Top 10 TipsON HOW TO WRITE GREAT COPY

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Having recently given a couple of talksto businesses on the subject ofcopywriting, I decided that it would beuseful to share some of the advice witha wider audience. Hopefully this will helpthose in business who need to write theirown copy or, at the very least, enablethem to better judge the work of thosewho are going to do it for them.

So, my top ten tips are as follows:

Richard Taylor

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1.

Be briefGet to the point as quickly as possible. Ask yourself what you

are trying to say and say it without fuss or preamble. Use short

sentences. The essence of your story should be conveyed in

the first paragraph in PR certainly. If you have a lot to say give

a summary first before getting down to specifics. I would also

add a plea for you not to worry too much about the headline

in a press release - other than it should communicate the core

message/fact. You wouldn’t believe the amount of time some

people spend pondering over the headline of their PR just to

have it changed by the press. That’s because there isn’t a

journalist alive who thinks that an in-house marketing

department/agency can write a better headline than they

can, and very often they’re right! With advertising of course,

just the opposite is true.

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2.

Be simpleIt’s better to say one thing simply and well – and have people

remember it – than say a lot of things at once and have them

forget them all. Think of throwing someone a ball. They catch it.

Now think of throwing them ten balls all at once. They drop the

lot. The analogy is obvious. Also, if you have to include

technical information put it in a separate box where readers

can take it or leave it; or in the case of a press release this can

go in the ‘notes to editors’.

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3.

Be logicalCopy is easier and more interesting to read if it’s set out

logically with a beginning, middle and end. The best way to do

this is to plan your story in outline form before you start in

writing. Write out a series of headings that cover the topics you

want to discuss and then fill in the details. As a starter ask

yourself the questions what, when, why who and how, jot

down your answers and set to work. This will make it much less

daunting a task, especially in the case of long copy ads (a bit

of a lost art!) blogs, or magazine articles.

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4.

Be specificQuote actual facts and figures. Don’t, for example, say ‘We

have lots of great offers’. Say ‘We have our last 100 Arkwright’s

widgets on special offer: 10 for the price of 6 at a saving of 40%

on RRP’. Facts and figures lend authority to what you say. On

the other hand avoid irrelevant detail that gets in the way of

the story.

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5.

Be originalAvoid clichés like the plague. Ok, that’s a joke. They can work if

done properly, but are not in themselves ideas! Also avoid

jargon and management speak – phrases like ‘blue sky

thinking’, ‘customer focused’ and ‘centres of excellence’.

They’re tired, boring and meaningless.

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6.

Be involvingMake generous use of the words ‘you’ and ‘yours’, ‘our’ and

‘ours’. People are mainly interested in themselves, what they

want and what belongs to them, so they make excellent

topics. Other topics that people are interested in are children,

animals, football, celebrities, and sex etc – the staple fare of

the tabloids, Facebook etc – so if you can get them into your

copy you’ll have their attention!

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7.

Be vividWe live life in colour, so why write in black and white? Use

words that express sight, sound, touch, taste and smell – sun-

ripened tomatoes, cool drinks, silky fabric, fresh paint, silent

runners – the idea is to get the reader to experience what

you’re telling them as if they were there in person.

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8.

Be enthusiasticIf you’re bored by what you’re saying, your readers certainly

will be. Be lively, positive, look on the bright side (cliché – see

how careful you’ve got to be!) If you’ve got bad news to tell

see if you can’t put a positive spin on it somehow. Don’t

overdo it though or you’ll lose credibility.

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9.

Be convincingMost editorial and advertising copy is intended to elicit a

response or a result of some kind – at the very least to win the

reader over to your point of view, if not persuade them to do

or buy something. To do that effectively you have to give them

reasons, spell out the desirability and benefits of what you’re

putting to them. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself why

they should act on what you say, then …

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10.

BemotivatingTell them how they will benefit, and be specific about what

you want or expect them to do. Should they call you, send

money, man the barricades or what? Give them an incentive

and the means to do what you ask of them – free gift, hurry

whilst stocks last, help the poor and hungry, 24 hour hotline,

call free, phone now etc.

I hope that the above taster helps a little and makes

committing your thoughts to paper/screen just a little easier.

Believe me; the more you practice, the better you’ll get!

16 Church Street Bishop�s Stortford Herts CM23 2LY

01279 755555info@SimpsonsCreative.co.ukSimpsonsCreative.co.uk

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