s spell check. Lightning can struck anyone.

Important punctuation and formatting rules to live by:

• Quotation Marks – Important quotes, facts and references are always written inside quotation marks. Don’t use them to highlight just anything that you feel is important in the sentence. Also, a punctuation mark in the quoted sentence should always be inside the quotation marks. For example, “I am hungry,” Samantha said and not “I am hungry”, Samantha said. The former is the correct way to use quotes.

• Semicolons – These are not necessarily required in copywriting. Use of semicolons should be minimal when creating a copy for the web.

• Exclamation Marks – Limit yourself for the use of exclamation marks. Never use too many of them in the same paragraph. A single post should not have more than two exclamation marks. Somehow, the writers feel that excessive use of exclamation marks makes you sound excited, urgent and full of gusto which is not always the case, is it? Even if it is, using too many exclamation marks will only make your copy appear like an SOS for help.

• Capitalization – There is absolutely no need to capitalize unnecessary words in a post. You have to be careful of this one especially in the headlines. Do not capitalize words like of, on, to etc. in the headlines. Also, never capitalize keywords in a post to highlight them. Important keywords are better hyperlinked than highlighted. The latter looks like an old school SEO technique. Stuffing keywords and capitalizing them in the post is a big NO while creating a copy.

• Commas – Commas are used to express pause between clauses. A comma should be used according to the rules of its existence. Never be afraid to use commas in your sentences especially if they’re pretty long. If it fits the sentence, use it. Just a small rule to take care of. Don’t put a comma before ‘and’. For example, blue, purple and grey instead of blue, purple, and grey.

• Hyperlinks and Hyphenation – Hyperlink important links and keywords in your post as a rule. Don’t add too many hyperlinks in a post as it may look like spam content. A link should be properly defined and cleanly linked. Also, use a hyphen wherever required – separate words with a hyphen that are either combination words or neologisms. And remember, e-mail is always separated with a hyphen.

Writing a sentence with correctly placed punctuation marks is like offering a free meal to someone who is hungry. As it will make for a savouring reading experience. I’m sure you would want your readers to enjoy what you’ve written rather than baffle their minds with a confusing maze of words!

Even if your post is not an extraordinary one, it would still be liked if it is correctly put together. Make use of correct grammar and punctuation to leave your readers wanting for more.

Your job doesn’t end once you’ve created a post. It is just the begining. Once the post is complete, let it rest. Get back to it after sometime to see it afresh.

Go through the post with a fresh mind and a fresher perspective. See where you can make relevant changes, use better words, re-phrase sentences. This will help take your copy from being just a draft to a copy that sells.

Redundancy can help sometimes

Editing a post includes deleting redundant words and sentences. But it isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Even to omit, one needs to think very wisely because the words are linked together. So in a way being redunant can, sometimes be useful because it forces you to better your copy.

Write what readers like to read

It is not always about being grammatically correct. A lot of times conversations on the Internet are dominated by colloquial language instead of high grammar. This is because colloquial language is the language of the people which allows bending grammar rules. For example couple words are commonly used. These are redundant and many grammarians classify them under wrong usage. However, their use is so common that now the right and the wrong hardly matters for the simple reason that everyone’s doing it.

Words like ATM machine, added bonus, end result, past history etc. are examples of couple words. You may have heard them slide even through perfectly constructed exchanges.

Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger has put together a great post on how brevity is a killer sometimes. Read through it at: http://www.copyblogger.com/bad-brevity/.

Brian’s post is contrary to the glorification of brevity you’ll find here but it still makes sense to read the post in continuity to this one to understand the relevance of balance and what does it take to make brevity the soul of wit.

And copywriters know a thing about surviving in the big bad world of words, ROIs and referrals…. and love it, don’t we?

Creative writing is omnipresent, and forms the backbone of the consumerist world. Anything that is not on a doctor’s note, newspaper (yes), legal documents and contracts is a piece of creative writing. On the web, blogs, articles, product descriptions, advertisements, twitter updates, novels, stories, verses etc – all fly out from the umbrella of creativity with the objective to gather readers who buy.

As a receiver of million messages everyday, readers find some standing out among the rest while others simply blown away in the stream of commonness. The ones that stick to your mind are obviously creative but what about those that whiff away with just a single sigh, aren’t they? They too are but may lack in core elements. Don’t know what those core elements are? Read below to find out.

What does it take to go that extra mile when writing creatively for your consumers?

Connection – Your copy from the first word itself must establish a connection with the target receiver/ reader.

Condition – It must address the condition that the reader may be in and how can your product/ service enhance or better it.

Experience – The message must communicate the experience that your customer is likely to enjoy using your product/ service or lack in if he or she does not.

Novelty – Be as novel as you can. Even if you’re marketing for a 150 year old brand; do it the 21st century way and not what people would have liked 150 years ago.

Results – Paint the picture of the afterward i.e after your products and services have been used. And by painting the picture we mean a realistic one. Remember, you may fool by an advertisement but not in actual usage. So it’s always better to stick to the truth.

Now how you do all this and achieve what you set out to accomplish is where the real deal is. How you work your mind around those top-of-the-hat metaphors, mindblowing analogies and those contagious call-to-actions and create a copy that not only brings in the readers but happily buying and paying customers

And when you’re up to it, make sure the confidence, happiness and that the spirit is not amiss because words mirror more than you expect them to.

