If you want to increase your marketing results and get more qualified leads, you will need to improve the effectiveness of the copywriting on your website, print ads, emails and direct mail.

This is vital because copywriting is your “salesperson in cyberspace, in print and in the mail” … and great salesmanship produces great sales … average salesmanship gets only average or worse results.

Here are the copywriting tips that will improve your marketing results. These are proven based on our copywriting work for over 450 businesses since 1978.

This is a list of what your prospect is thinking as he reads your marketing copy. It’s important to make sure everything is addressed on this list. If you do this, your marketing results will improve dramatically.

1. You’d better have done your research to know what benefits I want most from your type of product or service. If you don’t, I won’t even notice you, and if I do, I won’t even give you a hearing.

2. What do you do? How will it help me? I need to know “what’s in it for me” instantly or I’m gone.

3. Why should I believe you?

4. I already have a supplier for that &ndash why should I listen to you?

5. Make it easy for me to read, understand, navigate, and “scan” your marketing material.

6. I want a specialized expert in your field for my situation or my needs or my type of business.

7. Don’t bore me! I’m sick of corporate talk, business buzz terms and mumbo-jumbo. Almost all business marketing is very dull and boring and I won’t read it.

8. I want ALL the details and specs, including product information, product applications, CAD drawings and plans, costs and shipping. A ThomasNet.com study finds a very large percentage of buyers say these details are not readily available.

9. I want to read copywriting from a real live person talking to me person to person, and not from some emotionless corporation.

10. I won’t admit it on the record, but I make purchases based on my emotions. Sure I need logic and features for verification, but if you can touch my emotions, I’m much more likely to buy from you.

11. I badly want more from my life than just work. I’m very interested in saving time, work and stress.

12. Make it easy for me! You list many different things I can do and I’m confused. What one thing should I do now and why?

13. Don’t overload your website or brochure with fluff &ndash stick only to relevant and helpful information I need. I’m tired of all the irrelevant “filler” information on the web and I won’t read through it anymore.

14. Compare your product or service against your competitors for me if it is really as good as you say it is. Be honest, as I’ll see through any favoritism.

15. Be specific; generalities go right into my garbage.

16. What’s your guarantee?

17. How can I test your product, service or company first, in a low or no cost way, before I make a large commitment?

18. Help me justify the investment to my boss on an ROI basis.

These copywriting secrets applied properly are a main reason one website, direct mail piece or ad can pull 2 to 3 times the response as another for the same product or service. This is why the most successful marketers hire the best outside freelance copywriters they can afford.

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 &ndash screen shots, pictures, testimonials &ndash 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!

=> Step #1 - WHO DO YOU THINK YOU`RE TALKING TO?

Before you sit down to write your email sales letter, you`ve got to determine exactly who your audience is. This is a master key to getting results from email marketing.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What do your prospects/customers want?

- What frustrates your prospects/customers most?

- Who else is selling something similar to you?

- Why should your prospects/customers believe you?

- Why should prospects/customers respond to you instead of someone else?

- What kind of appeals will your target market respond to?

=> Step #2 - A GREAT SUBJECT IS YOUR OBJECT

Before an email can generate results, recipients need to open it. But what can you do to spark their interest and get their interest “motor” revved up?

Your SUBJECT LINE is the key.

There are four types of email formulas you can use as a guide in crafting your email. Each has a different PSYCHOLOGICAL APPEAL that works like magic on consumers. Here are some examples:

- State a powerful benefit - “Empowerism Satisfies Your Need for Leads”

- Pique curiosity - “Empowerism Has Uncovered the Secrets of Success”

- Write your subject line with a news angle - “Empowerism Launches RSVP For Those Who Want to Double Their Money Fast!”

- Offer Immediate Gratification - “With Empowerism RSVP, you can start the money wheels turning before the sun goes down tonight”

Here`s an important “homework assignment”: Write at least 25 SUBJECT LINES before you decide on which one to use. Take the best two and test them against each other in your marketing campaign. (Save the “losers” to use for other purposes or spruce up later.)

=> Step #3 - WHAT`S IN IT FOR THEM?

Sit down and write every conceivable benefit your product has. Don`t know the difference between features and benefits? Features describe the product; benefits describe the results of using the product. Features appeal to logic…logic justifies emotion…emotion drives sales (see below).

