| |
| |
|
Copywriting Information |
|
|
|
Cleaning Up Your Copy
When you are beginning to write, you gather as much data as you can. You continually add allied thoughts. . You use your right brain, the creative side. So when you have an idea and your mind says, "not relevant to my core subject," you ignore the doubt. You don't cross anything out. You behave as magpie. To polish your copy, you do the opposite.Here's how: shut the door and banish distractions. Read your copy v e r y s l o w l y and concentrate. Better still, read the copy out loud s l o w l y. If reading out loud is impractical say the words to yourself soundlessly. The instant you sense "this shouldn't be here," cross it out.Trust your first judgement. Trust your first judgement. What "shouldn't be here?". Any material that is superfluous, because you've said it before in a different way. Or because it is not central to your main argument. You should be removing words as well as ideas. You want to communicate in as few words as possible. Shorter is better. Shorter is richer. Shorter is more bang for your reader's buck. Short sentences are easy to read and understand. If you are fond of a certain sentence, but you know deep down it is not relevant here's a tip to help you excise. Create a heading at the end of your draft called "overmatter." Whenever you are not sure whether to cut or leave a sentence, cut and paste it into overmatter. Later delete all the overmatter. Sometimes doing it in two steps is easier than one fell swoop. As novices we love a certain word, phrase or musicality. Don't be distracted by that. Think only of your reader and the shortest route to communicating your idea. My mentor, Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones, says,"when you go over your work, become a Samurai, a great warrior with courage to cut anything out....be willing not to be sentimental about your writing when you reread it. Look at it with a clear, piercing mind." "Clear writers have accepted the grim reality," says John Trimble that nine-tenths of all writing is rewriting...perhaps most important of all, they are sticklers for continuity. They link their sentences and paragraphs as meticulously as if they might face criminal charges for negligence." Do you have a robust marketing plan? How persuasive is your website, brochure copy or direct mail? To win more business,call Neroli Lacey NOW. About The Author I'm Neroli Lacey of Beyond Communications Inc. in Minneapolis, MN. I've been helping executives transform their businesses and their lives with outstanding marketing materials since 1995. VISA, 3M and Perot Systems are some of my bigger clients. I have worked with clients in Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, Austin, Minneapolis, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin and Delhi. I used to be one of the top journalists in Britain writing for The Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, The Evening Standard, New Statesman, Vogue and Tatler. Before newspapers I was an investment banker. I grew up in London, England, studying Latin with Greek at Bristol University. Please visit my website: www.beyondcommunications.com Or contact me at: neroli@beyondcommunications.com 612-215-3826
MORE RESOURCES:
Copywriting - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Killer Ad Copy Not everyone is a writer. Good copy writing is a science and can be learned over time. A Quick Free n Easy Content Writing Course I do not pretend that a one-stop shop solution to content writing exists, but my experience has taught me, that working toward a 100% effective writing formula isn't a complete waste of time.At my firm (a content writing business), we find it particularly useful to go through a number of steps before we put pen to paper. Subtle Emotion - The Key To Copy That Works Say the word "emotion" to a man, and he'll immediately jump out of his seat and run from the room! Utter the word "emotion" to a woman, and she begins to conjure up thoughts of romantic, long talks centered around feelings. However, speak the word "emotion" to a copywriter and s/he should see dollar signs. Super Verbs Really Move Your Copy Run or hustle? Eat or devour? Move or scurry? You can boost the power of your copy by boosting the quality of verbs you use. Verbs show action, and the way you describe that action can have a dramatic bearing on your readers. 10 Tips for Writing Web Copy One of the most important aspects of a website today is the webcopy - sometimes called the sales letter.In days gone bye, banners and graphics were all important but now it's the words that do the selling. Why You Should Write To Inform And Not To Sell Advertising is key! Unfortunately most people waste their money on advertising unless they can play by the numbers. Playing by the numbers is simply spending enough money on advertising and saturating the market so much, that percentage wise, enough people will want to see what you have to offer. Calls-To-Action: Making Them Fit Makes All the Difference It was going so well, so what happened? Many copywriters get off to a wonderful start: The headline is compelling, the body copy is benefit-filled, but then comes the call-to-action and the whole thing falls apart. Why? It could be a dozen different reasons, but one of the most common I've seen is that the call-to-action doesn't fit the target audience. Copywriting Makeover: Making An Emotional Connection - Part 1 of 2 One statistic shows that over 80% of all buying decisions are emotional. That means your copywriting should be, too. Writing Benefit-Driven Web Copy - 4 Steps to More Sales You've identified the benefits you offer your customers, but how do you turn a list of benefits into engaging web copy which converts visitors into customers?Recently I wrote an article explaining how to identify the benefits you offer your customers (http://www.divinewrite. Step One for Copywriters: Understand WHAT to Say Find a passage of poorly written copy, and chances are you will have found a copywriter who never figured out what it was that he or she was trying to say. Whenever I have trouble with some copy, I stop, sit back and then write at the very top of the page. Website Promotion: 10 Secret Motivational Triggers That Make People Buy Unless you know the secret motivational secrets that make people buy, your efforts in website promotion may not be fruitful.Here are some website promotion triggers to help you:1. The Number One Copywriting Technique That Makes Your Prospects Read Every Word You Write How does this sound?Today, I'm going to show you how to get a fifteen page sales letter read from beginning to end and keep your prospect magnetized to *every* paragraph along the way. Impossible?The real magic behind these magnetic sales letters is not some mystical skill or secret formula but rather a simple copywriting concept that has been around longer than most of us have been alive. A Little-Known Secret To Writing Sales Copy, For Serious Copywriters Only! Have you ever wondered how your copy sounds to your prospects when they're reading it?If you have, here's a little-known trick to making your copy sound as clear as a bell, and feel as comforting as a warm fireplace in the winter.The very best way to figure out how your copy sounds to your prospects, is NOT to read it, but to read it out loud. 3 Steps to Great Copy Nothing irritates me more than being told that there are '3 Secrets' to great copy. Worst still are those marketing promises that say something like, "3 Secrets that the copy gurus don't want you to know". Headline Writing Can Lead To Fortunes: Here Are The Basics Of Writing Headlines Headlines attract attention. Headlines generate interest. Kick-Starting Body Copy Several correspondents to our newsletter, AdBriefing, say that they are having trouble writing body copy for ads. Their problem seems to be the age-old one of how to kick things off - how to make a start. Working With a Freelance Editor If you are interested in creating information products, you will very likely deal with editors throughout your career. You may need someone to edit a book, review a special report, or tighten up a magazine article. Your Article Headlines will Make or Break Your Business Most people with an online presence will have to regularly deal with the issue of coming up with an appropriate headline. The problem is that most people do not take it seriously enough. Copywriting for the Web: Do You Have What It Takes? In the world of web copywriters, many will try, but few will succeed. What category will you be classified as? Hopeless failure, or smashing success?Well, that's a foolish question, right? You want to be successful, of course! You know that you can razzle-dazzle 'em with your knock-'em-out, drag-'em-down copywriting skills. How To Get Started With A Career In Copywriting Careers in copywriting are booming. Could it be that the new and ever growing market on the Internet has helped to fuel this demand? You can bet your sweet keyword that it has! With so many businesses looking to the internet for their freelance copywriters the demand for employees keeps growing.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
