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Copywriting Techniques That Work for a Huge
Variety of Situations
by Marcia Yudkin
Most copywriting courses and
books describe only how to persuade people in
ads and sales letters. Yet the scope of
persuasive copy includes bios that may accompany
project proposals, offers in newsletters, case
studies designed for prospective clients, tweets
and pitches to investors. Equip yourself with
copywriting techniques that cover a broad swath
of settings, from tag lines and article titles
to business plans and fundraising appeals, as
well as for ads, web sites and sales letters.
Learn From the
Masters of On-the-Level Copywriting
In 2013 and 2014, Marcia Yudkin convened
the world's most distinguished
practitioners of no-hype copywriting to
discuss the art of writing copy that
persuades without excessive showmanship
or stretching of the truth.
Order the
recordings from these telesummits. |
Words are such versatile tools
and important ingredients in promotional pitches
that it's a shame to overlook those
less-often-discussed contexts for copywriting.
Many of the principles are the same, but each
format or purpose may require distinct
sensitivities and constraints. For example,
abbreviating like a teenager is a temptation on
Twitter but not so much in an ezine offer or
magazine ad.
Here's a sampling of pointers that can help you
with some of the copywriting challenges ignored
by teaching tools that cover only ads and sales
letters.
* More imaginative ingredients for a web site or
business plan bio. Spice up a bio or "About"
page with your personal motto, a phrase clients
or an authority figure use about you, fanciful
or unexpected language, concrete details, vivid
extremes or contrasts, tantalizing numbers or a
fact that humbles you, like being kicked off the
air to make way for a superstar.
Advice on "Help - They
Just Don't Get It!"
One of the most unnerving and
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* Tactics for punchy,
differentiating business names and tag lines.
Try playing off a common saying, as in A Stitch
in Time, for a custom dressmaker. Consider
homonyms (words that sound alike with different
meanings) and puns. Use a phrase that telegraphs
your appeal to members of a certain in-group,
like Bon Santé, for a French-run health spa. Or
create a paradox, such as Earth Angel, for a
garden designer.
* Ideas for making fundraising copy fun and
involving. Caroline Jordan created the character
of Perley, the church mouse, to raise funds for
a new steeple for the South Bridgton
Congregational Church in Maine. Perley was such
a hit with both children and adults, he's now
the star of several published or forthcoming
books.
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Learn to Write
No-Hype Copy
Six-week self-study course teaches
you to wow people into buying through
the power of well-chosen words.
Includes challenging and varied
assignments to practice on, with answers
from the instructor and participants.
Replace incomprehensible jargon with
reader-friendly, motivating content.
Copywriting course. |
* Components to add when
you're trying to convince buyers you truly
adhere to green guidelines. To show that
you're not just pretending to jump on
today's greenwagon, incorporate into your
marketing copy: hard facts (what you've
done), not commitments (what you say you'll
do); substantiation for your claims;
third-party green certifications, with links
that show what they mean; and advice for
readers on how they too can follow suit.
* Techniques for conveying a full-bodied
idea in a tiny amount of space, especially
on Twitter. With a little practice, you can
use real words in a concise style consistent
with a respectable business image. Use
short, vivid words, such as "ups" or
"boosts." Prune multiple-word verbs, like
changing "make an arrangement" to "arrange."
Use a colon to replace wordy transitions, as
in "Recycling technique: Save used frying
oil for friends with biodiesel cars." And
create compound adjectives, which eliminate
a word or two: "biodiesel-car friends"
instead of "friends with biodiesel cars." Copyright 2015 Marcia Yudkin.
All rights reserved.
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