Here`s a rule of thumb for benefits: ask yourself “What can my product or service do for my customer?” Then begin to write your letter telling your reader WHAT`S IN IT FOR THEM. Tell them how much better life will be for them after they buy from you. Tell them how much better they`ll feel. Tell them how their peers will respect them more.

=> Step #4 - AN EMOTIONAL APPEAL

When promoting anything to anybody, you must remember that buying decisions are based upon emotion and later backed up by logic. Before you write a single word, determine what emotional hot buttons you need to push to “jumpstart” your prospect.

Selling health supplements? Go for the “fear of illness” button with “A Natural Way to Save Your Eyesight.” Selling political bumper stickers? Hit the “anger” button with: “Let the President Know What You Think of His Policies.” Other buttons include: curiosity, greed, ego, vanity, hope, and/or fear of scarcity or security.

=> Step #5 - A NAME YOU CAN TRUST

To convince people to buy your product or service, you must make them believe that your offer is credible and that you (or your product) will deliver as promised.

How do you do that? Here are three ways you can build credibility with the readers of your sales letter:

- Provide testimonials.

- Include endorsement letters from authority figures in your industry

- Make your offer and promises sincere and believable.

=> Step #6 - A GUARANTEE

Nowadays, trying to sell without some type of guarantee is a losing proposition. You`ve got to have one. And the stronger your guarantee, the better your response will be. And, believe it or not, although most people will NOT ask for a refund, they`ll trust your offer knowing that you stand behind it.

You can offer a 24-hour, 30-day, 60-day, 90-day, or even a full-year. And here`s an interesting fact: The longer the time period, the fewer returns you`ll have! It`s human nature to procrastinate, so the more time someone thinks they have to get a refund, the more they`ll put it off or forget about the refund altogether.

=> Step #7 - DON`T FORGET TO ASK

It happens all the time. Someone makes a fantastic sales presentation, and then doesn`t close the deal because he/she didn`t clearly ask for the order or made the process confusing rather than simple.

- From the Research Department: Statistics show that you need to ask for the order at least three times to close substantial sales. (Some studies put the number at 7!)

If you can, offer several ways for your prospects to order — consumers love choice. It tells them, “You`re talking directly to me and meeting my unique needs.” If you only offer one way to order, make it crystal clear how AND how easy it is. Describe it in detail and ask for the order. Then ask again.

=> Step #8 - THE EYES HAVE IT

It`s a well-known fact: Large blocks of copy are intimidating and will often send people running for the hills or at least the Delete button.

The solution? Break up paragraphs into two to four sentences. Use several subheadings throughout the email letter. And use asterisks, dashes, and ellipses (…) to give your copy more rhythm. Bullet points are excellent eye-catchers - use them whenever appropriate.

Add a little sparkle to your ad copy and increase your sales. Get started today with one or more of these tried and true techniques.

1.Hand Written Letter. Write your ad on a piece of paper scan it, optimize it, then publish the ad on your web page. Your sales will always increase when you add a personal touch.

2. Publish Famous or Respected Customers. Listing famous or respected customers who have purchased from you on your ad copy spark interest and trust. Others will think that if these people bought from you then they should also trust your business and purchase your products. Make sure you get permission from your customers before listing them on your website first.

3. Show Before and After Photos. First show the problem picture. Besides this show the picture which show how your product solves the problem.

4. A Review. Including a review about you, your business and or your product will instill respect for you with you customers. Increasing credibility increases sales.

5. Show Value. When offering free bonuses in your ad copy also list the dollar value beside each bonus.

6. Hire an Endorser. Hire a famous person to endorse your product or service. Make sure the person is well known to your target audience. Include their picture along with their statement on your ad copy.

7. Include Your Picture. Showing people that you are not hiding behind your ad copy will increase their trust. Also include your contact information below the picture and a brief statement or quote.

8. Donate Percentage to Charity. Tell your potential customers on your ad copy that you will donate a specific percentage of their purchase to a specific charity. Doing this will show them you care about people. They may just buy your product to donate to that charity.

9. Ask Yes & No Questions. Ask potential customers plenty of yes and no questions in your ad copy. The questions should remind them of their problem, show how your product solves their problem and make them think what will happen if they don’t purchase your product.