Even with the standards set, the local usage has managed to stick and resulted in some clouds of confusion hovering over an otherwise straightforward usage. And over the years these clouds have become so thick that in many cases the usage has surpassed the logic.

One such example is usage of ‘different than’ & ‘different from’.

different than vs. different from

Both the phrases ‘different than’ and ‘different from’ are frequently used and that too inevitably. Though the grammarians rule out the use of ‘than’ after ‘different’, but the common usage of comparative preposition after ‘different’ has lead to the belief that different is a comparative adjective and should be followed by ‘than’, like better than and faster than. But it’s not a comparative! The word ‘different’ is used to make a distinction and hence as we say separate from, distinct from, apart from, we also say different from.

Important: The use of ‘different than’ is correct when ‘different’ is followed by a dependent clause introduced by a conjunction and in case ‘different’ is followed by a prepositional phrase, then the preposition used is ‘from’. This is the classic example where the usage goes beyond the logic and follows what we call the arbitrary rules of grammar.

Examples:

• My bike is different from her bike.
• The car I use to drive is different from the one you drive.
• This design looks so different than the website.

And now to make things simpler, here’s a tip:

‘Different’ has got two f’s, so you can remember it as different followed by from. Hope this helps

If this one’s done, let’s get to another wrecking confusion – which v. that.
http://www.cueblocks.com/blog/2011/which-that-usage/

Co-ordinate conjunctions: and, but, either – or, neither – nor
Co-ordinate conjunctions are used to bring together two equally significant sentences or clauses. As the name suggests these help sentences to co-ordinate with each other. The sentences make full sense when read individually and are bought together to convey more than already mentioned.

• He woke up early in the morning.
• He woke up early in the morning and was able to catch the train on time.
• He woke up early in the morning but missed the train.
• Either he wakes up early in the morning or he will miss the train.
• Neither he woke up early in the morning nor he boarded the train.

Subordinate conjunctions: that, as, after, before, since, when, where, unless, if
Subordinate conjunctions are used to connect a less significant sentence to a more significant one. The main sentence or clause here makes complete sentence but the subordinate sentence is insignificant if read individually.

• I want to wear the dress.
• I want to wear the dress that has white flowers on it.
• I want to wear the dress as it has white flowers on it.
• I want to wear the dress since it has white flowers on it.
• I don’t want to wear the dress unless it has white flowers on it.
• I want to wear the dress if it has white flowers on it.

Relative pronouns: who, whom, which
Relative pronouns are also used as conjunctions. These words connect the sentences with clauses that support the main clause.

• He is the one who won the prize.
• He is the one whom you are looking for.
• This is the pencil which you are looking for.

So now you know that every conjunction has a specific usage and how easy it is to confuse them. Use this as your guide when in doubt and get good at building correct sentence connections.

Copywriting is something where all your experience can make you bite your finger nails when it comes to writing that first sentence. If the headline is the hook then the first sentence of the copy is the bait that allures readers to the copy and no fish will fall for it until its juicy! No pressure but the first sentence is what sticks the reader to the copy. So be creative, innovative and work those neurons to make that bait taste even better!

First sentences won’t come that naturally as the rest of the copy. Read below to see how can you work on them:

• A writer can try different tactics – from questioning your readers to commanding them, a number of tones can be used to make it sound just right.
• Other experienced ones will use quotes by more prominent writers to have that bang in the beginning.
• Some will start with just one word. The word that aptly defines the crux of your post.
• Others may go for a humorous beginning.

These are a few ways that are used apart from the usual story telling Once-upon-a-time starts.

After the first sentence…….

Most writers relax and jot down important points they want to add in their post on a piece of paper (or the device they use). Relevance is the solution to all the confusion. Analyze what is relevant to your copy and use it in the post. And just forget that what’s written once cannot or should not be changed! If the first sentence of your copy does not satisfy your ‘writer’ mind, change it. Modify it, improve it or just add more to it but be sure of it. Instincts are useful. But not all the time and those other times are better guided by experience. Use it when everything else fails to convince you for your copy.

Last and the most important point, read, read and re-read your copy. This is the only way to know what is going wrong where and if your bait is garnished well to catch the fish.

There goes another quote on writing less. Time and again, writers have emphasized on the greatness of adages and aphorisms. And was that clairvoyant or what! The age has finally come where few words make all the difference. The age we’re living through, tweet after tweet. Still don’t get it? Well next time you try and squeeze your bizarre adventure into a 140 character length twitter update, you’ll know exactly what we mean.

The New York Times has already acknowledged it and even prompted inclusion of the art of writing less but intelligent in formal writing courses: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/opinion/20selsberg.html?_r=1

And why must a Copywriter Care
Unless you’re planning to abandon the ship, you wouldn’t want to kiss your word-driven career goodbye, right? For any forward-looking copywriter it’s time to give rhetoric a backseat and welcome eloquence and precision in your writing style. You will need it especially when you weave your magic with:

Twitter Updates
FaceBook Feeds
Comments or may be your next text message.

Too cut the long story short lest we start crushing our own soldiers in war, write Short, Smart, Simple & (of course!) Social.

P.S – For starting out you may want to revisit Pope and his gang’s heroic couplets – surely the Romantics couldn’t have come up with something like:
‘True wit is nature to advantage dressed,
what oft was thought but, ne’er so well expressed’
There, only 92 characters.