beyond clickbait: copywriting your audience can savor
TRANSCRIPT
1 .READ A LOT
"If you don’t have time to
read, you don’t have the time
— or the tools — to write.
Simple as that."
- Stephen King
Read to learn what works &
what doesn't. Read a range.
2 .GRAMMAR
Foundation = Everything you
write is built on grammar. You
can have the most beautiful
description, intriguing
plot, hilarious characters but if
you don't have grammar -- it
doesn't have the muscle to
stand. Master this.
3 .DO YOURHOMEWORK Know your company’s:
Mission
Vision
Core Values
G.O.S.T. Analysis
Target Market
Research anything you write.
Cure for writer's block?
Do the Research.
4 .HAVE A PLAN To deliver on what your
writing needs to accomplish
you need to have a plan that
is:
* Specific and clearly stated
* Measurable and based on
data (include KPIs)
*Attainable and realistic
*Relevant
*Time-bound (deadlines)
EXAMPLES Do a “macro” plan showing all your marketing tactics:
Break-out each tactic its own plan on a separate sheet:
EXAMPLES Plot KPIs for each tactic and address how each tactic ties into the
overall marketing plan’s objective & how that KPI will be
measured
5 . IT NEEDS TOMAKE SENSE 1. Mission, Vision & Objective
Connect back to the mission,
vision and marketing plan
objective! Put writing to work!
2. SEO
Perform a keyword search
when it comes to your blog
posts and web content. No
black holes! Writing needs to
be found.
6 .WRITE FORAN AUDIENCE
Know your company’s brand
personality and brand voice.
Identify your target market
and buyer persona. Use brand
voice to write to your buyer
persona. Address them
directly, imagine you are
writing them a letter.
Brand personality is the
personality of your company.
Create your brand personality
based on what brand identity
your target market would
want to engage with. What
personality represents your
company best?
Brand voice the voice of your
brand personality.
7 .TELL A STORY “Only connect.” – E.M. Forster
Business writing does not
have to be bland. It can be
innovative, after all your
readers, your customers — are
real people.
*Tell a story
*Connect: Speak to them
Use Poetry as an Example -- Achieve:
* Rhythm in writing -- hear the music
* Strip down to core -- be succinct
8 .BE TRUSTWORTHY
Be ethical.
Trust is your currency.
Uphold the company’s core
values and ethics, and uphold
your own.
10 .EDIT
“Writing is selection. Just to
start a piece of writing you
have to choose one word and
only one from more than a
million in the language. Now
keep going. What is your next
word? Your next sentence,
paragraph, section, chapter?
Your next ball of fact. You
select what goes in and you
decide what stays out.”
– John McPhee
Writing is omission; it whittles
down a larger concept to its
very core, that only the
essence is on the page. The
rest has been consumed,
digested, and the excess
burned away so only the
central spark remains. To get
there: Write a lot & fast. Edit
more & slow.