10 TOP TIPS FOR COPYWRITING
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SUMMARY
This article details 10 tips to improve copywriting, all supported by the key principle of enjoying it.
Copywriters are advised to use social media, as it helps writers to sharpen copy by encouraging brevity; ensure first sentences are intriguing; write in the active rather than passive voice; do not use 'weak' words, be specific instead; and keep sentences short and simple. When choosing words, stand out from the crowd; use images to break up text; don't get sniffy about grammar; start with a theme and end with the same one; and keep trying, success will come.
IAN STOCKLEY
INDICIA
From writing in active sentences, to using plain English, Ian Stockley of Indicia provides 10 quick-fire tips to improve your copywriting and so achieve better client and customer responses.
One of the secrets to good copywriting is to thrive on the creativity of it. Enjoy it. Even if you don't enjoy it. Because the nature of how you're feeling when you craft your communication will always come through in the text itself. If you're bored, you'll write boring words. If you're intimidated and unsure of what you're trying to convey, you'll be unsettlingly vague with a tendency to deviate from what you really want to say.
So seize the challenge. Shake it up. Smash it out of the park. To sell your story, it pays to be bold. Every communication you craft can be brilliant. It simply demands focus and application.
1. KNOW YOUR SOCIAL
Maybe social (and by this I mean social media) is a key part of your life. Maybe it isn't. But it should be. Social is a wonderful place to sharpen your copy. Why? Because of the need for brevity, clarity and precision. You can't waffle on Snapchat. And you don't really want to fashion fluff and flannel on Facebook. And then we have Twitter – 140 characters of prime wordy real estate. Every tweet can be an action-packed adventure of intrigue and invite. You might think: what's the point? Twitter smitter! I implore you to think again. That's because I believe that each tweet serves as a tiny universe of potent possibilities. As a writing tool, it will help you sort your wheat from your chaff. Use it to hone your thoughts into insightful gems. It works.
2. THAT KILLER FIRST SENTENCE
Surprise. Dazzle. Delight. As a writer you need to make the reader desperate to know what comes next. Don't do the obvious. The same goes with email subject lines. Make a statement your audience isn't expecting. One of my favourites is from Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess who provides a glorious first line: "It was the afternoon of my 81st birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me."
Who wouldn't want to read on? Every first line you write needs to create the same sense of drama, intrigue, anticipation and surprise.
3. ACTIVE VERBS ALL THE WAY
George Orwell disliked the passive voice. The passive voice was disliked by George Orwell. Notice the difference? The first sentence uses the active voice. The second is passive. What's the big deal? Well, I recommend you always write in the active. It is more direct, offers greater clarity and uses less words. I could go on. You'd be amazed how many people use the passive voice (without ever knowing). It makes their writing vague, cluttered, imprecise and harder to understand. This cannot be a good thing.
Here is a simple formula that makes the whole passive-active shenanigans much easier to understand: Subject-Verb-Object. 'The cat sat on the mat.' This is obviously much better than 'The mat was sat on by the cat'.
I could drag you deeper into a complex world of auxiliary verbs and past participles. We could investigate the tedious nature of the verbs 'to be' and 'to get'. This sounds heavy. Instead, look for the likes of 'was', 'were', 'been', 'being' and you will probably uncover some unsightly passive-voice sentence construction. Use of the word 'by' is also a tell-tale sign. Be a word detective. Search for the clues. They reveal much.
4. BYE-BYE WEAK WORDS
The English language is filled with weak, overused words and phrases that add nothing. It is your duty to be strong and purge them from your writing. They include 'very', 'things', 'stuff', 'really', 'it' and 'in order to'. There are many others. Don't tell staff you're very happy with their efforts; tell them you're delighted. And never start a letter with 'I thought I'd write to you'. That is stating the obvious. Be specific. This way your words will have greater clarity and impact.
5. KEEP IT SHORT AND SIMPLE
Are you a long-sentence writer? The kind of communicator whose sentences are packed with dense preposition and confusing conjunction that ultimately turns each sentence into a mini marathon? I say write short. Though it does pay to mix it up. Too. Many. Short. Sentences. Will. Weird. Out. Your. Reader.
Get into a rhythm. It is perfectly fine to make one statement at a time. Then throw in a longer sentence when you need to convey a more complex idea. Like this.
Some people like to show off their knowledge. Others slip into an annoying habit of relying too heavily on jargon. You should do neither. As a rule, your words will be understood more readily if you choose the easier options.
However, this doesn't mean deliberately dumbing down your writing. It means writing for your audience. Think about it. What is the point of using clever words such as paralepsis or autolatrist, if your reader has no idea what you're talking about.
6. IF THEY ZIG, YOU ZAG
It's remarkable how many businesses and brands say the same things and use the same words. It makes for a dull, uninspiring experience for the audience.
Take financial services. Scan any number of company web pages and the same words crop up time after time: passionate, professional, committed, focused, experienced and unique. This is drab in a seriously sense-numbing way.
View this wordy wallpaper as your opportunity to shine out. Forget the safe, cautious and clichéd, give your brand an alternative voice to those whom you compete against. If your copy reads like your competitors, you'll congeal in the same stale pot. Be the other. Add that shimmer and sparkle. Liberally apply generous portions of pizazz and personality. Stand apart. Let the world find out about your authenticity. Be human. It will pay dividends.
7. USE PICTURES; THEY WORK
Images, images everywhere. Has the world ever been more gripped by the power of pictures? Answer: no. Take Instagram. From launch, it took a trifling 18 months to acquire 150 million users. What this suggests is that the world seeks greater understanding and emotional engagement through images.
As visual media continues to evolve, choosing the right imagery will become vital to your success.
You may have already noticed that most people have a limited attention span. In an age of overwhelming content, they will often skim their way through words to extract what they're looking for. Generally, eyes move across copy in an 'F' shape. The top line gets noticed then attention starts to dwindle. Time to pepper your prose with a picture or two.
Long-winded posts with nothing but text (insert picture here!) can turn many visitors away. However, incorporating images can be a natural way to grab the reader's attention and entice them to explore the content in greater detail.
8. DON'T GET SNIFFY ABOUT GRAMMAR
Grammar is to writing what seasoning is to cooking. It helps, but isn't going to ruin everything. However, typos are much worse. Don't get too hung up about where the apostrophe should go (though it's good to get it right) or whether you can split infinitives (you can), let the majesty of your mighty words take centre stage.
Consider the hashtag. Five years ago, it was going nowhere. Now it is a superstar of the keyboard. What this demonstrates is that language evolves fast. Grammar is always playing catch-up. This is how it should be.
9. TAKE IT FULL CIRCLE
Those in the know do this often. You start with a theme or a phrase. You tell your story, long, tall or short. And you finish with a return to your original thought. It's a neat technique that will give your writing an edge over others. Try it. But don't be too contrived. I may yet do it in this piece. We'll see.
10. HAVE A GO, KEEP GOING
Malcolm Gladwell has often mentioned how expertise is honed through 10,000 hours of practice. Yes, this does sound daunting. But wait a second, you've been writing for most of your life. Therefore, your ability to soar is more a matter of tweaks rather than learning a new skill. You're familiar with the alphabet. You know how words can be spun into sentences. You've been doing it for years. So it's fair to say there's nothing to stop you scribing like a champion.
So, if you write to the ideas set out above, your messages will be more effective. Your signal will cut through the noise. Your audience will respond. They will convert your words into actions and success will follow. It is inevitable. It is unstoppable. This is what words can do. You have this power. Use it to create magic. It's the new first rule.
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