2. Some people have a way with
words, and other people… oh,
uh, not have way.
- Steve Martin
3. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Mainly because it uses words – and as
people, we tend to use those to communicate
with each other.
So when I talk about copywriting – what’s
involved? Copywriting should provide you
the language to discuss and express your
business.
4. Find your tone of voice in order to effectively
communicate your brand.
How to powerfully paint a picture for your
audience - show, don't tell.
The power of contextualising your brand
attributes.
How to engage your audience and encourage
them to start conversations.
5. WHAT IS IT?
Copywriting is the skilled use of words to
promote a person, business, opinion or idea.
Anything with words:
Press releases
Website copy
Emails
Brochures
Speeches
Your tools to talk about your brand
6. IT’S ALSO ADVERTISING…
But advertising copywriting is a luxury –
because it’s fun. It can be more direct.
You need the tools of copywriting to give you
that voice – then you can play with it more
publicly with advertising copy.
7.
8.
9. WHAT IT CAN DO FOR YOU
It increases the perceived value of your
brand.
Most people aren’t doing it as well as they
could be – including your competitors.
Good copywriting might not always win the
sale, but bad copywriting can lose it.
10. THE PERCEPTION OF VALUE
When you have great copy – you have a perceived
level of quality.
Most of your competitors have probably ignored this.
Because hey, if it’s in English – it must be
communicating what we need it to communicate.
But having GREAT copy – sets you aside, your
perceived quality of service or product is much higher
– and it’s cost effective – great copy can be used over
and over and over again, re-printed, distributed – if
it’s a great message, you can put it out everywhere.
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13. CAN ANYONE DO IT?
Most people fancy themselves a writer.
I’M A WRITER
14. But there’s a difference between a journalist,
an editor, a novelist and a creative
copywriter.
At the end of the day – as with anything
that’s creative – it’s going to be subjective.
15. CREATIVE COPYWRITING
Journalistic:
Copywriting has emerged as one of the world’s most
undervalued services following a meeting at the
global copywriting forum.
Novelist:
“Copywriting,” she thought, swirling her whisky in
the glass, “if only they saw what it means.” Ice cubes
clinked about as she burst into tears and sobbed
until mascara ran down her face.
Creative copywriting borrows from both of these – it’s
emotively informative.
16. WHERE TO START
WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?
What age are they?
What’s their point of reference?
What have they been familiar with so far? –
TV, Magazines, Brands, World Events.
17. WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO THEM?
Presumably because you want them to trust
you – to spend money with you – on
products or services.
You may also just want them to be impressed
by you – have something to aspire to. (This is
not a very profitable attitude, just fyi)
18. WHY SHOULD THEY LISTEN?
What makes you different?
Do you have the experience? The track
record? The energy?
Even the most boring subject matter can be
made interesting – there’s a lot of interest to
be seen.
19. A LITTLE EXERCISE
What’s the most boring job you’ve ever had?
Now the bar-pickup metaphor. I wouldn’t
usually go with this, but we’re going to today.
20. There are many ways to say the same thing.
That’s a given – but it’s about knowing your
audience and deciding what level you want to
connect with them on about your subject
matter.
It’s important to focus on the quality of the
connection.
For example…
21.
22.
Some examples of bog-standard copy.
We are passionate about innovation and creativity.
We are a committed and enthusiastic team of
professionals.
We ensure the highest standards of customer service.
There’s no colour in these examples.
23. CONTEXTUALISE YOUR BRAND ATTRIBUTES
Have some faith in the imagination of your
reader. You don’t need much to paint a picture.
Paolo raised his eyebrow at the pile of money
on the desk. He twisted a gold ring onto his
little finger, swollen flesh bulged around it like
roast pork.
Describe that man as you see him in your head.
24. FINDING YOUR TONE OF VOICE
Focus on your audience.
Don’t try to be too clever.
Be direct and to the point.
Make the most of the opportunity to
differentiate yourself.
25.