10. Offer a Prize. Tell your potential customers they will receive a free prize if they find the five words in your ad copy that are misspelled or spelled backwards. The longer you can keep someone reading your copy the greater chance of them purchasing

Nothing can turn strong copy into a 97-pound weakling faster than a flawed review process. The result is severely handicapped marketing efforts and, alas, fewer sales.

How can you avoid this dire marketing situation?

By having a smart and consistent review process that preserves the selling power of your marketing communications. Following are 7 essential tips for reviewing and approving copy.

1. Review the copy from the customers’ perspective.

On the first pass, read the copy (all of it) without your red pen in hand or editing hat on. That’s how your customers or audience will read it. Now, what do you think? Does the concept work? Did the headline grab your attention? How was the tone? Does the copy flow? If you begin by editing the first sentence or sweating the details, you will do your clients or customers a disservice.

2. Don’t get hung up on grammar and usage.

If you think the copywriter broke a writing rule, 9 times out of 10 there was an excellent reason. Copywriters are sales people in print, so if we take liberty with the English language, it’s for effect. Plus, be aware that copywriters (and proofreaders) review and correct the copy before you see it. For example, I consider spelling, grammar, style issues, trademark usage, and more to ensure the quality control of every piece of copy I write.

3. Avoid copy by committee.

There’s that old joke that says if you want to kill an idea or project, start a committee. Copy by committee is no different. Conflicting and misguided comments put the copywriter and creative team in the awkward position of trying to please everyone except who matters most — the intended audience. One way around this is to circulate informational copies to people who would like to see the copy. They can make comments without being part of the formal approval process.

4. Minimize the rounds.

Provide complete feedback on the first round, forwarding all your comments, suggestions, and changes to the copywriter. That way the copywriter can consider everything when he or she rewrites the copy and you can shorten the review cycle. Copy is typically stronger when it’s created in three or fewer rounds.

5. Provide specific comments.

When you provide specific comments, the chances of succeeding on the rewrite improve dramatically. For example, instead of saying, “This isn’t strong enough,” say, “The tone needs to be more authoritative” or “These are additional benefits the copy should cover.” Often times putting your comments in writing will help you be more specific than if you just provide them orally.

6. Let the copywriter rewrite the copy.

Instead of trying to “write” the changes yourself to be incorporated, tell the copywriter your concerns and let him or her address them. The copy will benefit when the copywriter does the rewriting.

7. Judge the copy based upon your objectives.

In the end, the copy was written with particular objectives in mind: to build your brand, generate leads or sales, inform about your company, products, or services, and so on. Make sure the copy is technically accurate and factually correct. Then critique the copy based upon what you want it to accomplish, not on the number of superlatives, your competitor’s latest ad campaign, or how it compares to your previous brochure.

(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel

If there is one role to be filled in the Internet which matters most to a website, it is none other than content writers. Of course we could not ignore the fact that web designers and programmers are also important in giving a good website. However, it is the content that matters to the audience.

Contents are the traffic producers of a website. In this age of information technology, almost everyone needs to get some information. Likewise, it is always a must to hire content writers to fill in the page of a website. The website might have a good design. It might also be interactive, however without something to read on it, the website is as good as nothing.

Being a content writer does not only entails that one knows how to write. It also means that one knows how to keep in touch with millions of audience worldwide. Here are some good tips for an emerging content writer who wants to pursue his profession in Internet writing

1. Write Clearly and Direct to the Point

If a content writer would consider the millions of audience who will be reading his articles, the important goal for him is to communicate to his audience in simple and understandable words. Some audience are not native English speakers, likewise, local slangs should be avoided. Standard English must be the language to be adopted for content writers

While some writers has the habit of writing long paragraphs just like a treatise, in content writing, this is one of the pitfalls the article would not be read by the audience. The audience does not care about explaining further just like in a term paper. They need to know the facts directly. Writing straight to the point is a must for content writers.

2. Know The Purpose of Writing

One mistake most content writers have in content writing is the inability for them to stick on the bread and butter of the content. The basic rule of content writing is to know the purpose of what a content writer needs to write. The ideas must be centered on that purpose.

Some content writers are take so much time in the fancies to the extent that a reader will be detoured on the its purpose. If one would like to sell a product, a content writer must write something that would make it sell a product. If promoting an event is necessary, a content writer must write something interesting to the audience that can help promote an event.

