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Saying
what you mean
Copy
writing is often seen as one of the most difficult areas of
marketing communication. "I know what I want to say, but just
can't seem to get the words right." In reality copy writing
can be dead easy, but only once you've done your homework.
Here are a few tips.
Know
WHAT you want to say, and to WHOM
Before you
can start writing copy, you need to be very clear on what it is you
want to say and to whom. Don't get caught up in your natural
enthusiasm for your product or service. You need to be
clinical in defining what really needs to be said and who would
genuinely be interested in hearing it.
Prioritise
the key elements of your offer in the order that they bring value to
your potential customers. If groups of your customer targets
appear to value different elements in different orders,
then treat them separately and plan to write different
copy for each group. It might seem like extra effort, but the
better targeted your copy is the greater effect it will have on the
reader.
Now you
know what to say to each customer group, you need to
determine HOW best to say it.
Picking
a style
It is important for any piece of text to maintain a
single style otherwise its gets very hard to read. So before
you start writing, try to work out what style(s) would appeal
best to your target
audience(s).
There are two guiding criteria. The nature of
your offer and the nature of the customer. If your offer is a
fun leisure product then a jokey and casual style would be
appropriate, whereas if you are a funeral director ... then
perhaps not. By the same token, if your target customers are
under 16s then a style using language constructs for children
would be good. But if your copy was to attract solicitors, then a
more formal use of language might be better to convey the right
level of
gravitas.
Once you've picked your style ... stick to it.
Go back and reread it to make sure that you haven't slipped out of
style by accident. Be harsh in your judgement; your readers
will.
Benefits
first
A tip that
I always give people looking to write their own marketing copy is to
write it backwards! Not literally of course. Let me show
you what I mean.
A typical
sentence that someone might write could be ...
"Our
product is designed using the latest technology which saves you
£thousands in maintenance costs every year."
Not bad
... but could read better. Let's try it backwards.
"You
can save £thousands in maintenance costs every year because our
product is designed using the latest
technology."
Much
better. By placing the benefit statement at the beginning of the
sentence it carries more emphasis and catches the eye more
readily.
Always go
through your copy after you've produced the first draft and
look for sentences that you can write backwards. It really
makes a difference.
Memorable
marketing
Thinking
and working pragmatically like this will help you to make
your marketing work better for you in a more memorable way.
This means that your target customers will be able to differentiate
your products and services from those of your competitors and
clearly see the value in buying from you.
If you would like some advice on memorable
marketing techniques for your own business, or you know someone
at another business who might need help, then please contact us. The sooner you start, the sooner you will benefit. |
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Writing
an Advertisement
Download this handy guide which explains how to
get the best from creating your own advertising in order to
improve business effectiveness.
Written by
the Chartered Institute of Marketing as part of
their Directors' Briefing series, this document makes easy
reading for business people of all experience
levels.
Marketing
Effectiveness Assessment
A
free service to small businesses in the Buckinghamshire, Berkshire
and Oxfordshire area, the Marketing Effectiveness Assessment
delivers a professional audit of how a business is using the tools
of marketing to communicate to existing and potential customers. It
also includes a series of simple and cost-effective marketing
activities that the business can implement immediately and at low
cost.
Download the factsheet now.
Useful
Links ...
Adduce Marketing
Chartered Institute of Marketing
Marketing UK (information portal)
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