Five Keys To Leaner And Meaner Copywriting
Grab 'em and don't lose 'em. Every marketer knows that
one. Human beings have very short attention spans, so you can't
afford to waste your prospect's time - give them the good stuff
and then let them go as soon as you can. Writing effective
marketing material is all about writing crisply with just a
handful of words.
Clean writing isn't an accident, but is instead the result of
the careful application of certain principles and tools. Try
these five techniques for crafting leaner, meaner, more
effective business copy:
Avoid modifiers. Modifiers change the meaning of other
words; the most common of these are adverbs and adjectives
(words that describe verbs and nouns, respectively). They're
used when the writer feels that the noun or verb needs a little
something extra: "the shining sun", "run quickly", etc. Get rid
of as many modifiers as you can and choose nouns and verbs that
stand on their own.
No lazy words. Every word should be doing real work,
conveying necessary information and supporting other parts of
the piece. Think of your sentences as support beams and rafters
in a building, and analyze the piece word-by-word: are there any
nails sticking out of boards? Anything that's there purely for
show? Anything that
doesn't strengthen your writing weakens it. Strip your copy
down to its most essential parts, and throw out the words that
are sleeping on the job.
Reduce it to a single sentence. Do you really know what
you want to say? You might be surprised - try phrasing you
r entire piece into one simple sentence. Can you do it, or
are you insisting that your message is too in-depth? Taking your
point down to a single statement can give your copy new focus
and clarity.
One thought per sentence. Sentences and paragraphs are
different things. Avoid long, complex sentences built up of
multiple thoughts. Keep your sentences to one thought each, keep
them short and simple, and use your paragraphs for the complex
ideas.
When in doubt, cut it out. Every writer has written the
perfect sentence that just doesn't play along well with others.
Hemingway was right - kill your darlings. If you can't figure
out how to ease that bit of poetry in with the rest of your
marketing piece, cut it completely and don't look back. Be
merciless. You'll be surprised how often that's the best
solution.