5 Copywriting tips you should know!

Copywriting is the blood of advertising; it’s what you should be doing everyday regardless of your perceived skill. Here are top five tips that you’ll probably already know, but a little recap never hurts, does it... 

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” David Olgivy

Have you ever considered your headline as this important? It’s essentially your shop window; it encapsulates your entire offer and qualifies the reader – so it’s kind of a big deal. Next time you write a copy, leave your headline until the end. This will give you time to mull over the real essence of the copy theme and main benefits which you can hopefully work into your killer headline.

It’s easy to forget this but we write for an audience. One piece of excellent copywriting advice is to create personas. This doesn’t mean turning synchronic, it means simply characterising your target audience by giving them a name, background, skill set and even a picture. Once you’ve brought your persona to life, print them out and use them as a strong visual reminder of exactly who you are writing to.

Writing copy should be like talking; relaxed, fluid and informative. Once you’ve written something, read it out aloud to someone. Call up a family member or friend and just start the conversation based on your copy – does it work, does it flow? If you don’t feel like you’re talking to them then it’s not working! Here are some quick steps that can help...

Try using ‘you’, ‘I’ or ‘we’ to build a more personal connection. Cut out unnecessary words and write simple, short and straightforward sentences. Use your reader’s words to connect and be understood. Always refer back to your persona – would they understand this?

Don’t be too eager to submit your copy without some cooling off time. Some of the best edits have come from going away and re-reading your copy. There isn’t really a perfect amount of time for incubation to work, just try it out a few times and see what works the best for you – it’s really surprising how much can change from a few hours respite. 

When you finish writing your masterpiece, ask yourself – so what now? Is it clear what you want the reader to do? No, well that’s probably because you haven’t actually asked them to do anything. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing, just follow it up with a simple action. And one last thing, people like to know what’s in it for them, so don’t be afraid to shout that from the rooftops!