Copywriting Do’s and Dont’s
July 25, 2007
Copywriting is one of those things that many business owners just dread. We tend to know the importance of good copy but somehow put this aspect of our product creation aside as an afterthought.
It’s understandable especially if it’s not something you enjoy doing. But it really is so extremely important. Good sales copy can make all the difference between your product failing or exceeding your expectations.
Here are a few tips to help you get started:
The first and main thing is to know your target market. It doesn’t matter how many psychological tactics you apply in your writing or how many power words you use – if you don’t know your target market you’ll miss the mark.
So instead of just saying my market is “women†think “woman†– craft your copy for one person only. Write as though that one person was sitting right there next to you. Now, what type of woman? How old is she? What does she like to do? How does she think?
Dig deep and really get into the mind of your potential customer and you’ll be off to a great start.
Finally, I wanted to point out a few quick words that are often used in copy that can be extremely detrimental…
Learn = I used to use this word myself until I researched and found that is has a very negative meaning. Most people don’t want to “learn†they want things easy and fun. So learn all of a sudden lowers the tone of the copy.
But = This is also a very negative word. Go through your copy and replace any “buts†with another suitable word.
If = Again, not a very good word. It implies that there is a chance your reader won’t do what you want them to do. Instead use “when.†“When They sign up for your course, when they submit their email address, etc.â€
I hope these small tips help you tweak your copy a little. I’m putting together some left brain/right brain words and will post those soon. Simply replace the left brain rational word with its more powerful emotion-oriented right brain counterpart.
I’ll post that soon… take care!
Last 5 posts by mila
- How, and Why, to Avoid Sexist Language in Your Writing - March 4th, 2008
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Great advice, Mila! I never really thought about “learn” as being a negative word. That’s interesting. I can understand “if” and “but” being negative, but learn? I’ll take your word for it and will have to think a little more about it. I’m looking foward to the left/right brain post.
Great tips Mila, especially the words not to use!
I was watching Dr.Phil the other day (sometimes I get to watch TV, lol) and he totally wasn’t talking about business but he said something that I’d never heard but made total sense:
something like:
“If you want to sell Betty what Betty buys, then you better see the world through Betty’s eyes.”
I thought that pretty much sums it up, and is basically what you’re saying here :)
Angela Wills
http://www.StarVA.com
Anything that has to do with writing makes me cringe so I tend to just not do it. I’m learning though how important writing really is for a business owner wanting to market themselves or their products.
I enjoyed the list you gave of words we should be avoiding and I’m looking forward to the left side & right side brain words you’ll be posting.
Angela, I like that! it’s a pretty neat way of summing it all up.
My pleasure Tishia, I’ll post those soon.
It’s really odd. I used to work as a junior copywriter in an ad agency eons ago. Still feel I know nothing about writing copy. In that job, since we were writing for traditional media, the emphasis is always on brevity.
Online… although one should still be brief and to the point. It somehow escapes me *sigh*. But, love those words. Ugh, I have a lot of re-working to do!
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