3. Style of Writing

One of the most important aspects of a content writer is his style of writing his piece. Some writers are just contented enough to write anything about the subject matter to the extent that coherence and transitions are ignored. While content writers might have different style of writing, it must always take into consideration the organization of the written piece. In this way, the audience can better understand if the written piece has the form and the substance.

Most of the content writers in the Internet are writing in a conversational tone. Indeed, this is very helpful to readers. However, personal clich

I remember the first time a client offered me a case study writing assignment.

I was petrified.

It was early in my freelance writing career and I didn’t even know what one looked like. I had a lot of questions. “What the heck is a case study?” “How long is it?” “What is the format?” “How much do I charge?”

I didn’t have a clue.

Of course, these days, I know more. A lot more. In fact, I write dozens of case studies for clients each year.

Case studies now rank high on my list of the most fascinating &ndash and lucrative &ndash projects I handle. (I’m sure glad that client offered me the job all those years ago!)

If you’re unfamiliar with case studies, don’t worry. They’re really quite simple. A case study is just a fancy name for a success story &ndash the tale of a happy customer and his or her experience using a product or service.

Lately, I’ve noticed that more and more companies need case studies written, yet have difficulties finding writers who can do the job.

That spells OPPORTUNITY for you and me.

And it gets better. Consider the following:

1. Case studies are not difficult to write.

They are similar in style and format to a newsletter article. So if you can write one of those, you can write a case study.

2. Case studies are relatively short

Usually about 400-800 words in length. Once you’ve gained a little experience, you’ll be able to knock one off in less than a day.

3. The formats are standardized

Unlike ads and direct mail, you won’t get stressed out by having to come up with a dazzling new concept or killer headline. The basic structure of a case study is remarkably simple. All that’s required of you is to get the facts and write a good piece.

4. Case study writers are in demand

More companies are scrambling to get case studies written today than ever before. I can’t give you an exact figure but, in my opinion, the demand for case study writers has increased significantly over the past couple of years.

5. There is little competition

I’m not sure why, but few copywriters go after this market. Some may not know it exists. Others may mistakenly think that case studies are dull or technical. Not true! Case study writing is storytelling. It’s fun.

6. Case studies pay well

Surprisingly well. Now you won’t get the superstar rates paid to big-league direct mail copywriters. But most clients do pay handsomely for case study writing. Earning $100 per hour is not an unreasonable expectation for an experienced writer. I know many who earn a lot more.

Right now the case study market is booming. Why not jump in and get your share of these fascinating and lucrative writing gigs?

Ever wanted a job where you could spend all day, every day, writing clever and inspiring prose? Yes? Well don’t become a freelance copywriter!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great job, and for some of us it’s a calling that won’t be denied. And you definitely do get to write clever and inspiring prose. It’s just that you don’t do it all day, every day. In fact, when you sit down at the end of the day and think about what you’ve done, the percentage of time spent writing is surprisingly low.

So what does a freelance copywriter do other than write copy? Well, basically, they run a business. This article discusses 11 daily rituals involved with running a freelance website copywriting or advertising copywriting business (other than writing). It also provides some tips for performing them successfully.

1) Quoting

Freelance copywriters serve many masters. They generally have quite a few clients, and spend quite a bit of time quoting on new jobs. When you quote, you’re calculating how much to charge for the job. For a freelance copywriter, there are a number of important factors influencing quoting. You need to have some way to accurately estimate time. Generally the best way to achieve this is to be diligent in your tracking. If you know how long past jobs have taken you, you’ll be much more confident and accurate in your estimates. You need to know how much time you spend not writing (as you should try to cover as much of this as possible). You need to have a feel for what the client is prepared to pay (are they a big or small company, how highly do they seem to value copy, etc.). You need to know how much your competitors are charging for the same thing. You need to understand what differentiates you from your competitors. You need to think about how badly you want or need the work. And, of course, you need to estimate how time-consuming the client will be.

2) Submitting Proposals

A quote is not the same as a proposal. A quote is generally contained within a proposal, but it’s not the same thing. When you submit a copywriting proposal, you’re marketing your skills, your solution, your work ethic, your customer service, your commitment, and your experience. Basically, you’re justifying your price, and differentiating yourself from your competition. And it’s not just about WHAT you say. It’s also HOW you say it and how you PRESENT it. Everything about your proposal plays a part in the client’s decision! If possible, include additional helpful information. Use a title page, a table of contents, headers, and footers. Introduce at the beginning and summarise at the end. Include your price, but call it an “investment”, not a “cost”. Show the client you’ve thought their job through by summarising their requirements. Outline your proposed solution. And most importantly, give the client a clear call to action (“Where to from here?”).

3) Chasing reviews

The freelance copywriter is almost never the bottleneck in a copywriting job. In 99.99% of copywriting jobs, the bottleneck is the review process. Most clients take a long time to review. In fact, about a third of clients need to be prompted at least once before they’ll get back to you with their changes. It’s not uncommon for a one-day writing job to take a full month to reach sign-off &ndash or longer. Some clients will put the copy review on the backburner for months (just another reason to request a deposit before commencement of work)! As a result, freelance advertising copywriters and website copywriters spend a lot of time chasing reviews. Make sure you factor the delay and the chasing time into your quotes as best you can. And always record which clients take a long time, so you can be prepared when discussing deadlines on the next job.

4) Project scheduling & tracking

No matter whether you work on big projects or small, project scheduling and tracking are vital. You need to know the exact status of all work in progress (tracking), and you also need to be very aware of what’s coming up and how you’ll manage it (planning). If you’re doing it right, you should be using your tracking and planning tools several times a day. In fact, they should be the hub of your business. TIP: A good way to track copywriting projects is to use a job (and contact) tracking database. I created my own database using Microsoft Access. Visit .divinewrite.com/downloads/contacts and jobs.mdb to download a 208KB working copy for FREE. You’ll need Microsoft Access 2000 to run it. I’m no database expert, so it’s not a work of art. It’ll certainly get you started though. (TIP: When using the database, press Ctrl + ; to enter today’s date.)

5) Accounting

Issuing invoices, processing payments (and part payments), chasing outstanding invoices, recording expenses, managing bank accounts, putting tax aside… It all takes a lot of time. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can handle your accounts manually (or with Microsoft Excel). Even if you only have a few clients, you NEED a proper accounts package like MYOB or Quicken (they both offer small business versions). You’ll understand why the first time you do your GST reports or annual taxes. In fact, you’ll understand why whenever you need to chase down outstanding invoices

6) Visiting clients

Although the wonders of modern email let a freelance copywriter get through about 95% of their work without ever leaving the office, it’s sometimes still a good idea to do things the ‘old-fashioned’ way &ndash especially if you expect to work with them quite a bit. Shake hands and put a face to a name. And remember, everything about the meeting reflects on you and your business. As with your proposals, think about WHAT you say, HOW you say it, how you PRESENT. Always organise the meeting with plenty of notice, confirm the day before the meeting, be on time, summarise the meeting, and provide a call to action. (Try to do these last two both at the end of the meeting and via email after the meeting.)

7) Office admin

Even for a low overhead business like copywriting, there’s always something! Changing phone plans, upgrading/fixing computers, your internet service is down, your website is temporarily unavailable, you’re enhancing your data storage procedures, you need new printer or fax ink cartridges… Office administration takes up a surprisingly large chunk of your day. Make sure you allow for it. This means allowing time to do the work, and factoring that time into your quotes. If you don’t, you’ll be continually working into the wee hours and/or losing money.

Marketing strategy

How do you generate business? Cold calls? (See .divinewrite.com/coldcallingcopywriter.htm.) Website? (See .divinewrite.com/articles.htm for numerous website & SEO articles.) Networking? Word of mouth? Repeat business? Agencies? (See also .divinewrite.com/freelancecopywriting.htm for some tips on succeeding as a freelance copywriter.) No matter what your strategy, you need to give it the time it deserves. It’s a good idea to average around an hour a day to thinking about and implementing marketing strategy.

9) Industry research

Stay up to date on the latest copywriting industry research. Read research on usability, readability, and scannability (visit .useit.com or .goodexperience.com and subscribe to their newsletters). Read up on search engine optimization (see .divinewrite.com/SEOCEO.htm or try subscribing to a newsletter from .webpronews.com or .site-reference.com). Try to track how day-to-day language is changing (what buzz words to use, what buzz words to avoid, what rules are being overlooked in spoken English, what sounds make a positive impression on people, etc.). Know the difference between writing for the web versus writing for print versus writing for search engines (see .divinewrite.com/articles.htm for some relevant articles). If you want to scratch the surface, spend 10 minutes every day.

10) Subject matter research

Whether it’s website copywriting or advertising copywriting, to do a good job, you need to know a lot about your subject material. This means both specific knowledge about the client’s product or service as well as more generic ‘domain’ knowledge. Clients have a tendency to not supply enough information. Make sure you interview them thoroughly. And then let them know you’ll probably need to ask further questions. Even then, you may find yourself doing a bit of independent research. The Internet is your saviour, but always run any information by your client before publishing. When you’re quoting on a job, try to figure out how much detail the client will be able to supply. You can even ask them to estimate how much they’ll supply (i.e. All, Most, Some, or None). This is a good technique as it gets them thinking about your requirements while at the same time giving you some idea how much time you’ll spend researching.

11) Planning

In one important respect, website copywriting and advertising copywriting are no different from any other form of writing; planning is vital. For more specific planning information, see .divinewrite.com/benefits.htm and .divinewrite.com/webbenefitwriting.htm.

Happy writing!

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

To write successful copy, you need to know as much as you can. It goes beyond reading background materials, reviewing old marketing pieces and doing some cursory research on the Web.

You need to get inside peoples’ heads.

Start with your clients. They know their business and their customers better than you do. (If they don’t, they should. You can help them learn more.)

How? Use a marketing/creative brief to get the information you need to ace the copywriting (and marketing) assignment. (A marketing/creative brief is a tool used by ad agencies and corporate marketing and creative departments.)

Following is a marketing/creative brief adapted from one I used during my stint at a Seattle ad agency. Even though I now work solo, I still use it today.

(Begin form)

Marketing/Creative Brief

(Note: Designed for B2B; much of this brief is also applicable to B2C.)

Good input is key to a successful project, campaign, or marketing program. This marketing/creative brief is designed to elicit good input. But it takes thorough and thoughtful answers on your part. Please answer the following questions carefully.

1. What is the description of the piece(s)? (Ad, Web site, brochure, radio script, direct mail, etc.)

2. What is the marketing focus? (What products or services are we telling about?)

3. What is the communications problem that the piece(s) must solve? (Awareness, positioning or repositioning, product introduction, category introduction, etc.)

4. Who is the audience? (Demographics, title, function, responsibility, etc.)

5. What is their point of view about the product, service, category?

6. Who is the secondary audience(s), if any?

7. What business problems or issues does the product(s)/service(s) solve for the audience(s)? (Efficiency issues, profitability issues, operations issues, technology issues, etc.)

8. What effect do we want the piece(s) to have on the target audience(s)? (Purchase, phone call, visit Web site, request more information, increase their awareness, etc.)

9. What can we offer to achieve the desired response? (Demos, situation evaluation, sales collateral, personal visit, white paper, etc.)

10. What is the single essential message we must tell the target audience(s) to achieve the desired effect? (Be as concise as possible.)

11. What evidence is there to support our claims? (Features and benefits, testimonials, case studies, etc.)

12. Can anyone else make a similar promise?

13. Are there any technology issues to address? (Compatibility, operating systems, hardware requirements, etc.)

14. What specific industry issues must be addressed? (Trends, etc.)

15. Are there any industry, product or competitive issues to be avoided?

16. What tone should the piece employ? (Hardhitting/serious, educational/informative, humorous, etc.)

17. What do you like about your current piece(s)? (Look and feel, tone, messaging, functionality, etc.)

18. What don’t you like about your current piece(s)? (Look and feel, tone, messaging, functionality, etc.)

19. What overall impressions (look and feel, etc.) would you like the piece(s) to make?

20. Will this piece(s) be used with any other pieces? (proposals, collateral, letters, etc.)

21. How will the piece(s) be used (online, leave behind, trade shows, mailed, etc.) and at what point in the sales cycle?

22. Any other comments?

(End form)

Admittedly, getting clients to answer these questions isn’t always easy.

That’s why it’s best to be flexible with the use of a marketing/creative brief. You can ask the client to fill it out. You can use it to interview the client. You can fill it out yourself for the client’s review. Any sort of collaborative approach works well.

In the end, stress to your clients that if they want more clicks, more leads and more sales, they need to actively participate in the input process.

One you have all the information you need, you’re ready to write a winner.

(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel