Copywriting strategy
6 March 2009The creative process is fun. But the job of a copywriter is not to write copy. It is to sell. The copy is merely the means used to sell the product.
You will only be able to build large numbers of sales if the promotion you create communicates your product’s benefits clearly and directly, with no diversions at all.
There are always a small number of people who will buy no matter what you write. This book will give you the ammunition to attract many more potential buyers than would normally be the case.
The first part of this book looks at how the great copywriters communicate. Then, using this information, we show how to create powerful and effective copy.
SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION
The first principle of communication is:
It’s not what you say, but what the listener hears that’s important.
These are very often two different things. You cannot assume the listener or reader is automatically tuned in to you and your message. The first principle of copywriting is very similar:
Success in a promotion is not what you put into it. It’s what the reader gets out of it.
THREE VITAL COMPONENTS
Three vital components you must include in your promotion are:
1. The benefit: the reader immediately wants to know “How does this concern me?” or “What’s in it for me?” You can see how important it is, therefore, to make your proposition as clear and as relevant as possible. The benefit needs to be instantly communicated, which is why it usually goes in the headline.
2. Risk reversal: the reader will then want to know “What’s the risk?” How you handle the reader’s caution about spending money or making a commitment will have a direct effect on response.
3. Handling objections and questions: the reader will have a number of objections to buying. Readers will have different objections to different sales. There will also be questions that need addressing. How you answer objections and questions will make the difference between a good and poor promotion.
You will see that these elements are looked at from the reader’s point of view. The better your reader is tuned in to the advantages of buying, and the better you minimise his risk in doing so, the greater the response to your promotion will be.
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