Copywriting - Business Writing: When Not To Be Professional

Business Writing: When Not To Be Professional

It's time to write your next ad or brochure. Maybe some web content. You've done all your research, and you're staring at a blank computer screen. You want to look good in print. You want to put your "best foot forward." And, of course, you want to make a barrel full of money.

Well, you're going to have to pick one, because you can't do all three.

Not, that is, if "looking good in print" means sounding like an educated professional. Or using perfect grammar. Because unless all of your prospects are English teachers, they're going to respond better to more natural writing ? writing that reads like people actually speak.

Real people don't speak like "professionals" write. (Neither, for that matter, do most professionals.) Real people use sentence fragments. They start sentences with "and", "or" and "but."

Every now and then they kind of trail off like?

One thing real people do not do is use big, fancy words when shorter ones will do. And neither should you.

Real people do not say things like, "I am committed to finding the lowest cost alternative." Why, then, would you want to be "focused on providing" it?

Copywriting that uses stuffy, complex language just doesn't sell. You know what I mean: The verbose, impersonal, corporate-speak that sounds more like a mission statement (which nobody cares about) than a personal communication. The kind that strokes the CEO's ego when it should be stroking the prospect's.

With that in mind, here are some tips to help bring your writing back "down to earth":

1. Picture your prospect. Get a mental picture of the one typical person you're writing to. If you have to, get a real picture from a magazine or even your family album and tape it to your computer screen as you write. Then write like you're talking to that one individual.

2. Read your copy out loud. If you stumble over anything, so will your reader. Rewrite until your words flow smoothly and sound natural.

3. Read your copy to someone else. Preferably a group of people. If, when you are finished, they tell you what a great job you've done, you have failed. You've succeeded when they ask you how to get what you're writing about.

Never be afraid to be personal in your ads, web pages, sales letters ? any time you are communicating with a prospect. Make it sound like you are actually speaking to them.

If you still want to "look professional", use the money you make and go buy some nice business clothes!

Lisa Packer, author of "How To Dramatically Increase Your Business... Without A Blockbuster Budget," is an independant Copywriter and Marketing Consultant. For more helpful articles like this one visit http://www.dramatic-copy.com

Created & Maintained by Empower! CMS Web Sites

Host2Sell Web Hosting | Emarketing Workshops | Site SEO Review | FREE Newsletter

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

10 Tips For Tech-writers
Tech-writing is a tricky business. It's not a very high profile industry, so there's not much support around. Follow these 10 quick tips, and you'll be well on your way to a satisfying tech-writing career.1) Follow a sensible career path?

...(related: Copywriting)

Creative Copywriting?
There is a difference between creative writing and copywriting. It took me a while to come to terms with this but it's true, there is a difference. When I first started my home based business on the Internet I read a lot of advice about publishing articles and doing copywriting to advertise your website. There was always a distinction drawn between copywriting and creative writing. I did not understand this: surely copywriting is creative? Eventually the logic dawned on me: all copywriting is creative writing but not all creative writers can write decent ad copy. If you have never studied that particular branch of philosophy, it's like ...(related: Copywriting)

How To Find Freelance Copywriting Jobs
Your goal is to land a few nice, secure freelance copywriting jobs, but how do you get them? The most important factor in finding these jobs is that you pursue the job you are looking for with all of your ducks in a row, so to speak. Here are a few things you need to do in or...(related: Copywriting)

Fundraising Letters: Where To Find Creative Ideas For Your Appeals
How do you make your fundraising letters creative and fresh year after year when your needs don't change all that much? I am not talking about new initiatives. I'm talking about the programs that you run year after year. The membership drive that you run year after year. The funds that you must ra...(related: Copywriting)

Copywriter Trick Unveiled: How To Write Better Copy Faster
"Talent alone cannot make a writer. There must be a man behind the book." Ralph Waldo Emerson's GoetheI'm going to share with you a method guaranteed to get your copy razor sharp in a hurry. It's an old trick I learned in journalism school, and it works great to get those creative juices flowing. Since I've been using it regularly again, I write circles around my former output times. The words are just at my fingertips.How did I do it? (More importantly, how can you do it too?) Well, you probably already know you must have curiosity to become a good writer...(related: Copywriting)

7 Big Ticket Copywriting Secrets I Learned From Ted Nicholas
I recently sponsored and attended Joel Christopher and Ted Nicholas's Double Birthday Bash and Interactive Marketing Summit in beautiful San Antonio, Texas.There was a fantastic lineup of speakers including John Assaraf, Joe Vitale, Brad Fallon, George McKenzie, Shawn Casey, Alan Bechtold, Tom "Big Al" Schreiter, Brian Keith Voiles, Rosalind Gardner, and Sydney Johnson.And, of course, both Joel Christopher and Ted Nicholas presented as well.Don't know who Ted Nicholas is?Ted is a living legend in the offline direct marketing world. He's considered the &...(related: Copywriting)

3 Copywriting Tips - How To Edit For Mass Appeal!
Web copy that's intended to sell or generate leads needs to quickly reach out and grab attention and build rapport with a target audience. You can connect with your audience more effectively if you understand something about how people process information, and how they think.Every one of us is constantly sorting, distorting, and generalizing what we perceive, just to stay sane.As a result, different people see the world differently. You probably want to appeal to as many of them within your target market as possible. Here are three simple tips you can use when it comes to editing your web copy.1 - An idea can...(related: Copywriting)

Dont Forget The Copywriting
Copywriting And Content CreationOne of the most important, but often overlooked aspects of marketing is copywriting. Businesses afford much attention, time and money, on graphics, mail formats and all of the website bells and whistles. But the copy--what is said about the businesses product--is often left to the end, receiving little focus or refinement.Whether your marketing plan involves ads, direct mail or a web...(related: Copywriting)