Looking for inspiration for your next marketing communication? Try the children’s bookshelf.
Dr. Seuss has entertained young (and old) audiences for nearly 50 years with titles such as The Cat in the Hat, Hop on Pop and Green Eggs and Ham.
The reason why his books remain so popular says something about what makes for good writing (and reading), no matter who or where the audience is.
Nouns and Verbs
Nothing keeps readers moving like strong noun-verb combinations. If the sentence were a train, nouns and verbs would be the engine. Adjectives, adverbs and the other parts of speech make the train longer and slower. Dr. Seuss' sentences have strong engines pulling light loads to keep readers moving down the tracks.
Lots of Periods
A byproduct of eliminating the extraneous words is shorter sentence length. Lots of periods. Paradoxically, more sentences of shorter length increase reading speed and comprehension. Dr. Seuss, as are many children's authors, is a champion of the short sentence.
Imagination
Albert Einstein said, "The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge." Were it not for imagination, there would be no Cat in the Hat and no Dr. Seuss. Imagination is the beginning of copywriting because first there must be an idea or concept.
Fun
Dr. Seuss' books are fun to read. They're funny, too, but that's not the same thing. Fun to read is material that's entertaining and effortless for readers, an excellent standard for all writing.
Lyrical
Dr. Seuss' books are written in verse. Of course they're lyrical. However, this goes beyond silly rhymes. There are a sound and rhythm to the words that, like a favorite tune, you don't mind hearing over and over. Good writing of all varieties is pleasing to the eye and ear.
Economical
Children have short attention spans. Dr. Seuss knows how to tell a story without unnecessary detours. Every word counts. That's good advice for all who write copy because children aren't the only ones with short attention spans.
Memorable
This is the litmus test for all writing. Did readers take something away? Was their time well invested? The Cat in the Hat is a story about having fun, even on a rainy day. Now that's worthwhile reading.
(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Monday, 28 March 2016
Saturday, 26 March 2016
8 Strategies To Catapult Your Copywriting Skills To The Next Level
I am about to share with you 8 quick ideas and suggestions to dramatically help you improve your copywriting skills as you get going.
You can use these tips when it comes to creating offers, E-mails and sales letters that grab people’s attention.
So without further ado, here they are!
Number one:
Always write your sales letter with the individual in mind.
Whenever you’re writing a sales letter or an E-mail, you want to write that E-mail or sales letter as though you were talking to one person.
Number two:
Pull them in with the first line.
You’ve got to create interest with the reader, the very first line that they read.
Number three:
Use bullets.
People like to scan, they like to quickly read things as fast as they can, and using bullets makes that whole process a heck of a lot easier. So use them.
Number four:
Just let it flow.
When you’re starting to write a letter, it is very difficult to just start from top to bottom and write everything. When it comes to writing it and actually putting everything down in order, I want you to just write as it’s coming out. You’re going to have moments when inspiration hits you and your pen is going to go like crazy or your fingers are going to go like crazy on the computer keyboard, and I want you to just let it flow.
Number five:
Write like you speak.
I briefly touched on this in one of the earlier points. But it’s much easier for you to envision that you’re communicating with one individual as though you’re having a conversation with that person, because when that person reads your sales letter or your E-mail, they’re going to feel like you’re talking right to them, and that’s exactly what you want.
Number six:
Make your communication easy to read.
What I mean by that is use short paragraphs. Use pictures. I want you to bold certain things. I want you to highlight important areas.
Number seven:
I want you to stress the benefits and not the features.
I want you to put yourself in the shoes of the person reading your communication piece
The number one question that they’re going to be asking is: What’s in it for me? You have to address those things, and you’ve got to stress the benefits of your particular communication piece that you’re trying to use.
Number eight:
I want you to keep the reader interested.
How do you do that? On a sales letter there are a ton of ways that you can keep the reader interested, and I’m going to give you a few of them right now.
- You can use graphs.
- You can use pictures.
- You can use audio.
- You can use video.
- Another one that people love to see are testimonials.
- Another one that you can always use is giving examples of proof.
- Do you have checks?
- Do you have screen shots of people registering for certain things?
Whatever you’re trying to sell or promote, I want you to give proof that it works or that it would provide benefit to the person that is reading it – screen shots, pictures, testimonials – these are all great things of proof.
So there you have it… 8 quick tips to improve your copywriting skills. This is not the be all and end all of copywriting techniques but they will definitely help you jump over some of the hurdles that are standing in your way!
You can use these tips when it comes to creating offers, E-mails and sales letters that grab people’s attention.
So without further ado, here they are!
Number one:
Always write your sales letter with the individual in mind.
Whenever you’re writing a sales letter or an E-mail, you want to write that E-mail or sales letter as though you were talking to one person.
Number two:
Pull them in with the first line.
You’ve got to create interest with the reader, the very first line that they read.
Number three:
Use bullets.
People like to scan, they like to quickly read things as fast as they can, and using bullets makes that whole process a heck of a lot easier. So use them.
Number four:
Just let it flow.
When you’re starting to write a letter, it is very difficult to just start from top to bottom and write everything. When it comes to writing it and actually putting everything down in order, I want you to just write as it’s coming out. You’re going to have moments when inspiration hits you and your pen is going to go like crazy or your fingers are going to go like crazy on the computer keyboard, and I want you to just let it flow.
Number five:
Write like you speak.
I briefly touched on this in one of the earlier points. But it’s much easier for you to envision that you’re communicating with one individual as though you’re having a conversation with that person, because when that person reads your sales letter or your E-mail, they’re going to feel like you’re talking right to them, and that’s exactly what you want.
