The latest copywriting articles and advice from Copyblogger. For an introduction to copywriting, check out Copywriting 101.
Copywriting is not writing. It is assembling.
The best copywriters collect the varied parts of their research and assemble those parts into a true story that resonates with the particular worldview of an audience.
Then that story is tested, tweaked, and deployed again. A story that enters the conversation an audience is already having, can be a story that travels.
The assembly of these parts is key.
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I’m going to let you in on a little secret.
It’s something the immortals — from Aristotle to Ogilvy to Mamet — have known, but few have stated it as directly as I’m about to.
By now, many of you know the basics of the craft of copywriting …
Know your audience. Know your product cold. Research. Nail the headline. Write plainly, in the language of your audience. Research more. Write great bullets. Craft a great offer. Include a strong call to action. Et cetera.
These elements are the standard. They get the job done.
But this little truth I’m about to tell you is the foundation that makes all the rest of it work, and it’s the answer to getting you on the road to getting your writing read and shared.
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We all want a positive response to the content we work so hard to create. Not all positive responses, however, are created equal.
I’m reminded of this David Ogilvy quote from Ogilvy on Advertising:
“When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product. When Aeschines spoke, they said, ‘How well he speaks.’ But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, ‘Let us march against Philip.'”
In other words, if you’re looking for something more than “Great post!” comments, then you’ve got to prompt action. And that means you’ve got to stir something in the audience before they’ll do something.
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All writing is persuasion in one form or another.
This is more obvious in some types of writing than others, but it is nonetheless true for all.
When it comes to copywriting, it is clearly true. Every piece of copy we write should drive a reader toward a specific action.
“Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it’s just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it.”
– David Sedaris
But even the best piece of copy in the world doesn’t actually control a reader’s actions. Well-written copy only provides the “illusion of control.” What a reader does after reading is dependent on the “stuff” they brought into it.
That “stuff” includes past experiences, preconceived notions, and, above all else, cognitive biases.
Let’s discuss a helpful handful of these cognitive biases — some you’ll know well, some you may not — and how understanding them and structuring your content in a way that acknowledges and appreciates them will help you connect, compel, and serve better.
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When we talk about content marketing strategy, it’s amazing how often people think that means:
Can I Haz Moar Peoples!!!
(English translation: How can I get more traffic to my site?)
That’s not new — the quest for eyeballs is as old as online business.
And it does matter. It’s important to have a critical mass of folks who know you exist. Ask anyone trying to get a business off the ground with an email list of 34 people, 8 of whom they’re related to.
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This week is all about gettin’ it done.
Something about the end of the calendar year gives us the energy to finish off any pesky lingering tasks and move forward.
On Monday, the Members Only podcast walked us through the Hows and Whys of getting your Google Analytics in place. This is exactly the kind of task that makes me want to hide under the covers with a mug of tea, and by tea I mean scotch. Thank goodness we have smart women like Jessica Frick and Loryn Thompson standing by to help.
Jennifer Blanchard also dropped some ruthless practicality on us with her Content Marketing Checklist — breaking down exactly how she gets and stays so productive. Inspiring stuff, and there’s even a downloadable checklist so you can get some of her mojo into your own routine.
Here on Copyblogger, we’re always talking about strategies that are “simple, but not easy” — but on Tuesday, Stefanie Flaxman made the excellent point that sometimes easy is the right answer. It’s not cheating to go with the easier solution, especially when that’s the one that makes the most sense.
And on Wednesday, Dustin Walker reminded us that copywriting isn’t just a matter of getting attention with great headlines — it’s also about sustaining that attention and building on it, to make a solid case. He shares some proven copywriting techniques that will hold audience attention and make your work more persuasive.
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