In this video Ian Lurie provides a comprehensive breakdown of copywriting. He speaks to the importance of identifying your marketing collateral to understand the mindset of your audience. Below are the collateral types that he discusses:
- Brochure: the call to action is more subtle but provides product and organizational information and ultimately identifies why the company is unique. The brochure can be left behind or distributed at a trade show (Lurie.2014).
- Direct Marketing: This can be difficult because you have to show value from the first sentence the last. This is typically used when you are establishing a new audience or reengaging old customers (Lurie.2014).
- Poster: is brief, with punchy text that delivers a lot of information in a small space. The call to action is direct. Something like, Get more Information (Lurie.2014).
- Script: used as a guide for a non-written message (Lurie.2014).
- One Liner: used on business cards, social media or banners and must work out of context (Lurie.2014).
- Product Descriptions: describes what you are selling. This should be used when a customer is close to purchasing the product (Lurie.2014).
Writing Copy
Ian provides a step by step outline of the process of writing copy. He recommends that you prepare yourself by removing interruptions, plugging in devices, using familiar technology and establishing a backup system for your work. He then offers a detailed outline of the various stages of writing copy:
- Create the Plan: take thirty minutes to think about what you are doing. Who is your audience? What style should you use? What is the appropriate media? (Lurie.2014)
- Get your Ideas Down: We all know it can be hard to get started so Ian recommends setting a timer for 5-10 minutes and have a free writing session. Just write anything that comes to mind (Lurie.2014).
- Write the First Draft: set a timer for an hour and just write. When the timer goes off take a break and then start over. Don’t focus on spelling and grammar. Additionally he recommends not to write the introduction until the end because you’ll have a better understanding of the whole paper upon completion (Lurie.2014).
- Polishing the Draft: adopt brevity, use an active voice, edit than proofread and ask someone else to proofread your work (Lurie.2014).
Ian discusses the importance of headlines and emphasizes that headlines should not be mysterious. He remarks that you should be able to write your headline down on a blank sheet of paper, hand it to a stranger and they should understand the basic concept. What a great idea!
He also suggests testing headlines by sending one headline out to one customer group and sending another headline out to another group and track how each performs.
The text layout is also key. This improves the overall readability. He recommends that you should have no more than 5-6 lines per paragraph, 15-20 words per line and use 1.6x as much space between paragraphs (Lurie.2014).
Rewriting Copy
Rewriting an existing copy requires a high level editorial review. Start with editing, read for structure, review for unnecessary work, edit to an active voice and proofread backwards and forwards (Lurie.2014).
Conclusion
After reflecting on this video, the content has provided some great areas of suggestions for marketing copy writing. To provide a specific example, I would like to adopt the idea to test headlines against different groups of customer segments. This strategy is referred to a an A/B test that allows you to lower your risk of lost sales through a low performing headline by having the opportunity to readjust your strategy as required.
To offer a more specific plan, when working on our next marketing email campaign, I would start by designing some headlines options. Easier said than done, right? I came across a great article titled, 8 Winning Headline Strategies and the Psychology Behind Them, and it offered some great insights and recommendations on headline developments. For example, here are some ideas:
- Surprise: Join me for Dinner?
- Questions: Are you tired of searching for a job?
- Negatives: 5 reasons why you should avoid online banking
- How To: How to manage a successful marketing campaign
- Numbers: 3 things that will make you succeed
- Audience Referencing: You can do it
After the headlines have been developed, I will separate the customer list in corresponding groups. Each group will receive a headline and progress will be monitored. The headline that performs the best wins.
Overall, this video offered great detail on marketing copywriting throughout all stages of development. It is a great guideline to help us develop our skills and go on to write great marketing copy.
References
- Lurie, I. (2014, 05 30). Learning to Write Marketing Copy. Retrieved from YouTube: Lurie, Ian. “Learning to Write Marketing Copy.” Linked In Learning, May 30 2014, https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-to-write-marketing-copy/next-steps?u=2109516
- Glossary. (n.d.). Retrieved from optimizely: A/B Testing https://www.optimizely.com/optimization-glossary/ab-testing/
- Seiter, C. (2014, 04 19). 8 Winning Headline Strategies and the Psychology Behind Them. Retrieved from Social Media Today: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/8-winning-headline-strategies-and-psychology-behind-them
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