|
Know WHAT you want to say, and to WHOM
Before you can start writing copy, you need to be very clear on what it is you want to say and to whom. Don't get caught up in your natural enthusiasm for your product or service. You need to be clinical in defining what really needs to be said and who would genuinely be interested in hearing it.
Prioritise the key elements of your offer in the order that they bring value to your potential customers. If groups of your customer targets appear to value different elements in different orders, then treat them separately and plan to write different copy for each group. It might seem like extra effort, but the better targeted your copy is the greater effect it will have on the reader.
Now you know what to say to each customer group, you need to determine HOW best to say it.
Picking a style
It is important for any piece of text to maintain a single style otherwise its gets very hard to read. So before you start writing, try to work out what style(s) would appeal best to your target audience(s).
There are two guiding criteria. The nature of your offer and the nature of the customer. If your offer is a fun leisure product then a jokey and casual style would be appropriate, whereas if you are a funeral director ... then perhaps not. By the same token, if your target customers are under 16s then a style using language constructs for children would be good. But if your copy was to attract solicitors, then a more formal use of language might be better to convey the right level of gravitas.
Once you've picked your style ... stick to it. Go back and reread it to make sure that you haven't slipped out of style by accident. Be harsh in your judgement; your readers will.
Benefits first
A tip that I always give people looking to write their own marketing copy is to write it backwards! Not literally of course. Let me show you what I mean.
A typical sentence that someone might write could be ...
"Our product is designed using the latest technology which saves you £thousands in maintenance costs every year."
Not bad ... but could read better. Let's try it backwards.
"You can save £thousands in maintenance costs every year because our product is designed using the latest technology."
Much better. By placing the benefit statement at the beginning of the sentence it carries more emphasis and catches the eye more readily.
Always go through your copy after you've produced the first draft and look for sentences that you can write backwards. It really makes a difference.
Memorable marketing
Thinking and working creatively like this will help you to make your marketing more memorable so that it better supports your business ambitions. This means that customers will be able to differentiate your products and services from those of your competitors and clearly see the value in buying from you.
If you would like some advice on finding the profitable customers for your own business, or you know someone at another business who might need help, then please contact us. The sooner you start, the sooner you will benefit.
|
