Writing effective marketing copy does take time and skill. But sometimes it just takes a fresh look and a few little tweaks.
If you’re struggling with copy—whether it’s for an email, a social media post, a letter, or a brochure—try reading the following three tips and applying them to your current project:
Stay focused. Each marketing message you send out should have one goal, one objective. Everything you write and every graphic you include in that message should support that goal. Stay focused. Pitch your product or your service. State the benefits. Highlight the features. Get to the point, and give the call to action.
Does your current copy stray from the goal? Time to trim the fat.
Be stingy (with your words). Your offer should be detailed and descriptive, but it shouldn’t go on and on for the sake of length. Keep your phrases and sentences efficient. Consumers don’t have time for rambling marketing. People tend to prefer several short, to-the-point paragraphs over long ones.
Could you verbally sell your offer with fewer words? Try turning your “talk” into your text.
Write actively. We’re not talking about writing on the run. We mean write with an active voice, not a passive voice. We mean removing “is” phrases and replacing them with stronger verb phrases. For example, instead of saying, “Your business is appreciated,” say “We appreciate your business.”
Sometimes you just can’t avoid writing passively, but when you need to give directions or want to make a personal impression, active voice beats passive. Are you writing as actively as you could?
Happy editing.