Avoid The Big Advertising MistakesWritten by Robert Warren
Is your advertising copy getting results you want? If not, look at your current marketing to see if you're making one of major copywriting mistakes:Selling features instead of benefits. Telling your customer that your "fabulous new ALF-400 comes complete with AeroScan and BandControl technologies!" doesn't actually tell them anything. Will your services save your customers money or help them sleep better at night? If so, tell them. People buy solutions to problems and means to ends. Sell benefits and watch your profits climb. Not educating reader. Most people are reasonably intelligent and sincerely want to learn about world around them. Does your copy contain solid information, or is it mostly emotional appeal and little substance? Ease back fireworks and give reader something real to chew on. Being boring. Easing back fireworks doesn't mean getting rid of them completely. Use just enough drama and emotional appeal to keep your reader interested. This is where a solid understanding of your customers fits in - what are their hopes and fears? Where do your services fit between them?
| | Five Keys To Leaner And Meaner CopywritingWritten by Robert Warren
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 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 result of careful application of certain principles and tools. Try these five techniques for crafting leaner, meaner, more effective business copy: Avoid modifiers. Modifiers change meaning of other words; most common of these are adverbs and adjectives (words that describe verbs and nouns, respectively). They're used when writer feels that 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 piece. Think of your sentences as support beams and rafters in a building, and analyze 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 words that are sleeping on job.
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