In my last post, I unleashed my inner rebel and gave you permission to break 5 of the big rules your English teachers taught you. Why? Because they’re probably holding back your efforts to write winning sales and marketing copy.
As you recall, the goal of sales copy is to get your readers to effortlessly consume the information you are sharing and then take action! They shouldn’t be thinking about how nice your copy sounds or how well the words flow together. The only thought on their minds should be, “Hey... I really need that!”
This time we’ll take a look at 5 more ways you can break the rules and write better copy.
6. Keep the tone conversational
Try to write like you would speak. In most cases, this means tossing formalities out the window. You don’t want to come across as uptight and frigid because this usually results in long, convoluted sentences that are hard to read. If your readers have to stop to figure out what a sentence means, they may very well stop reading altogether.
7. Write to “you”
Can you imagine your grades if you had written your essays directly to your English teacher? They wouldn’t be good because we are taught to write in the third person (“they,” “them,” etc).
But your sales copy is going to be read by an actual person, not a company. You want to make sure that this person knows you are speaking to her specifically, even though you both know the same message is being read by many other people, too.
So when it’s appropriate, acknowledge that person by writing in the second-person and using “you” and “your” -- just as you would if you were talking to her.
8. Use subheads
Strategically placing subheads throughout your copy serves two big purposes. First, it helps to break apart the copy into easily digestible chunks, especially in long sales letters and content-rich web sites. This makes it easier to read and helps to move the eyes down the page.
Second, if you’re subheads are well-written, timecrunched readers should be able to scan your sales copy, read only the subheads, and still have a solid idea of what you’re trying to get across. This acts as a preview and helps them decide whether to invest more time into your message. If you don’t give them this option, chances are much higher your message will end up in the trash before it is ever read.
9. Bold the important points
This would never fly with an English teacher, but it can make a huge difference in your sales copy. Just like with subheads, bolding your key points can help people get the big ideas even if they are just scanning your copy.
And if they are reading it more closely, the bold elements can help drive an important point home and make it really stand out. Just be really selective about what you bold and how often you do it. Too much bold copy can scream “hype!” and push readers away.
10. Don’t show off your vocabulary
Remember how your English teachers wanted you to use all those big new vocabulary words in your essays? That was fine for class, but it can work against you in your copy. Even if you know a bunch of large and sophisticated words and your vocabulary would make the greatest academic green with envy, keep it to yourself when you’re writing copy.
Remember, the key to successful copy is to keep the flow going. And nothing grinds the flow to a complete halt like having to reach for the dictionary.
(c) 2006 by R. Cory Fossum. All rights reserved.
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