Small business marketing can be done in many ways, in many mediums. But all marketing is based upon one common denominator: the communication of a message. And the message is predominantly communicated via language, spoken and written. Written language reigns supreme, and in the vernacular of marketing junkies, it’s called ad copy.
Ad copy is the writing of your message to sell your product. It is writing to convince and influence, and is a major industry worldwide and considered to be the single most important part of advertising.
Top copywriters are a rare breed, and they get paid top dollar to do what they do. A single letter or web copy written to sell a product can cost a company $20,000 or more, plus a percentage of royalties.
Yep, that’s right, for a single letter or web copy page.
You may wonder how anyone could justify an expense of that magnitude for a few words. Do a little research and you will learn a finely executed copy ad can generate millions in sales, and companies who can afford it consider the fee a small price to pay for such a substantial return. And this is my point: if companies are willing to pay so much for writing to promote their products, doesn’t it speak for how important the copy is to our marketing?
The answer is a resounding YES. Yes, it is extremely important. Of all the effort you put into marketing, the most should go into the writing. A well executed ad will outsell a poorly executed one every time, and many times over. Now I understand everyone is not a writer; they may be able to build a bridge over the ocean but couldn’t write a shopping list if they had to. That’s okay. Here I intend to discuss the main points of copywriting for those who feel they have a decent chance of producing some good copy to market their products or services.
So, how to produce good copy? I’ll point out of the few main things to keep in mind. But please don’t look at this as a full treatise of the aspects of quality copywriting. There are courses available for that. But for the purposes of writing well enough to get some attention to your ads, whether it’s descriptions on your website or fliers placed on a bulletin board, these are the essentials:
1. Write dynamically in the active voice.
This means writing in engaging and moving present tense, using graphic descriptions and spelling out the color and feel and effect of every aspect of what your are describing. Consider this real estate ad:
– “Nice, 3 bed 2 bath home. 1704 square feet. Upgraded and clean with new carpet and other flooring. Good neighborhood, good schools. A great price for this home. A real charmer.”
And now this one…
– “Drive a treelined avenue among classy homes to a three bed, two bath spacious and open ranch style house, an elegant remodel from hardwood floor to vaulted ceiling. The 1704 sq ft floor plan provides room for every desire and entertainment. A top rated, highly desirable elementary and middle school within a five minute joy walk. Look at this fantastic price!”
See any difference in these two ads? I hope you do. The first is plain jane, generic, emotionless, and boring. The second… well, you should be able to “see” the home and neighborhood a bit and that is what you want a reader to do: SEE THE PICTURE THE WORDS CREATE.
If your writing generates images in the mind of your reader, you are succeeding. People may easily forget a succession of letters, but they almost never forget a series of images created in their mind.
2. Write in good English.
This means writing with accurate spelling, punctuation, and grammar. For an add to say wunderful things bout a produckt but missspel werds and uses bad grammur is reelly lame.
Really lame. It tells an intelligent reader one of two things: you had trouble getting through high school or you just don’t care enough to make things right. Either way, the buyers, sellers, and other business people you deal with won’t appreciate these assumed traits if you are going to be handling their money or their goods.
You don’t need to be Shakespeare to put together a decent ad but you do need to be accurate. If writing isn’t your cup of tea that’s okay because finding a proofreader to edit your writing is pretty simple. Get the services of someone who has excellent writing skills and have them clean it up. Who knows, they may have some excellent ideas to better your ad anyway.
3. Use accents and attention-getting devices to your advantage.
EVER HEARD A KID WHO TALKS TOO LOUD? HE ALWAYS YELLS NO MATTER WHAT HE SAYS… and doesn’t let up. He doesn’t yell when he needs attention, he just yells because that is the way he talks. Well, if you have spent much time around a kid like that you probably discovered that after a while it doesn’t sound like yelling anymore; its just his voice. If another kid, however, spoke at the same volume you would consider it yelling and might take notice. But for the noisy kid, it is simply his manner so you don’t pay attention. Or even try not to.
In writing ads, you will find a similar concept. Some people like to use boldface type or all capitals lettering to create attention, ad pizzazz to their ad. However, if they do it all the time it stops having the desired affect. In other words, if you yell every time you open your mouth, eventually everyone around becomes numb to the high volume and forgets you are yelling. Even so, if you write in all caps from beginning to end or you use boldface type constantly or any other device to accentuate your message all the way through, you will destroy the effect intended. No one will pay attention.
Care must be taken to add effects only where most needed, as in a special benefit, to make it stand out from the rest of the ad. You might even use all caps or boldface or even color type for an entire sentence, if that sentence is stating something crucial to your ad. But don’t overdo it. Use these devices with reservation, and they will put some punch in your message.