Lecture 8.pdf
- 1. LECTURE 8 HOW TO CRAFT COMPELLING COPY By Ramsha Jawed
- 2. What is copywriting Copywriting is the art and science of writing to promote a product, a business, a person or an idea. And carefully selecting, editing, weaving and constructing those words in a way that they’ll persuade the reader into taking a specific and measurable action. As said by Bruce Bendinger, in his book “The Copy Workshop Workbook”, Bruce shares this remarkable gem… "Copywriting is a job. A skilled craft Verbal carpentry Words on paper Scripts to time And one moe thing it's... Salesmanship" As you can see, the term “salesmanship” is not only referring to the final sale of the product. The end goal of copywriting is not always to sell the product in a single blow, but to persuade the reader into taking a specific action. And this “action” can be subscribing to a newsletter, calling the phone number on screen, clicking a link, sending an e-mail to their friends, etc. Any of those actions will be used, in turn, to advance the sale further.
- 3. Essentials of Copywriting 1. SELL BENEFITS, NOT FEATURES “Consumers do not buy products. They buy product benefits.”-David Ogilvy Have you ever heard the phrase, “Sell a good night’s sleep, not the mattress”? Think about all of the mattress commercials and advertisements you’ve seen before. Do they lead with coil count or insulation padding details? Nah. They sell you on how comfortable the mattress is, how well you’ll sleep on it, and how much more productive and enjoyable your days will be when you are well-rested. They want you to positively frame their product, envision yourself using it, and negate any potential concerns you may have. Similarly, you can use this formula in your own copy: Frame your product as the solution Paint the picture of how your customer will use your productUse plausible guarantees to bolster the appeal of your product, if possible (money back, replacement)
- 4. 2. WRITE PLAINLY “Copy is a direct conversation with the consumer.”-Shirley Polykoff If you don’t speak in the language that your customer relates to, you’ll lose them way before your irresistible offer. Above everything, you want your copy to sound almost like an internal dialogue. It should mimic what a person would say internally when convincing themselves to buy your product or service.For example, you may want your customer to say something like, Hey, this phone will allow me to take HD video and still fit in my pocket. It’ll be great when I don’t want to carry my bulky DSLR.If that’s what you want to convey, make it plain. Don’t use literary acrobatics when you could just as easily arrange a sentence to say, Leave the bulky DSLR at home. Record HD video with a phone that can fit in your pocket.
- 5. 3. FOCUS ON THE HEADLINE “On the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy.”-David Ogilvy The headline is the most important part of your copy. It’s how you capture their attention in the first place. Here are a few tried and true formulas for creating a headline that draws a crowd:Use numbers because readers love lists. (7 Ways to Create an Effective Facebook Ad Campaign) Be controversial. (Better than what the competition is offering) Appeal to their need to be in the know/ fear of missing out. (Blogging 101: Everything You Need to Start a Blog) Appeal to their sense of logic and reason. (10 Reasons You Should be a Travelzoo Member) Make them curious about your product, service, or topic. (Why startups fail, according to their founders) Use trigger words that create an emotional response in your reader’s mind. (Amazing, Because, Create, Discover, Easy, Free, Guarantee…)
- 6. 4. MAKE IT RELEVANT “Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.”-Howard Gossage The ads you notice are those that jump out at you because of a catchy headline or visual appeal, but the only ones you continue read are highly relevant to your predicament.Make sure that you understand your target audience and create an ad that answers what they are struggling with.It’s a good idea to write down exactly who you want to reach. Create a persona. Make a name, assign an age, gender, and location. Understand why they buy and what turns them away from closing the deal. Then, direct your ad copy to that one persona. Speak directly to them, and by being specific, you’ll increase your ability to reach more people.
- 7. 5. COMMIT TO RESEARCH “I spend a long time studying the precedents. I look at every advertisement which has appeared for competing products during the past 20 years.”-David Ogilvy As in the quote above, father of advertising, David Ogilvy shared that he spent a great deal of time researching the competitors. Not only did he find out what they sold, but also how they sold, and how the market responding to them.Competitor research is important, but you also have to be extremely familiar with your own product or service. Rolls Royce was one of the first major accounts Ogilvy won when his agency was in its early years. In his book, he talks about spending a full three weeks reading about the car to come up with one simple headline: “At sixty miles an hour, the loudest noise comes from the electric clock.” This might not seem like the type of detail that would take you three weeks to find, but sometimes you need to give your brain time to let the information soak in. The research step is crucial in creating a copy that convinces. You have to know who’s competing for the same customer’s attention and what they’re saying. Then you have to determine how to do it better by playing up the benefits of your own offering.
