Uncovered! 25 Secret Copywriting Tips

1. Create an attention-grabbing headline. One of the biggest challenges that any print advertiser faces is getting people to read their ad – let alone for the ad to produce a result. So the main purpose of the headline is to get your reader’s attention. There are no rules – except what works.
2. If you don’t know your audience, find out about them. Then visualise someone you already know who fits the target audience and write as if you are writing to them.
3. Get to the point. Quickly. An awful lot of copy waffles on before talking about anything of any relevance.
4. Use short sentences. The easiest sentence to read is eight words. The average length for easy reading is 16 words. Any sentence longer than 32 words should be cut down – ruthlessly.
5. And use short paragraphs. Make sure each paragraph contains only one thought.
6. Use simple words that everyone understands, then everyone will understand. Good copy is sometimes criticised for having a child-like quality. This is deliberate; if a simple person can understand it, everyone can understand it.
7. Use buckets and chains to link paragraphs. e.g. On the other hand. . ., But there is something else. . ., That is just one example, but. . ., In addition. . ., And this is how it works.
8. Turn negatives into positives. E.g. instead of ‘if your pain doesn’t ease, we’ll refund your money” say “You’ll be pain free or we’ll refund your money”.
9. DO NOT USE CAPITAL LETTERS TO HIGHLIGHT YOUR IMPORTANT THOUGHTS. CAPITAL LETTERS ARE MUCH HARDER TO READ BECAUSE READERS RECOGNISE WORD SHAPES NOT INDIVIDUAL LETTERS.
10. Don’t use three words when one will do. “Now” is better than “At this point in time”.
11. Avoid humour. . .unless you are a very good writer (indeed).
12. Give authority. E.g. instead of “widely used by major corporations” say, “adopted by Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney”.
13. State the facts. Often you can increase the power of your copy by removing comparative and superlative adjectives.
14. Relate your story to your reader. E.g. Instead of “Many people must have wondered” say, “I am sure you have wondered”.
15. Focus on the benefits the customer will get. His only concern is ‘What’s in it for me?”
16. Count the number of times you use the word “you”. The more I talk about “you” the more interested you are in what I am selling. Ideally “you” should occur two to three times more frequently than “we” or “I”.
17. Repeat if necessary. Your audience will not mind you saying the same thing several times in a different way.
18. Do not overclaim. If you overinflate even one claim you destroy your credibility.
19. Speak the reader’s language. The language you use when you write to a school teacher is going to be different to how you write to a builder.
20. Mind your Ps and Qs. Be polite. If you want something say please. E.g “to take advantage of this special offer, please call our customer service team on . . .”.
21. Space your benefits through the letter. Don’t bunch them up.
22. Use a penalty for not acting now. E.g “This offier applies only to the first 100 products we sell…”
23. Use a PS. Use it to make a big, powerful point or use it to sum up the sales argument in a compelling way.
24. Review your copy. Do it over and over. Six or seven times or more.
25. Ask Jenny Hopkins to write your copy for you. She is generally worth the meagre investment. It really is a lot easier to hire a good copywriter. Please send her an email at Muddy Puddle Media.