In the second part of our series on writing persuasive copy, we look at how to construct your copy to make it work for your business.
It doesn’t matter what the mechanics are, the copy has to be constructed effectively and with punch to make your audience sit up and take notice.
Here are some of our tips to making your copy sizzle:
- Design structure to suit purpose – you should rarely use the same copy for every method of communication. The audience may be the same, but you should appreciate and understand that Twitter, Facebook, print articles, blogs and email newsletters all require tailored copy and structure. SEO plays a critical part in all online copy, so make sure you are up to speed on SEO techniques.
- Evoke emotion by setting context – use statistics, names and sensory descriptions to set the scene, take your customer on a journey, inform them and educate them.
- Address the benefit – explain how your product or service offers a solution to a customer’s problem.
- Use images – can they help trim words? Tell a story more effectively by using photos, infographics, tables and embedded multimedia.
- Are your claims different from the competition? Say so (while being mindful of legal implications of making comparisons)
- Show proof – cite research, reference sources. Your marketing should always demonstrate credibility and trust.
- Vary sentence length and phrase structure to maintain pace and mimic speech patterns.
- Include £££ – be open and honest. If you are selling something at a price, state the price or the ‘from’ rate. Enquiries will then be more relevant and qualified.
- What are you reading? What makes YOU open, click, call?
And finally…
- Headlines rule – make yours work hard. It’s the most important part of your message. In our next newsletter we will break down the components of a headline and how to make a headline pop!
