Whether for a print ad, a website, a radio spot, a brochure, a TV spot, a digital ad, an email, a video or something else, there are five factors that mark great copy.
Brevity
Our brains have been retrained. Texts and tweets and TV have shortened our attention spans. So short copy gets read Long copy doesn’t. Trim ruthlessly. Short words. Short sentences. Short paragraphs. Get in. Get out.
Empathy
Great copy takes the customer’s point of view. Show me you understand my problems. Feel my pain. Share my joy. But make it about me.
Surprise
Nothing sticks in your brain like the unexpected. That’s why surprise works so well in copy. And humor is the best surprise — real humor that makes you smile or chuckle. That kind of copy doesn’t just get a reaction. It gets shared.
Emotion
Too much copy uses logic to persuade. But forget the head for awhile. Aim for the heart. Conjure up the emotions you want the customer to feel. Contentment. Frustration. Joy. Longing. Nostalgia. Engage the heart, and the head will follow. (And yes, this includes B2B copy. Because business owners are people, too.)
Clarity
Lose the jargon. Seriously. How simply and clearly can you say what you do and how you help? Look over every sentence that takes your message into the world. Is it clear? Is it helpful? Is it necessary?
If you can inject those five ingredients into all of the copy you’re using to reach prospects and customers, you’ll reach a lot more, and they’ll retain a lot more. And that means you’ll sell a lot more.