Number six:
Make your communication easy to read.
What I mean by that is use short paragraphs. Use pictures. I want you to bold certain things. I want you to highlight important areas.
Number seven:
I want you to stress the benefits and not the features.
I want you to put yourself in the shoes of the person reading your communication piece
The number one question that they’re going to be asking is: What’s in it for me? You have to address those things, and you’ve got to stress the benefits of your particular communication piece that you’re trying to use.
Number eight:
I want you to keep the reader interested.
How do you do that? On a sales letter there are a ton of ways that you can keep the reader interested, and I’m going to give you a few of them right now.
- You can use graphs.
- You can use pictures.
- You can use audio.
- You can use video.
- Another one that people love to see are testimonials.
- Another one that you can always use is giving examples of proof.
- Do you have checks?
- Do you have screen shots of people registering for certain things?
Whatever you’re trying to sell or promote, I want you to give proof that it works or that it would provide benefit to the person that is reading it – screen shots, pictures, testimonials – these are all great things of proof.
So there you have it… 8 quick tips to improve your copywriting skills. This is not the be all and end all of copywriting techniques but they will definitely help you jump over some of the hurdles that are standing in your way!
Friday, 25 March 2016
3 Steps To Quickly Writing Ezine Articles
Come on, admit it: Whether you're a professional writer or not we all draw a blank when we want to write an ezine article.
I've found an answer to that dilemma that will get you writing in no time so that you can publish your ezine article and begin to receive that new wave of subscribers you've been hoping for. Here's how to get the lead out if you draw a blank:
1. Write your action steps first.
Forget about the catchy headline and attractive lead paragraph for now. There's no use in cleverly leading a reader into an article that has no real value to them. So start where you build your credibility, right in the action steps. Of course you want to identify your subject and then tell them how to make their lives easier. For instance, plumbers are always going to have to fix pipes, it's the nature of their business. If you have an ezine to others in the plumbing industry, write about a new technique in the industry on sealing pipes or preparing them for the winter, etc.
2. Save the best for last.
There's something called takeaway or take-home that should be in every one of your articles. It's your last chance to tell your audience, "I know my stuff." Try to put that key piece of information in the last paragraph of your article and you'll want it to be something your reader can do as soon as he or she finishes reading your article. If you're writing to accounts payable clerks, you'd tell them ways to get each department to get approvals on all purchase orders before submitting them. A/P clerks would just eat that up. It's their number one gripe. Bottom line: Give your audience something they can do immediately at the very end of your article. They'll remember your name and become devotees for life- hanging from your every word.
3. Get excited about the benefits.
After you've taken care of the credibility building portion of your article, you have to draw the reader in and whet their appetite for all this great information. By the way, if you write the action steps and take-home first, this part will be easier because you'll be so excited about the information you'll see the benefits of it. And that's what writing lead paragraphs and headlines is all about: benefits to your readers.
Your final take-home advice
No matter what you do, when you're writing to an ezine audience, always include an "About the Author" blurb (some call this a sig file, short for signature file) and a plug for anything new you're into. To do this, determine what you want the reader to do after he or she is finished reading. Do you want the to subscribe to your ezine? Buy your new ebook? Or just visit or site? Whatever the benefit to you is, identify it before you write your "About the Author" section. And you can write this at any time because it's separate from the article and you can use the same "About the Author" blurb for multiple articles. As a matter of fact, you could write one right now. Check out the one I'm using at the bottom of this article.
(c) 2003-2005 Lisa Sparks
I've found an answer to that dilemma that will get you writing in no time so that you can publish your ezine article and begin to receive that new wave of subscribers you've been hoping for. Here's how to get the lead out if you draw a blank:
1. Write your action steps first.
Forget about the catchy headline and attractive lead paragraph for now. There's no use in cleverly leading a reader into an article that has no real value to them. So start where you build your credibility, right in the action steps. Of course you want to identify your subject and then tell them how to make their lives easier. For instance, plumbers are always going to have to fix pipes, it's the nature of their business. If you have an ezine to others in the plumbing industry, write about a new technique in the industry on sealing pipes or preparing them for the winter, etc.
2. Save the best for last.
There's something called takeaway or take-home that should be in every one of your articles. It's your last chance to tell your audience, "I know my stuff." Try to put that key piece of information in the last paragraph of your article and you'll want it to be something your reader can do as soon as he or she finishes reading your article. If you're writing to accounts payable clerks, you'd tell them ways to get each department to get approvals on all purchase orders before submitting them. A/P clerks would just eat that up. It's their number one gripe. Bottom line: Give your audience something they can do immediately at the very end of your article. They'll remember your name and become devotees for life- hanging from your every word.
3. Get excited about the benefits.
After you've taken care of the credibility building portion of your article, you have to draw the reader in and whet their appetite for all this great information. By the way, if you write the action steps and take-home first, this part will be easier because you'll be so excited about the information you'll see the benefits of it. And that's what writing lead paragraphs and headlines is all about: benefits to your readers.
Your final take-home advice
No matter what you do, when you're writing to an ezine audience, always include an "About the Author" blurb (some call this a sig file, short for signature file) and a plug for anything new you're into. To do this, determine what you want the reader to do after he or she is finished reading. Do you want the to subscribe to your ezine? Buy your new ebook? Or just visit or site? Whatever the benefit to you is, identify it before you write your "About the Author" section. And you can write this at any time because it's separate from the article and you can use the same "About the Author" blurb for multiple articles. As a matter of fact, you could write one right now. Check out the one I'm using at the bottom of this article.
(c) 2003-2005 Lisa Sparks
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