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The Nine Signs of Good Copywriting

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Counterpart Communication Design
Counterpart Communication Design

You can probably spot good copywriting from a mile away. But what makes it good? And how can you learn to craft killer copy yourself? Learn how, right now.

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TheNineSignsofGoodCopywriting Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.1
Whatiscopywriting? ?? Persuasive writing with a commercial purpose. ¨C?Different than journalism, PR, fiction. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.2
TheNineSignsofgoodcopywriting 1.? Empathy 2.? Clarity 3.? Efficiency 4.? Spin 5.? Appropriate voice 6.? Appropriate style 7.? No clich¨¦s 8.? Truth 9.? Craftsmanship Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.3
1.Empathy ?? ¡°You benefit.¡± ¨C?Second person. ¨C?Benefit-oriented. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.4
1.Empathy ¡°We created a furniture polish that leaves the competition in the dust!¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.5 Bad: ¡°With this new furniture polish, you¡¯ll pick up more dirt, faster. So you can polish off your housework in a hurry.¡± Good:
1.Empathy ?? Avoid ¡°we we¡± headlines. ?? Be the audience. Analyze in first person. ¨C?Do I care about this? ¨C?Do I believe it? ¨C?What do you want me to do? Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.6
2.Clarity ?? Make it easy to understand. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.7
2.Clarity ¡°Rapidly rising consumer expectations and a sharp downtrend in customer loyalty, plus intensified global competition and the resulting commoditization of products and services, have lead to a complete paradigm shift in supply chain strategy, in which the satisfaction of the individual consumer should be the sole basis for a corporation¡¯s analysis, management, and improvement of its supply chain.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.8 Bad: ¡°Today, supply chain management isn¡¯t about supply. It¡¯s about demand.¡± Good:
2.Clarity ?? Simple. One idea per sentence. ¨C?Cosmopolous: ¡°Bed of nails.¡± ?? Complete information (no confusion by omission). Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.9
2.Clarity ¡°New FedEx ShipManager software, available through 1-800-Go-FedEx, will replace your old PowerShip 3 hardware and make your automated shipping faster and more versatile.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.10 Bad: ¡°Introducing FedEx ShipManager software¡ªour new automated shipping program that replaces your old PowerShip 3 system. With ShipManager, you¡¯ll get your documentation done even faster. It works for more types of shipping, too. Order it today. Call 1-800-Go- FedEx.¡± Good:
3.Efficiency ?? Maximum impact with minimum words. ¨C?Brief. ¨C?Every word pulls its weight. ¨C?Content rich, fluff poor. ¨C?Specifics, not generalities. ¨C?Active voice. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.11
3.Efficiency ?? Verbs good. Adverbs bad. Adjectives okay. ¨C?If a word has to be modified, it¡¯s probably weak. Or else you¡¯re trying too hard. ¨C?Adverbs often overstate. This hinders credibility. ?? ¡°Very¡± ?? ¡°Extremely¡± ?? ¡°Uniquely¡± ?? ¡°Supremely¡± ?? If it ends in -ly, it sounds like a lie. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.12
3.Efficiency ¡°Toro is designed to easily and swiftly cut down all kinds of pesky weeds.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.13 Bad: ¡°Toro manhandles weeds.¡± Good:
3.Efficiency ?? Long isn¡¯t always wrong. ¨C?Long copy is smart for high-interest, high-cost products. ¨C?Can create a positive impression even if it¡¯s never read. ?? ¡°Wow, this Acme Widget 2000 must be good. Look at all the stuff they have to say about it.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.14
4.Spin ¡°This tiny water heater is so puny, it makes your shower ice-cold within five minutes.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.15 Negative: ¡°This space-saving water heater is perfect for conservation-minded bathers who are on the go!¡± Positive:
4.Spin ?? Duty: Present product in most favorable light. ?? Manipulate structure to deemphasize unappealing info. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.16
4.Spin ¡°You could win a free pizza if you take a couple of minutes of your time to fill out and mail this 10-question survey.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.17 Bad: ¡°Just answer a few questions and you could win a free, mouthwatering Domino¡¯s pizza for your entire office.¡± Good:
5.Appropriatevoice ?? For audience. ?? For situation. ?? For brand. ¨C?Brands have personalities. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.18
5.Appropriatevoice ¡°At Progressive Insurance, we understand the motorcycle riding lifestyle. So call and discover the peace of mind and potentially significant savings you can experience with us.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.19 Bad: ¡°Progressive gets it. So give us a call and check us out. You might save a hundred bucks or more.¡± Good:
5.Appropriatevoice ?? Write like you talk (conversational). ?? Anticipate reader reaction. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.20
5.Appropriatevoice ¡°This Gore-Tex jacket is 100% waterproof. What more could you ask for?¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.21 Bad: ¡°Gore-Tex has 9 billion holes per square inch. And yet it¡¯s perfectly waterproof. (Hey, we didn¡¯t believe it either, but it works, so now we believe it.)¡± Good:
6.Appropriatestyle ?? For medium. ?? For creative approach. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.22
6.Appropriatestyle ?? Brochures vs. websites: ¨C?Linear vs. nonlinear. ¨C?Intrigue vs. inverted pyramid. ¨C?Links. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.23
6.Appropriatestyle ?? Direct mail vs. email: ¨C?Envelope tease vs. subject line. ¨C?P.S. vs. boilerplate. ¨C?Special characters. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.24
6.Appropriatestyle ¡°New fan design offers more power, greater efficiency.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.25 Advertorial headline: ¡°This will blow you away.¡± Ad headline:
7.Noclich¨¦s ?? Overused language: ¨C?Has lost its meaning, has little impact. ¨C?Fosters cynicism. ¨C?Does not distinguish. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.26
7.Noclich¨¦s ¡°Good Industries offers you, our valued customer, a unique blend of quality products, fast delivery, friendly service, competitive prices, and a commitment to total quality excellence. It¡¯s all part of the time-honored tradition our customers have come to know and trust since 1974. Good Industries. The name says it all.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.27 Bad:
8.Truth ?? Honest, factual, accurate. ?? Understatement is better than overstatement. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.28
8.Truth ¡°Jonesboro offers unlimited entertainment options.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.29 Bad: ¡°In Jonesboro, you can watch Arkansas State athletics, dine at a surprising variety of Asian restaurants, or enjoy fishing at the many lakes and streams nearby.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re looking for something fun to do, you¡¯ll find a thing or two in Jonesboro.¡± Good:
8.Truth ¡°Enter and win!¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.30 Bad: ¡°Enter and you could win!¡± Good:
9.Craftsmanship ?? Created with care and precision. ¨C?No typos. ¨C?No extra spaces. ¨C?No inconsistencies. ?? Capitalization. ?? Punctuation. ?? Wording. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.31
Aboutpuns ?? Not one of the Nine Signs. ?? Typically: ¨C?Shallow. ¨C?Draw attention to themselves. ¨C?Done to death. ?? Not always bad. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.32
Traitsofthegreats ?? Care about content, not just creativity. ¨C?Hungry for information. ¨C?Full of questions and challenges. ?? Easy to work with. ¨C?Open-minded, not defensive, crave feedback. ¨C?Can-do attitude toward revisions. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.33
Unheraldedtraitsofthegreats ?? Ability to work with little or no direction. ¨C?Can wing it and get it 80% there. ?? Ability to ascertain direction when client has a hard time articulating it. ¨C?Use empathy, ask questions. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.34
Choosingawriter ?? The best copywriting happens when the assignment aligns with a copywriter¡¯s style, experience, and desire. ¨C?Brochure Writer + Website = Brochureware ¨C?Technical Writer + Emotional Plea = Flat Copy ¨C?Humor Writer + Technical Manual = Sloppy Copy Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.35
Recommendedreading ?? Hey Whipple, Squeeze This ¨C?by Luke Sullivan ?? The Copy Book ¨C?by the Design and Art Directors Club of the United Kingdom ?? The Copywriter¡¯s Handbook ¨C?by Robert Bly ?? www.alertbox.com (for web writing) ¨C?by Jakob Nielsen Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.36
Contact Sheperd Simmons President 901-654-2101 sheperd@counterpartCD.com counterpartCD.com twitter.com/counterpartCD facebook.com/counterpartCD linkedin.com/company/counterpart July 2, 2015Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.37 Memphis Web and social Lisa Evano Director, Dallas Office 214-447-0220 lisa@counterpartCD.com Dallas

