Please Explain
Our attention spans are short. If you were a plumber, customers would visit your site for services and contact details – not a four-page essay on the sanitation of ancient Roman aqueducts. A good copywriter can identify the length and style of writing suitable for a specific audience. Potential clients just want the key facts.
Who are you?
What do you offer?
How do you do it?
Why are you the best?
Why should I choose you?
Answer succinctly. Stop there. Or, get a copywriter to do it for you.
Fool Proof
If you fail to notice any abnormality in this excerpt – and are subsequently uncrippled by the agony of bad grammar – please consider handing your pen over to a professional copywriter.
Sloppy punctuation and spelling errors imply unprofessionalism. If a business only invests half an effort into building its own image, how can clients trust it to deliver the best for them?
If writing your own content is of personal significance to you, hire a professional to proof it. An unbiased opinion may prove to be your most valuable asset. Even Ernest Hemingway had an editor.
Could You Repeat That?
If you’ve only got one thing to say, don’t repeat yourself. Repetition should be avoided when a statement is made again and again. Avoid repeating the one point. If you only have one concept to preach, stop saying it so often.
Irritating, isn’t it? Any three of those four sentences could be deleted, and the key concept would still be expressed.
This isn’t to say repetition is totally useless. Enforcing a clear call to action across brand collateral familiarises your message and helps to drive sales. But be strategic about what you choose to emphasise. Telling clients you’re very well-loved, due to your experience in being so experienced, and well-loved is pure waffle.
In the case of copywriting, quality always trumps quantity. Make your point – once! – and move on.
Pretty Package, No Substance
One of these things is not like the others.
If bad copy is so easy to identify as the odd one out, why should good design suddenly disguise it?
American advertising icon Shirley Polykoff once said: “Copy is a direct conversation with the consumer.”
Consider the types of conversations you enjoy having. What is it about them that you appreciate most? Appearance or opinions?
Design is integral to creating an unforgettable first impression; it can be dark, clever, beautiful or clean. But without the substance to actually market itself, design is rendered somewhat redundant. When good copy and design work in tandem however, your brand becomes irresistible.
If design is your brand’s appearance, copy is personality. Knowing how influential personality can be, wouldn’t you want the best one?
Consult a Copywriter
When you’ve got a problem that needs solving, consulting a specialist is recommended. Writing is no exception to that rule.
Our in-house copywriters take what you have to say very seriously. If you’re struggling to find the right voice for your brand, we’d love to help put those thoughts into words.