When it comes to copywriting, you don’t need to say these things over and over again out loud, however, you do have to keep them in mind even before your fingers hit the keyboard.
- Begin writing with empathy. You have to care about your customers.
- People aren’t targets. They’re your audience.
- Even the most complex products have simple benefits.
- Sometimes it’s ok to use jargon, sometimes it isn’t. Know the difference.
- People like to be informed and entertained.
- If you can keep asking the question “which means your customers get?” about the product, you haven’t found the key promise yet.
- It’s ok to sell as long as you’re telling the truth.
- Have conversations with your clients.
- A good About Us story means your client’s competitors simply cannot slap their logos on it.
- Have a reason for every word.
- The less copy you’re allowed in the piece, the longer it takes to write it.
- Most people can’t fill out a creative brief but they can speak beautifully about their business.
- Respect your clients or get new clients.
- If you can make the sentence shorter, do it.
- If you can’t scan through your copy, neither can your audience.
- Copy is a visual element.
- Copywriting is closer to speaking than it is to English class.
If you’d like to work with a copywriter who keeps all this and more in mind, contact me.
Great piece! I found this really valuable and plan to forward it to a couple of copyeditor colleagues too. I am unsure of what #6 means, though. Would you have a quick example or could you help me understand it?
Late reply here but here goes. If you can still keep asking “so our customers get?” and you keep getting answers that lead to more questions about the benefit the client will ultimately get from your product/service, you still haven’t reached the ultimate key promise of how you’re going to change their lives for the better. Keep searching.