There,
unfortunately, lies the rub. Because much of the 'advice' we
read on writing copy for print advertising, or for the web,
is often little more than a few Copywriting basics wrapped in
a bundle of 'fluff'.
And some of it
appears to be taken straight from 'the book'. You know the
one I mean. It's called "Learn how to be an expert
entrepreneur, advertising guru, and multi-millionaire in less
than 30 minutes". Written by A.N.Onymous and priced at
25 cents. Protect the rain forests, that's what I say.
Sure you
must start with a powerful headline. Of course it
should be followed by a compelling sub-heading. And yes your
first paragraph has to be intriguing enough to lead the
reader into the body of the ad.
But if it were
that easy why isn't everyone writing brilliant ads and
sales letters? And why are there still millions of Websites
out there that insist on attacking our senses with blinding
color schemes, migraine-inducing animated GIFs, and limp
apologetic copy?
And then of
course there's those grossly over-hyped ezine ads ... No we
won't go into that.
"So
what kind of information do we need?"
You really
need to know HOW to write that powerful headline, WHAT to say
in your compelling subheading, and WHICH words to use in the
all important first paragraph.
And what about
those other well worn gems like "keep your copy lean and
mean", or "write as if you were talking to a
friend" (are you respected as a good conversationalist?)
And the best one must be "keep your reader
entertained". BUT HOW? HOW?
The reality of
course is that writing really good copy - lean, motivating,
sales-generating copy - cannot be learned in a few minutes.
Because learning the 'rules' is the easy bit. Putting them
into practice is a whole different ball game!
After all,
learning the basics of HTML doesn't mean you can design a
great web page in minutes.
"Now
for the good news!"
What do you
mean, you feel depressed? Of course there's some good news -
lot's of it. But only if you are honest enough to accept that
you may need some serious help. I mean help with your
Advertising, Web pages, Sales letters, or E-mail (you do
realize that the humble email message can be a potent
advertising tool don't you? - no I don't mean SPAM!)
Now I'm sure you've noticed
that I've just broken one of the fundamental rules of
professional Copywriting. I'm supposed to motivate and excite
you, not drive you to the Back Button. But I can tell you
that you can learn to write really effective sales
copy - with the right help and guidance. So I shall make
every effort to give as much as you need.
And as long as you don't
expect to become an 'expert' overnight you can be writing;
-
Improved copy
in an hour.
-
Good copy in a
few hours.
-
Really good
copy in a few days. And
-
Excellent, sales
generating, powerful copy, in a matter of weeks.
All it takes is a
willingness to learn and practice, practice, and more
practice. You'll be absolutely amazed (heard that over-hyped
phrase before?) at what you will achieve in such a short
time. And your results will be measurable! In no time
at all you will see a dramatically improved response
from your Web site, and enjoy a considerable increase in your
off-line marketing profits!
Prepared to make the
effort? OK hands off the safety rail and let's do it!
First of all we need to
know the basic
rules >>>>>
