The Nuts and Bolts of Great Copywriting

One of my marketing students asked if great copywriting had to be grammatically correct. My answer: Effective copy is measured by results. To get results you have to be able to communicate with your audience. And to do that, you must first get their attention, much of the time that means breaking grammar rules.

• Use active verbs in your headline.

• Enclose headlines in quotations.

• State a major benefit in the first sentence. Then restate it twice more in the body of your text.

• Ask a provocative question then provide a provocative answer.

• Talk about what is important to YOUR CUSTOMERS, not what’s important to you.

• Use a conversational tone, leave the corporate speak in the boardroom.

• Be specific in your offer (Buy today and get $50 bucks to put in your pocket now!)

• Use bullets to make paragraphs stand out.

• Use call-outs to draw attention to special offers, contact information, etc.

• Use images that strike emotions (cute pets, babies, people running).

• Give a surprising offer or state what makes you different (Hey! We never charge for installation OR We’re open every holiday OR We save you $25 off your first order–no strings attached!)

• Enhance text with color and use easy to read fonts.

• Include customer testimonials.

• Tell readers how to contact you and WHEN (don’t make them search for your address on your website).

• Always include a P.S. that gives bonus information.

• < Psst > Put brackets around your email subject headers. The visual draws attention.

Sonya Carmichael Jones is the author of “The Art of Smart Marketing: What small business owners must know to get customers and sell products”. She teaches Get Published. Get Paid. The Marketing B00TCamp for Freelance writers at WritersWeekly. Got a marketing question? Send it to info(at)marketingbuddha.com.