Some concepts of copywriting

Revisited and revised

The written word is like money, been around for donkey’s years. From ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics to the modern-day news front pages, it’s a time-tested innovation inexorably intertwined with human civilisation.

Disclaimer — I am just writing for practice, and I barely know what I am talking about. I am not trying to sell anything.

Writing is packets of meaning that goes from sender to receiver. Poems express nuances of human feeling, so there are layers of meaning, ambiguity or linguistic devices such as rhyming.

In contrast, road directions want to render the route in the reader’s mind as clearly as possible and nothing more.

Since time immemorial and way before the panoply of writing forms we have on earth today, humans have been way into exchanging stuff with each other, aka, bartering. The history of this dates back to 8000 years ago. The mass spread of written text only began after the printing press’s invention in about 1440 AD.

Copywriting is textual salesmanship, and greed is older than money. Coins are just a massive collection of identical pieces of metal when you think about it. Human imagination is what gives money its power and pervasiveness in the world.

The copywriter isn’t always trying to get the money. They may want to do something else too, like sign a petition or enter an email address.

Okay, now here are some essential copywriting ideas.

Understand People

This is my favourite thing about copywriting and marketing generally. Copywriting is a thing and works the way it does because of human nature. Above all, you need to understand how people feel and think. At first blush, I often think marketing projects might be sleazy. But this fact counterbalances that somewhat.

The headline — the gatekeep at the top

These first few words command a disproportionate effect on overall success. If your headline doesn’t hook eyeballs, it matters not what comes next because it never gets seen. The person could be in the market for exactly what it is you’ve got. It could be to copywriting what the Sistine chapel is to architecture. It matters nought if for a nebish headline.

It's similar to walking past a shop front with colourful labels and hot deals. They’ve first got to grab your interest, to steer you away from the direction you were going and in through the shop door instead. That’s what a copywriting headline is for too.

Good copy makes for an easy read

This is especially the case online. You don’t want any fluff or hard to read words. The moment a reader becomes bored or confused, they will check out, scroll down and Facebook or whatever will feed them the next piece of eye candy to peruse or poke.

Pointless meandering, superfluous sentences or just plain showing off in your copy will stand out like someone wearing nothing but speedos on the bus in the dead of winter and is bad.

The Call to Action

This is an invitation to the reader to take a specific action. Buying, signing up for a newsletter or asking them to check out a product page are all CTAs.

Being clear on this at the beginning is a must, and it goes back to understanding people. By keeping your reader at the forefront, you can craft your copy in a way that guides them towards the desired action. Putting yourself in their shoes and being able to imagine their likes and disinterests is a simple and powerful method.

Thanks for reading. There is no free ebook or newsletter signup at this point. This was my unconditional gift to you, and there is nothing else to do.