What makes great copy for clients?
Clicking and Reading are different things.
Chartbeat research shows that 55% of all page views get less than 15 seconds attention. Which means that the hooks for readers have to be good. Otherwise, they won’t be read.
Here are my seven copywriter tips for making words that stand out and are sticky, words that capture people’s attention:
- Use powerful language.
This is an absolute must. Use language that plays into the reader’s emotions. It’s not easy but it can be done. The best example of that was Winston Churchill. Churchill is best remembered as the British prime minister whose speeches rallied a nation under a relentless Nazi onslaught in World War II. But few people know that he won the Nobel Prize in Literature — in part for his mastery of speechmaking. His language was filled inspiring words. The words drove emotion, provoking excitement and action. So can we do it with a client’s products? Sure, it’s a case of finding words that trigger emotions and get people to sit up and take notice. Words like captivate, challenge, genius, discover, suddenly, startling, shocking etc. Use your imagination. Or read Winston Churchill’s speeches. - Be concise.
Say more with less. People don’t have long attention spans. And they certainly don’t want to be confronted with a tidal wave of words when for something that can be summed up simply. Use shorter words and sentences. Write like Hemingway: Use short sentences, Use short first paragraphs. Use muscular, forceful English. As Friedrich Nietzsche said: It is my ambition to say in 10 sentences what others say in a whole book. - Use everyday language.
Copywriting is not about winning literacy awards. Plain language wins over readers every time. Brands like Starbucks do it all the time. Write with a down-to-earth style. Read it to yourself and test it on others. - Tell a story.
Everyone loves a story. Good copy tells the story of how the client’s product solves problems. Give examples. Story telling is the way to create emotional connections with your readers. - Make the copy visually appealing.
One of the rules of successful copywriting developed by advertising giant Leo Burnett was to make the copy inviting to look at. You can do this using several tools.
- Use a good typefont that’s easy on the eyes and big enough to read
- Use short paragraphs
- Use variety in the fonts, e.g. bold, italis, underlined
- Use bulleted or numbered lists
- Use indented paragraphs or quotes
- Lots of headings and subheadings
- Use visual cues, i.e. arrows pointing at the form button
- Use thought leadership.
Thought leadership is the most powerful and underrated marketing strategy. People have to know, like and trust someone before they do business with them. Thought leadership is the fastest way to tick all of those boxes. When you can demonstrate superior thought leadership, by positioning yourself as an authority, if you do it in a way that’s congruent with your brand, then you get the like factor built in because people connect with you at an emotional level.” Does one have to be contentious? It helps to have a compelling viewpoint, something a little left of centre, a unique viewpoint that will get attention and will differentiate the reseller around their brand and values. They should provide some sort of commentary around the industry and what they’re doing to fix it. Russell Brand, who became the hero to – and the voice of – the disengaged and the disenfranchised and who speaks the language of his target audience is the perfect model for resellers marketing themselves with thought leadership. Other examples could include Malcolm Gladwell, Arianna Huffington, Elon Musk, Joe Regan and Brene Brown. - Use great headlines.
Your headline is the first thing people see in Google. A good headline can make a big difference in your Click-Through-Rate and engagement across your site. You can write the best copy but it’s useless unless people are engaged enough by the headline to click. There are several ways to make good headlines.
- Use special characters like brackets, hyphens, and parentheses. These will catch online searchers’ eyes and lead to more clicks.
- Use odd numbers
- Use questions. These generate curiosity and deliver SEO value. You can build headlines around short questions. It lets people know that you know what they are looking for. They are more likely to click and read
- Use key words
If you need a copywriter, you can email me at leon@leongettler.com or phone me at 0411 745 193
