How to be a Great Copywriter

By Michael Willard

Copy is king.

This is the case even in a visual world, where the public grazes through thousands of ads each day, where messages flicker across the TV screen and dangle from or are plastered on every conceivable surface.

In my view, nothing moves the consumer to action better than copy that delivers the right messages, and in a way that educates rather than lectures or, even worse, minimalist copy that merely serves as window dressing for a visual image.

In any ad in any medium, the idea is ground zero. However, it is the copy that grabs the consumer by the collar and leads him to the car lot, the market, the event or the service.

However, there is a tendency today to minimize the importance of copy. In most cases, it appears to play second fiddle to the image. The image and the headline might grab the consumer's attention, but it is the copy that overcomes his or her objections to the sell. The copy's job is to do the heavy lifting.

While a pretty picture of a car on a country road might stir passionate feelings about buying the automobile, it is the copy that takes those passions and channels them by giving a concrete promise. After all, big ticket investments require solid sales points.

Admittedly, in a much faster-paced world than the 1960s - when an ad written by David Ogilvy might have had several hundred words of copy - it is more difficult to capture the consumer's attention for several minutes. But when you do, you have ignited a process that has a better chance of resulting in a sale.

So, how do you go about writing readable and sellable copy?

Think about words that enhance product benefits without over promising. Some words convey beauty, others workmanship, and still others a superior level of service. Think of adjectives that stir emotions. Use the active voice with strong verb and noun combinations.

Offer a solid promise - the single idea of the ad. However, stay away from hollow or pseudo-product benefits that stray from the old verities of taste, smell, convenience, and reliability. We've never met a product yet that could "carry you back to springtime", or bring you romance merely by chomping into a chocolate bar.

Add supporting planks to the promise. In other words, establish the credibility of your promise.

Write informal copy. Write the way you would talk to your neighbor on the other side of the fence. Loosen up and have fun. It will make your copy more interesting. 

Avoid listing product benefits as if you were writing your grocery list. You see this often done with bullet points. The consumer wants to be romanced. 

Make sure you have the basics - the what, when, where, how and why - in drawing consumer into your showroom or store.

Be a Hemmingway rather than a Faulkner. Use short sentences that have punch over long, convoluted sentences.

Copywriting is mostly craft and not art. Writing good copy can be learned.
Perhaps the best way to become a good copywriter is to live the life. Read more, because it stimulates good writing.  Practice writing often so that even your emails can be put to music.

That's how you become a great copywriter.