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The Nine Signs of Good Copywriting

  • 2. Whatiscopywriting? ?? Persuasive writing with a commercial purpose. ¨C?Different than journalism, PR, fiction. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.2
  • 3. TheNineSignsofgoodcopywriting 1.? Empathy 2.? Clarity 3.? Efficiency 4.? Spin 5.? Appropriate voice 6.? Appropriate style 7.? No clich¨¦s 8.? Truth 9.? Craftsmanship Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.3
  • 4. 1.Empathy ?? ¡°You benefit.¡± ¨C?Second person. ¨C?Benefit-oriented. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.4
  • 5. 1.Empathy ¡°We created a furniture polish that leaves the competition in the dust!¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.5 Bad: ¡°With this new furniture polish, you¡¯ll pick up more dirt, faster. So you can polish off your housework in a hurry.¡± Good:
  • 6. 1.Empathy ?? Avoid ¡°we we¡± headlines. ?? Be the audience. Analyze in first person. ¨C?Do I care about this? ¨C?Do I believe it? ¨C?What do you want me to do? Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.6
  • 7. 2.Clarity ?? Make it easy to understand. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.7
  • 8. 2.Clarity ¡°Rapidly rising consumer expectations and a sharp downtrend in customer loyalty, plus intensified global competition and the resulting commoditization of products and services, have lead to a complete paradigm shift in supply chain strategy, in which the satisfaction of the individual consumer should be the sole basis for a corporation¡¯s analysis, management, and improvement of its supply chain.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.8 Bad: ¡°Today, supply chain management isn¡¯t about supply. It¡¯s about demand.¡± Good:
  • 9. 2.Clarity ?? Simple. One idea per sentence. ¨C?Cosmopolous: ¡°Bed of nails.¡± ?? Complete information (no confusion by omission). Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.9
  • 10. 2.Clarity ¡°New FedEx ShipManager software, available through 1-800-Go-FedEx, will replace your old PowerShip 3 hardware and make your automated shipping faster and more versatile.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.10 Bad: ¡°Introducing FedEx ShipManager software¡ªour new automated shipping program that replaces your old PowerShip 3 system. With ShipManager, you¡¯ll get your documentation done even faster. It works for more types of shipping, too. Order it today. Call 1-800-Go- FedEx.¡± Good:
  • 11. 3.Efficiency ?? Maximum impact with minimum words. ¨C?Brief. ¨C?Every word pulls its weight. ¨C?Content rich, fluff poor. ¨C?Specifics, not generalities. ¨C?Active voice. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.11
  • 12. 3.Efficiency ?? Verbs good. Adverbs bad. Adjectives okay. ¨C?If a word has to be modified, it¡¯s probably weak. Or else you¡¯re trying too hard. ¨C?Adverbs often overstate. This hinders credibility. ?? ¡°Very¡± ?? ¡°Extremely¡± ?? ¡°Uniquely¡± ?? ¡°Supremely¡± ?? If it ends in -ly, it sounds like a lie. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.12
  • 13. 3.Efficiency ¡°Toro is designed to easily and swiftly cut down all kinds of pesky weeds.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.13 Bad: ¡°Toro manhandles weeds.¡± Good:
  • 14. 3.Efficiency ?? Long isn¡¯t always wrong. ¨C?Long copy is smart for high-interest, high-cost products. ¨C?Can create a positive impression even if it¡¯s never read. ?? ¡°Wow, this Acme Widget 2000 must be good. Look at all the stuff they have to say about it.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.14
  • 15. 4.Spin ¡°This tiny water heater is so puny, it makes your shower ice-cold within five minutes.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.15 Negative: ¡°This space-saving water heater is perfect for conservation-minded bathers who are on the go!¡± Positive:
  • 16. 4.Spin ?? Duty: Present product in most favorable light. ?? Manipulate structure to deemphasize unappealing info. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.16
  • 17. 4.Spin ¡°You could win a free pizza if you take a couple of minutes of your time to fill out and mail this 10-question survey.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.17 Bad: ¡°Just answer a few questions and you could win a free, mouthwatering Domino¡¯s pizza for your entire office.¡± Good:
  • 18. 5.Appropriatevoice ?? For audience. ?? For situation. ?? For brand. ¨C?Brands have personalities. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.18
