Aligned Marketing Blog

Copywriting is the use of words to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. Although the word copy may be applied to any content intended for printing (as in the body of a newspaper article or book), the term copywriter is generally limited to such promotional situations, regardless of media (as advertisements for print, television, radio or other media). The author of newspaper or magazine copy, for example, is generally called a reporter or writer or a copywriter.

I define copywriting more simply: It’s the act of using words to sell or influence. My expanded definition is still more concise than the Wikipedia version: It’s written persuasion created to make your target audience act in a certain way, such as click, read, buy, or register.

Storytelling is a great copywriting tactic. Stories are entertaining and engage the reader in a more subtle way than the triple-decibel BUY THIS! blast-messages we get hit with everyday.

Long before human beings learned to read and write we used storytelling to transfer knowledge and influence one another. A million years of storytelling has altered our genetic code. It’s now in our DNA to listen to stories, decide what’s important to us and then apply that to our lives.

If you want your audience to associate with your brand, your products and with you, then tell them a story. At a strategic level, it’s not much more complicated than that. 

The best way to get your audience to take action, however, is to include these five key elements in your story:

1. Measurement
2. Comparison
3. Time
4. Uniqueness and
5. Compelling

Measurement: Most people grant numbers more credibility than they do general comments. Whatever it is you do for your clients, using numbers to quantify the benefits will make your claims more believable than claims that lacks numbers.

Comparison: Give your audience before and after examples of the benefits of your product or service. Demonstrating results in a before and after scenario gives your claims perspective.

Time: Similarly, providing a timeframe around your results helps your audience understand the true impact of your product or service, especially if the benefits were produced quickly.

Uniqueness: Since you want to stand out from your competition and have your own brand, it’s important to make your claim as unique as possible. That’s really hard in a web-connected world, but that’s also why it is so critical.

Compelling: The compelling element answers the question: “Who cares?” You may be able to clean reading glasses faster than anyone in your city but I doubt many people will pay for that unique skill.

Steve

Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink

In my book Communication Wins, I write about message structure, types of messages, communication strategies, gaining credibility with your audience, audience analysis and many other topics that matter to writers.

One of my favorite chapters is Chapter 14 – Tools of the Trade. Below is an updated version of an excerpt from that chapter. Learn to use these tools and I guarantee that your writing and speaking will improve.

Compare and contrast: An apple and an orange are both fruits. They are comparable and alike. However, they are also different. They have contrast in their appearance (red versus orange), outer skin (smooth versus rough), texture and taste. You can increase your listeners’ understanding of one feature by highlighting its opposite. For example, we can better understand wisdom by illustrating foolishness.

Repetition: Repeating and summarizing concepts can help your audience grasp important concepts, experience emotions, or heed your call to action. Ministers, coaches, and motivational speakers often use this technique to drive home key points.

Metaphor: A metaphor is a game of pretend. A metaphor pretends that something is something else. A word or phrase that describes one thing is used to describe something not normally associated with that word or phrase. For example, “Her heart melted with compassion when she saw her tiny son struggling to tie his shoelaces.” Obviously, her heart did not “melt” in the literal sense.

Euphemism: An inoffensive or indirect expression replaces words that may be considered offensive, impolite, harsh or shocking. Saying someone “passed away” is a euphemism for “died.”

Simile: A figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unlike entities using the words “like” or “as.” For example, “She’s smart as a whip.” Similes can create vivid associations in your audience’s mind. Similes are like garlic; they should be used sparingly. The reason to use them sparingly is because they tend to require the audience to pause and think about the comparison and that can interrupt the flow of your message.

Symbolism: Symbolism evokes (but does not describe) an emotion, concept or idea. You can use the symbolism of something concrete to represent something abstract, such as a flag to evoke the concepts of duty, loyalty and honor; a light bulb to represent the concept of a brilliant idea; a company logo to represent brand attributes, or a lion to represent bravery and strength. Icons and emoticons are modern-day symbols. Symbols are often more effective than perfectly constructed sentences.

Concrete/Abstract: Concrete terms and words refer to things we engage through our senses. Something may be “hot,” “green,” or “loud.” Abstract terms may be just as real but less available to our senses – freedom, love, success and sexism (any ism) are examples of abstract words that have real meaning but are undetectable through our five senses.

Steve

Comments (1) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink