Memorable Sales Copy — How to Write It
BY MICHELE PARIZA WACEK
Want to know the secret of 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,
websites, 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.
Michele Pariza Wacek owns
Creative Concepts and Copywriting, a writing, marketing
and creativity agency. She offers two free e-newsletters that
help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting
marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful
at attracting new clients, selling products and services and
boosting business.
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