  • 19. 5.Appropriatevoice ¡°At Progressive Insurance, we understand the motorcycle riding lifestyle. So call and discover the peace of mind and potentially significant savings you can experience with us.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.19 Bad: ¡°Progressive gets it. So give us a call and check us out. You might save a hundred bucks or more.¡± Good:
  • 20. 5.Appropriatevoice ?? Write like you talk (conversational). ?? Anticipate reader reaction. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.20
  • 21. 5.Appropriatevoice ¡°This Gore-Tex jacket is 100% waterproof. What more could you ask for?¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.21 Bad: ¡°Gore-Tex has 9 billion holes per square inch. And yet it¡¯s perfectly waterproof. (Hey, we didn¡¯t believe it either, but it works, so now we believe it.)¡± Good:
  • 22. 6.Appropriatestyle ?? For medium. ?? For creative approach. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.22
  • 23. 6.Appropriatestyle ?? Brochures vs. websites: ¨C?Linear vs. nonlinear. ¨C?Intrigue vs. inverted pyramid. ¨C?Links. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.23
  • 24. 6.Appropriatestyle ?? Direct mail vs. email: ¨C?Envelope tease vs. subject line. ¨C?P.S. vs. boilerplate. ¨C?Special characters. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.24
  • 25. 6.Appropriatestyle ¡°New fan design offers more power, greater efficiency.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.25 Advertorial headline: ¡°This will blow you away.¡± Ad headline:
  • 26. 7.Noclich¨¦s ?? Overused language: ¨C?Has lost its meaning, has little impact. ¨C?Fosters cynicism. ¨C?Does not distinguish. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.26
  • 27. 7.Noclich¨¦s ¡°Good Industries offers you, our valued customer, a unique blend of quality products, fast delivery, friendly service, competitive prices, and a commitment to total quality excellence. It¡¯s all part of the time-honored tradition our customers have come to know and trust since 1974. Good Industries. The name says it all.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.27 Bad:
  • 28. 8.Truth ?? Honest, factual, accurate. ?? Understatement is better than overstatement. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.28
  • 29. 8.Truth ¡°Jonesboro offers unlimited entertainment options.¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.29 Bad: ¡°In Jonesboro, you can watch Arkansas State athletics, dine at a surprising variety of Asian restaurants, or enjoy fishing at the many lakes and streams nearby.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re looking for something fun to do, you¡¯ll find a thing or two in Jonesboro.¡± Good:
  • 30. 8.Truth ¡°Enter and win!¡± Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.30 Bad: ¡°Enter and you could win!¡± Good:
  • 31. 9.Craftsmanship ?? Created with care and precision. ¨C?No typos. ¨C?No extra spaces. ¨C?No inconsistencies. ?? Capitalization. ?? Punctuation. ?? Wording. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.31
  • 32. Aboutpuns ?? Not one of the Nine Signs. ?? Typically: ¨C?Shallow. ¨C?Draw attention to themselves. ¨C?Done to death. ?? Not always bad. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.32
  • 33. Traitsofthegreats ?? Care about content, not just creativity. ¨C?Hungry for information. ¨C?Full of questions and challenges. ?? Easy to work with. ¨C?Open-minded, not defensive, crave feedback. ¨C?Can-do attitude toward revisions. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.33
  • 34. Unheraldedtraitsofthegreats ?? Ability to work with little or no direction. ¨C?Can wing it and get it 80% there. ?? Ability to ascertain direction when client has a hard time articulating it. ¨C?Use empathy, ask questions. Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.34
  • 35. Choosingawriter ?? The best copywriting happens when the assignment aligns with a copywriter¡¯s style, experience, and desire. ¨C?Brochure Writer + Website = Brochureware ¨C?Technical Writer + Emotional Plea = Flat Copy ¨C?Humor Writer + Technical Manual = Sloppy Copy Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.35
  • 36. Recommendedreading ?? Hey Whipple, Squeeze This ¨C?by Luke Sullivan ?? The Copy Book ¨C?by the Design and Art Directors Club of the United Kingdom ?? The Copywriter¡¯s Handbook ¨C?by Robert Bly ?? www.alertbox.com (for web writing) ¨C?by Jakob Nielsen Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.36
  • 37. Contact Sheperd Simmons President 901-654-2101 sheperd@counterpartCD.com counterpartCD.com twitter.com/counterpartCD facebook.com/counterpartCD linkedin.com/company/counterpart July 2, 2015Proprietary and confidential. Please use discretion.37 Memphis Web and social Lisa Evano Director, Dallas Office 214-447-0220 lisa@counterpartCD.com Dallas