11
Tips
for Writing Effective Advertising Copy
Clear,
concise and credible writing is an essential element of any successful
business communication, from ad copy to Web page content. This
kind of effective communication is what marketing professionals call
high-impact writing. By following a few simple rules, just about any
businessperson can produce better news releases, newsletters, emails and
employee handbooks. These tips will help you turn uninspiring, ineffective
copy into high-impact writing:
Keep
sentences short.
Try not to exceed 17 words per sentence. Some sentences can be longer, but
less is usually more. Strive for a good mixture of sentence lengths to
heighten reader interest.
Vary
sentence structure.
Don't start every sentence with articles such as "the." You can
begin with adverbs, adjectives or nouns to keep the reader from getting
bored.
Use
active voice.
For example, use "XYZ Corporation developed the product" instead
of the passive "The product was developed by XYZ Corporation."
Choose
action verbs.
Select verbs that describe physical or mental activities instead of a
state of being. Say your services "outshine" the competition,
not that your services "are" the best.
Use
modifiers sparingly.
Choose nouns and verbs that are as specific as possible, and employ
adverbs and adjectives sparingly.
Put
your copy on a diet.
Keep your writing tight by eliminating unnecessary words and phrases.
Beyond
word choice and sentence-level tips, the following rules will help you
improve the structure and organization of your copy:
Set
the length.
Determine how long your copy should be and force your writing to fit that
length. Setting a word count in advance helps determine how much
information you need to gather.
Work
from a written plan.
Diagramming keywords will help organize your thoughts before you put your
fingers to the keyboard. Think about how much information you need and how
to present it.
Have
a beginning, a middle and an end.
This general rule of copywriting applies to the shortest pieces as well as
longest.
Beginnings.
Write a lead sentence that captures the essence of the piece, then jump
right into the action. This prevents lengthy introductions from slowing
down your writing.
Middles.
Keep this section organized and tight. Don't digress. Keep like items
together. If you're comparing apples and oranges, describe the apples
first, then the oranges.
Ends.
The end of every piece should have what journalists call
"closers" or "stingers." The final sentence should be
as crisp as the first, and contain a quote or call to action.
Try
to incorporate as many of these suggestions into your writing as possible.
Don't be surprised if you end up rewriting many of your sentences; many
writers believe that "the writing is in the rewriting." The
great novelist Ernest Hemingway rewrote the last paragraph of his first
work, The Sun Also Rises, 28 times before he got it right.
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