Keeping It Real: The Only Copywriting Trick That Works
Much of today's accepted copywriting wisdom comes from old books written for a different, quieter world. For most of the twentieth century, widely promoting a successful message was expensive and difficult, requiring control of significant resources and substantial time commitments. Though the general public was more trusting and open to suggestion, more effort was required to reach them. Until the mid-nineties, marketing was generally a money game: whoever could afford the loudest message often sold the most product. The information age - and the Internet in particular - changed all that. Today, your competitors aren't the other businesses providing similar services: they are the millions of voices screaming at the top of their lungs, desperate for attention. They are the vast seas of noise - the four billion websites that are of no interest to your prospects, the commercials that don't relate to them, the telemarketing calls that still interrupt their dinner despite new laws. Your competitors are everyone and everything that pushes the general public into apathy, desensitized by information overload. Creative and pushy techniques don't work when a million other people are doing the same thing. The battle today is not to make people listen, but to convince them that you are worth listening to. While authenticity has always been a good strategy, now it is the entire game. To write truly effective marketing copy, you must go beyond the buzzwords, slogans and pitches, to get to the secrets that make your business unique and credible: Challenge your own assumptions about your clients and their needs. It is easy to fall into the trap of limiting your market with faulty assumptions. Take a hard look at your current marketing efforts - who do you think your clients are, and why do you think that? Gather as much information about your clients as possible and challenge any beliefs you hold that are not based on solid evidence. Never assume that common wisdom is actually true - it often isn't. Question the quality and value of your own services. People do not buy things; they buy values. Take a fresh look at the value of what you offer, and what makes that value attractive to prospects and clients. Question it: explore new areas where your services would be useful, and new ways that you can improve their relevance. Dig deep to learn what you are really selling and what it truly means. Embrace your flaws as well as your strengths. None of us are perfect, but most attempt to disguise or deny their flaws by overcompensating in marketing. Flaws are relative things, and weakness in one area is often the result of strength in another. Don't disguise your flaws - simply present them positively. Brainstorm ways to turn your weaknesses to your advantage. Ask yourself - is your marketing driving you to higher standards, or disguising lower ones? Effective marketing is never about the status quo; it is either a growth vehicle or a means of damage control. Which are you doing? Are you promoting yourself based on valid strengths, or are you trying to cover up apparent weaknesses? If your marketing does not inspire you to serve your clients better, it won't inspire prospects to become new ones. In a world of noise and manipulations, your prospects crave simplicity and integrity. Honestly approaching these issues will result in a wealth of unique material for your advertising efforts, as well as new insights into your own business. Retire the tricks and gimmicks - they don't work anymore and probably never will again. If you want to attract and keep clients, use the only copywriting trick worth learning: reality. About The Author Robert Warren (http://www.rswarren.com) is a professional marketing copywriter and editorial consultant, specializing in promoting experts and independent professionals with the power of the written word. His offices are based in Orlando, Florida. writer@rswarren.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Health and Fitness: A Huge Industry in Need of Writers
Think about how much you read about and spend on health and fitness.
Are You Asking the Right Questions in Your Copy?
It's a common approach to writing copy. You begin by asking questions. Why? To evoke thoughts in your readers' minds, to stir up emotions, and to get customers thinking in the way you want them to think. But have you ever thought about how you phrase your questions? Are you doing it in a way that will have the greatest impact on your readers or are you just throwing questions on a page?
7 Essential Tips for Reviewing and Approving Copy
Nothing can turn strong copy into a 97-pound weakling faster than a flawed review process. The result is severely handicapped marketing efforts and, alas, fewer sales.
Memorable Sales Copy -- How to Write it
Want to know the secret of creating MEMORABLE
promotional copy? Sales copy that actually stays with your
customers long after they've finished reading it?
Web Writing - Dont Lose Your Visitors Attention!
Did you know that your writing can have a huge impact on how successful your site will be? If you're trying to sell a product or a service, what you say and how you say it is extremely important because you don't want to lose your visitor's interest before they get to your order form.
Want to Make More Money as a Freelance Writer? Here are 10 Reasons To Consider Copywriting
Looking to chuck that full-time job for a life of full-time
writing? Or maybe you've already dumped the day job but
aren't quite as busy as you'd like to be. Why not take a
closer look at copywriting?
Power Words And Phrases
I like to use power phrases when writing sales material. These power phrases add punch to a line or a paragraph and I usually use them to start off a sentence.
Copywriting: Engage Prospects By Involving Their Senses
Imagine a bland, colorless existence. Where food had no taste, silence surrounded you and everything smelled the same.
Dissolving Buyer Scepticisim ... A Lesson In Copywriting
When making a purchasing decision, people have their "rip off radars" on high beam. They're wary and so they should be -- after all, they're about to spend money so they want to be sure they're not going to get ripped off, AND they want to be sure they're going to get the absolute best return on their advertising dollar.
Want a Sticky Site That Sells? Forget Content!
An interesting debate is currently raging among copywriters, web designers and content developers about the differences, if any, between writing copy for the web versus writing content.
Fill Your Readers with Confidence
Site visitors generally stay with you for as long as they feel confident that they will succeed in achieving their goal.
Website Promotion: 10 Secret Motivational Triggers That Make People Buy
Unless you know the secret motivational secrets
that make people buy, your efforts in website
promotion may not be fruitful.
How to Write Ad Copy that Sells
When I write copy for my advertising clients, I always check to make sure the three key elements are in place. 1. psychology, 2. logic, and 3. creativity. These are three very different aspects of ad writing, which, when combined, produce a highly effective message. Master the technique of each, and create ads that really sell!
Does Your Copy Look Fake To the Search Engines?
From the early days of search engine optimization, keywords and content have always been vital to achieving your goals. Starting back in the days when we used to shove every slightly relevant keyword into our Meta tags, it has been obvious that search engines love text. The more advanced the engines have gotten over the years, the more complex and sophisticated many writers have gotten with their search engine copywriting.
Buy My Book for $27 and Ill Give You Bonuses Worth a Gazillion Dollars!
Subhead
Copywriting and Your Five Senses
In its most basic form, copywriting is, among other things, the art of conveying a message in writing for the purpose of persuading someone to do something. This is especially true when writing descriptive copy. Why? Because your customer's five senses don't work on paper? they only work in person. That's why we, as copywriters, have to create a sensory experience for our customers through our words.
How You Can Find Freelance Children?s Writing Positions That Will Last
Freelance children's writing positions are always advertised. Rather, the schooling to learn how to write for these jobs is advertised. But, there is often a large lack of employment vacancies actually available. Many of these companies offering to train individuals in these positions claim that there are quite a few companies offering employment or that will publish their work. In fact, it is up to the individual to find these positions themselves, and as it turns out, it is very difficult to get published. So, when the opportunity for freelance children's writing positions becomes available, it is essential that good care be taken to ensure that the relationship lasts.
How Writing Radio Can Help You Become a Better Writer
Knowing how to write, and write well, is a skill that will come
in handy in all sorts of situations. And if you combine good
writing skills with the persuasive selling tactics found in,
say, copywriting, you'll be that much more ahead of your
competition.
Some Important Tips On Proposals And Price
Here's a critically important copywriting technique I use when writing sales letters and proposals for our own direct marketing services and for our clients.
Writing for People and Search Engines
Writing for the search engines is much different than writing in any other medium. Search engines are finicky, but they love text, so you're talking their language. When writing your web content, it's important to keep the following three things in mind.
|
