Learn Copywriting Basics to Handle Your Small Business Advertising
All ad copywriting basically boils down to one thing ? words that encourage or motivate a person to respond in a certain way. Even radio or TV ads start as words on paper.
When you were in high school English class, you were taught different types of writing to accomplish different goals. The way you write a resume is very different from the way you write a fiction story (I hope).
Copywriting has its own unique set of guidelines. If you learn and follow them, you can write many of your own small business marketing materials.
- Advertising copy shouldn?t sound like a term paper. It should sound like a person talks. The average person speaks in a straightforward manner. He doesn?t talk in long sentences. He uses sentence fragments and a lot of contractions. He doesn?t typically fill his conversation with words found only in a thesaurus. How can you tell if you?ve written like a person speaks? Read your ad out loud. Have others read it too. You?ll know right away if it sounds natural and conversational. If it doesn?t, start editing.
- Reading out loud helps you improve your copy in other ways too. You can hear whether it flows logically and makes sense. It?s also a good way to catch mistakes.
- After you write a first draft, edit and edit some more. Eliminate redundant or unnecessary words. Break up long sentences. Check for spelling errors. Check for grammar problems too, but remember one thing. If you?re writing in a conversational tone, your ad copy may not always be grammatically correct. That?s OK in copywriting, but only if you?ve stretched the grammar rules for a reason.
- You do need to edit, but don?t cut to the point that you sacrifice quality. Leave enough content to get your message across. Don?t cut to a point that your copy is choppy or hard to understand.
- Make sure your copywriting is geared to the intended audience. Ask people in your target group to read the ad. Afterward, ask them what they recall. Find out if the ad effectively communicated your intended message.
- Always write as if you?re speaking directly to a single person, not a group of people. Use the word ?you? to focus on the customer. Go light on the ?we?s.? For the most part, readers don?t really care about your business. They do care about what you can do for them.
- When copywriting, craft a benefits-focused message. Don?t waste space listing features of your product. Focus on the benefits to the reader. For example, don?t say, ?We have thousands of paint colors.? Say, ?You?ll save time and find the right shade with our thousands of paint colors.?
- In copywriting, always end by asking for the sale. Readers expect you to ask them to buy or call or come in. Finish with a call to action and contact information to move them from ?slightly interested? to ?definitely interested.? Your call to action should be straightforward and subtle. Don?t sound like a crazy person screaming the earth will end if the person doesn?t buy TODAY!

Source: http://www.yupedia.com/learn-copywriting-basics-to-handle-your-small-business-advertising.html
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