- 8. 6. CLARIFY THE OBVIOUS “Sometimes the most important job advertising can do, is to clarify the obvious.”-Jay Chiat Your audience needs to recognize your product or service as the long-awaited solution to their problem. Are you positioning yourself in that way, or are you passively sharing information in hopes that they’ll connect the dots? Let me be clear– they won’t.You have to be clear with your copy. If you’re selling yourself as a social media marketer, you can’t simply say, “If you need a social media marketer, I’m your guy (or gal).” You want to actively show your potential clients why they should choose your services (for example, Choose me because I have five years’ worth of experience in improving social media awareness for big brands, like…).
- 9. THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COPYWRITING Direct Mail Email Billboards Press Releases Social Media TV Radio THE DIFFERENT STYLES OF COPYWRITING SEO (Search engine optimization) - Key words enabling your product to have a much longer shelf life Creative - headlines, mottos, scripts, slogans, and jingles, scripts Sales- Product description, Technical - User guides, instruction manuals, release notes, and more
- 10. Key components of an Ad HEADER The header, also known as the title, attracts attention to the ad and lets the reader know what he will find out in the copy. The header should communicate a key benefit described in the ad, such as a discount sale or a limited-time offer. It may also identify a problem a reader might have and propose a solution to the problem.
- 11. BODY COPY The body elaborates on the concept of the title, and should build interest in the product or service. Print ad copy should be well organized. Use bullet points or subheaders when appropriate to make the information easily understandable for the reader.
- 12. CALL TO ACTION A call to action typically follows the ad copy. As the name suggests, a call to action leads the reader to take a specific action, such as visiting the store or contacting the store for more information. Because readers can quickly forget the body copy, the call to action needs to create a sense of urgency. Phrases like "call today" and "this offer expires ..." with a date direct the reader to do something now.
- 13. CONTACT INFORMATION Contact information tells the viewer how to get in touch with the business to take advantage of the offer. Include as much information as appropriate to make it easy for the reader to find the business. This section usually includes the company name, address, telephone number and website address.
- 14. KEY ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL TV COMMERCIAL EMOTION DEPICTION OF STRONG EMOTIONS RELATES TO OUR MINDS MORE THAN WORDS OR IMAGES. TO MAKE PEOPLE LIKE THE COMMERCIAL AND ENJOY WATCHING IT, ADVERTISERS MUST IDENTIFY THE EMOTIONS THEY WANT THE CONSUMERS TO FEEL. THIS HOWEVER NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED DURING PLANNING AND CONCEPTUAL PHASE AND NOT JUST USED AS FILLER LATER.THE EMOTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH AN AD DEPEND LARGELY ON THE BRAND OR PRODUCT. FOR A LOCAL MECHANIC, THE EMOTION OF TRUST WOULD WORK BEST. LIKEWISE, THE EMOTION OF CELEBRATION AND JOY MAY WORK FOR ANY PRODUCT LINKED WITH FAMILY BONDING. INFORMATION UNFORTUNATELY, ADVERTISERS ONLY HAVE ABOUT 30 SEC TO GIVE MAXIMUM INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR PRODUCT. THE TRICKY PART IS KNOWING WHAT TO SAY, AND WHAT NOT TO. THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE ADVERTISERS MAKE IS TO TRY TO SAY TOO MUCH THAT OFTEN GOES TO WASTE. AT THE PLANNING STAGE, NARROW DOWN TO MAXIMUM TWO STRONG POINTS YOU PREFER TO HARP ON ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT. IT COULD BE CONVENIENCE, LOW COST, LUXURY OR EXCLUSIVITY. THINK WHY SHOULD ANYONE BUY YOUR PRODUCT? THE CALL TO ACTION THE ADVERTISEMENT MUST HAVE AN OBJECTIVE TO DRIVE THE VIEWER TO ACTION. HOWEVER, MANY EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIALS DO NOT EVER ASK THE VIEWER TO DO ANYTHING. THAT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE USING AN IMPLIED CALL TO ACTION, WHICH IS TYPICALLY TIED TO THE EMOTIONS THEY WANT YOU TO FEEL.DRINK A COLD DRINK AND FEEL REFRESHED IS AN IMPLIED CALL TO ACTION. THE CALL TO ACT COULD BE SUBTLE OR HARD HITTING BUT IT SHOULD EITHER TELL THE VIEWER TO BUY OR GET THEM TO WANT TO BUY.