The Secret to Writing Memorable Sales Copy
Want to know the secret to creating MEMORABLE promotional copy?
Sales copy that actually stays with your customers long after
they've finished reading it?
Then master the art of using words to create pictures in your
customers' heads.
If you can describe your products or services in such a way that
it forms images in your customers' heads, well, then you've just
created something that will last long after the marketing is
over.
Why else do novels stay with us for so long? Those "pictures" we
see draw us into the world of the novel, and those pictures stay
with us long after we've closed the book. If you can create that
kind of staying power with your marketing materials, think about
how much ahead of your competition you'll be.
So, how do you get started? Below are three tips. (Note how all
three tips have the word "specific" in common. Be specific
whenever you can. We don't think in generalities, we think in
details. The more specific you are, the stronger the pictures.)
1. Use specific nouns. Quick -- what springs to mind when I say
the word "bird"? Now erase that image. What pops into your head
when I say "cardinal"?
When I said bird, you could have pictured any number of bird
species or maybe even some sort of generic bird (something brown
with wings and feathers). When I said cardinal, I bet you saw a
bright red bird with that distinctive triangle head.
See the difference? Cardinal is specific and it brings a
specific picture to mind. Bird is generic, and it brings a
generic picture to mind.
Whenever possible, use the most specific noun you can. (However,
if the most specific noun is something most people wouldn't
know, say some rare exotic insect only found in the Amazon
jungle, then make sure you describe it as well.)
2. Use specific verbs. Verbs breathe life into your copy.
They're the difference between words lying flat and comatose on
the page or jumping up and dancing a jig.
Verbs bring movement to your copy. They tell your readers if
someone is walking, jogging, sauntering, skipping or crawling.
Or maybe that someone is exhausted and has decided to lie down
for a bit.
Now, when I say verbs, what I'm NOT talking about are "to be"
verbs -- am, is, are, was, were, etc. Those verbs don't paint a
picture. Not like hug, skate, sail, run, fall, spin, flip, etc.
See the difference?
While "to be" verbs are necessary, the idea is to use them as
little as possible. In fact, I have a fiction-writing friend who
has a "was/were" rule. Only three "wases/weres" per page.
Yep, you heard me right. Per page.
Yes, it can be done. I didn't think I could do it either in my
novels. And let me tell you, when you start pruning those
"wases/weres" out of your prose, it's amazing how strong your
writing becomes.
3. Describe specific situations. Compare:
"Our bookkeeping service is the best in the area. We can take
care of all your bookkeeping needs, from invoices to paying
bills to reconciling your bank statements."
To this:
"Do your invoices go out late because you can't stand the idea
of sitting down to do them? Does your cash flow suffer droughts
each month because no checks arrive in the mail (because your
invoices went out late)? How much hair have you pulled out over
the years because of accounting mistakes? Never fear, those days
are over when you hire us to do your bookkeeping."
The first example is generic (take care of bookkeeping needs).
The second example shows you HOW the business does it. (In
fiction we call it "show, don't tell." Good advice, even for
copywriters.) You can actually "feel" those business problems --
late invoices, cash flow droughts, loss of hair. It's the
difference between something cold and impersonal that really has
nothing to do with you and something that wakes you up with a
spark of recognition ("Hey, that's me. I need that.")
Creativity Exercises -- See what others are doing
Pick a piece of copy. Something with meat -- at least 300 words
or so. No, it doesn't have to be something you wrote either. In
fact, this exercise might be easier if it isn't yours.
Now analyze it. Look at the nouns. Are they specific? Or are
they a bit too generic? What about the verbs? Could they be
stronger? And does it describe a specific situation, something
that you can actually feel and touch?
Try this with a variety of writings -- novels, nonfiction books,
newspaper articles, Web sites, sales letters, etc. Look at both
"good" and "bad" examples. (Although good and bad are somewhat
subjective, follow your gut.) See what trends you discover.
By analyzing what others are doing, you're better able to see
the strengths and weaknesses in your own writing.