26. Copywriting is about coming up with a tight
idea and finding the best way to say it.
This often means simple words.
Say it directly or don’t say it at all.
‘At COMPANY we…’ So many corporates
start with this sentence. Why not just ‘We’?
It’s the same with ‘We aim to’ or ‘We believe’.
We’ll believe you if you do it, so say what
you’re going to do.
27. BRAND ATTRIBUTES
Some words we come across all the time:
Professional, Friendly, Enthusiastic,
Passionate, Knowledgeable, People-focused,
Innovative, Creative, Experienced, Dynamic.
You need to prove these things.
28. INDUSTRY SPECIFIC TERMINOLOGY
We need this.
Hospitality will mention food and drinks.
Technology will mention innovation.
Banking will mention reliability.
You do need some of these – it’s about
finding what sets you aside.
29. Professional:
Yes, obviously – most people are.
People-focused:
We’re not a world run by robots, yet.
Knowledgeable:
Let’s see some credentials.
Enthusiastic:
Do you sound happy about what you’re doing?
30.
31.
BANK provides a comprehensive range of financial services through
four customer groups and global businesses: Retail Banking and
Wealth Management; Commercial Banking; Corporate, Investment
Banking and Markets; and Private Banking.
BANK works tirelessly to provide consumers, corporations,
governments and institutions with a broad range of financial services
and products. We strive to create the best outcomes for our clients and
customers with financial ingenuity that leads to solutions that are
simple, creative and responsible
BANK is a strongly capitalised commercial bank whose major business
activities comprise retail banking and wealth management, corporate
and commercial banking, treasury services, and private banking. The
Bank also offers a comprehensive suite of RMB services.
32. “THOUGHT LEADERSHIP”
A personal favourite, because everyone wants
to be a thought leader.
It’s important to note that many of the best
leaders in history and today – have a
distinctive, engaging tone of voice.
Don’t tell people you’re a thought-leader,
show them you are.
33. WHY LESS IS SOMETIMES MORE
We overwrite because we’re scared the
reader won’t understand.
Sometimes you don’t want to give them
everything.
Curiousity is a powerful motivator – leave
people with a few questions.
You’re more likely to make a decision based
on what someone’s told you than what you’ve
read.
34. WHEN WORKING WITH A COPYWRITER
Don’t fall into the trap – just because you own a
racket, doesn’t mean you can play tennis. Just
because someone speaks English – doesn’t
mean they are a born creative writing genius.
Have an editor. An honest, brutally honest
editor.
Brief them fully. Be frank and candid. A good
copywriter will be able to see through the fact
you don’t know what you’re talking about.
35. WHERE TO START
Keep the first sentence between 7 and 10
words.
7 to 10 words is the average conversation’s
sentence length.
The most engaging brands don’t introduce
themselves in monologues.
They start a conversation.
36. HAVE FUN WITH THREES
As a challenge – try writing something about
your business or yourself in three words.
See how these three words can add a break –
a statement – a bit of confidence when
placed within copy.
37. GET ACTIVE
You can tell your reader to do something
“Get in touch” “Click here” “Join us” – it’s all
part of the seduction process.
If you’ve hooked them so far and left them
with questions – by all means give them a
little instruction to find out more.
38. HEADLINES
Break up copy with headlines.
It sounds basic but it makes a big difference.
This is an interesting place to inject your own
voice.
“The Team” “About Us” “What we do”
Same with little headings or titles within
copy – you have a chance to show a little
personality.
39. RE-WRITE AND DO SO FEARLESSLY
Write ideas down.
Any ideas – and explore them, make
ridiculous notes and let your thoughts go off
on tangents.
Draft and re-draft and then give yourself a
cut-off point.
40. COPYWRITING RULES TO LIVE BY
Don’t lie, don’t be lazy and don’t be
boring.
Take ownership of your words.
Focus on your audience and remember
they aren’t stupid and they have
imaginations.
Show don’t tell.
