welcome to copywriting€¦ · instant copywriting. writing: what works. good writing: what works...

Welcome toCopywriting

Alan Barker

http://bit.ly/16sGqnJ

Google: “Alan Barker publications”

My objectivesHow to:

Types of copy:Please list

Writing in three stages

Planning

Drafting

Editing

Planning your time

1___________________________________________________________________________100

Planning Drafting Editing

The three key planning questions

Who is my reader?What do I want my reader to do?

What do I want to say?

…and the other three

How much space do I have?How do I want to come across?

How long have I got?

I want my reader to:Buy somethingDonate moneyTrial a product

Opt in to an email listOpen an account with us

Transfer to a different payment procedureRenew a contractGive us a contractVisit our premises

Questions about our readersWhat’s their gender?

How old are they?What do they want more of (and less of)?Where would they rather be right now?

What do they want most of all?What are their values?

How do others see them?Head or heart?

Promise of wealth or removal of fear?

My typical reader is so they want and they’re to avoid looking for

overworked a to-do list rest

vulnerable exposure reassurance

status-conscious being upstaged prestige

Writing copy #1: instant copywriting

Writing: what works

Good writing: what works

• Establishing rapport • Staying focused on the reader, not the information• Brevity• Telling stories• Asking questions

Good writing: what doesn’t work

• Showy writing• Jargon• Long-windedness• Talking about yourself• Using boilerplate (cut-and-paste)• Over-excitement• Humour

Four ways to make your copy zing

• Use power words• Use personal words• Use verbs• Be positive


Use power words Use personal words Use verbs Be positive

Single-syllable words

Human words

Action words

Feeling words

Concrete words

Words that stimulate the senses

The water Kassa drinks could kill him, but he has no choice.

You may have seen Kassa in our recent TV appeal. Your donation will mean so much to a child like him.

No more drinking filthy river water, teeming with parasites, bacteria and animal waste.

An end to the worry of diarrhoeal diseases, which kill 900 children every day.

A pump or tap in the heart of the community, rather than a daily trek to the river with a heavy jerry can.

Please, choose to bring clean, safe water to families today. Your kindness will be felt for generations to come.



Names

People

Characters in a story

When Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1970, the amount of debris, litter and waste that he saw worried him so much that he submitted a report to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. Since that conference, held in Stockholm in 1972, a huge swell of research studies has shown that the marine environment is accumulating an increasing volume of human-originated debris.



Aim for a ratio of 3:1:

three times as many instances of ‘you’ as of ‘I’ or ‘we’.



Avoid abstract nouns, especially long ones!

Termination Announcement AuthorityProduction Management OperabilityDecision Arrangement ProbabilityReplication Development Sustainability

The sophistication of our advocacy strategies has experienced considerable improvement the last year since the adoption of a unified international advocacy strategy, increased fundraising capacity, and stronger planning and monitoring and evaluation for our advocacy work in priority countries.

The sophistication of our advocacy strategies has experienced considerable improvement the last year since the adoption of a unified international advocacy strategy, increased fundraising capacity, and stronger planning and monitoring and evaluation for our advocacy work in priority countries.

In the last year, our advocacy strategies have become more sophisticated. We have adopted a unified international strategy for advocacy and increased our ability to raise funds. We also now plan, monitor and evaluate our work more effectively in the countries where we operate.



Always express an idea as a positive, not as a negative.

Except when passengers have failed to check in without complete documentation, boarding will not be denied.

We will allow all passengers with complete documentation to board.

Informative pyramid

Message

Key Point

Sub-Point

Minor Point

Minor Point

Sub-Point

Key Point

Sub-Point Sub-Point

Key Point

Sub-Point

Minor Point

Minor Point

Sub-Point

Finding your voice

Culture

ConversationCommunity

Culture: what do you stand for?

Tone of voice

Adapts to the reader’s situation and feelingsEnacts a brand valueEngages the reader

Stimulates positive feeling

HotelCarRestaurantShoeFashion houseHandbagWatchBank

Department storeBreakfast foodCredit cardAlcoholic drinkFragranceCameraToyHoliday destination

If my brand were a…

List of oppositions

Voice and tone guides

http://bit.ly/1KMmc72

voiceandtone.com

http://bit.ly/1AerIhs

http://bit.ly/1KMmc72

http://bit.ly/1AerIhs

How people read

The reader contract

uncommittedcommitted

structureinformative performative

attitude

formal/written informal/spokenstyle

Informative pyramid

Message

Key Point

Sub-Point

Minor Point

Minor Point

Sub-Point

Key Point

Sub-Point Sub-Point

Key Point

Sub-Point

Minor Point

Minor Point

Sub-Point

Telling a story

Situation

Problem

Question

Response

Situation

Problem

Question

Response

Sample introduction 1: feature article

Croydon is known for many things, but spiritual enlightenment is not one of them. With its concrete 60s shopping centre and high-tech office blocks, this satellite town is a fast becoming as hectic as central London. For many people who live and work here, the closest they’ll get to meditation is drinking a Sea Breeze at the local lounge bar. But that’s precisely why the Croydon Buddhist Centre plays such a vital role in the community.

Sample introduction 2: handbookHealthcare staff are often highly motivated – but highly pressured. The demands of the work itself leave staff little time to consider the impact of their work, or to acknowledge the day-to-day achievement of providing compassionate care.

Schwartz Center Rounds® are meetings that enable healthcare professionals to share their experience of caring for patients, to acknowledge and explore the pressures they face, and to help them carry out their role more effectively.

This handbook explains how to set up Schwartz Rounds within your organisation and how to manage the process from start to finish.

Inverted pyramid

Informative pyramid

Message

Key Point

Sub-Point

Minor Point

Minor Point

Sub-Point

Key Point

Sub-Point Sub-Point

Key Point

Sub-Point

Minor Point

Minor Point

Sub-Point

Pyramid structure

The style spectrum

uncommittedcommitted

structureinformative performative

attitude

formal/written informal/spokenstyle

formal

informal

Complex sentences

Additive sentencesSimple sentences

Words in full

Contractions

Passive verbs

Active verbs

Abstract nounsVerbs, adjectives

Long words

Short words

The formality spectrum

People

Ideas, concepts

Developing your voice

• P• R• A• I• S• E


• Proverbs• R• A• I• S• E


• Proverbs Good causes deserve good copy

• R• A• I• S• E


• Proverbs• Resonators• A• I• S• E


• Proverbs• Resonators images, metaphors,

analogies,• A human action, concrete

examples• I• S• E


• P• R• Attractors• I• S• E


• P• R• Attractors figures of speech,

gestures,

• I suspense, surprise

• S• E


• P• R• A• Influencers• S• E


• P• R• A• Influencers testimony, testimonials

• S statistics: influential sources

• E appealing to shared assumptions


• P• R• A• I• Stories• E


• P• R• A• I• Stories background, context, case

studies

• E


• P• R• A• I• S• Emotions


• P• R• A• I• S• Emotions identification

evoked, not expressed

welcome to copywriting€¦ · instant copywriting. writing: what works. good writing: what works...

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