Sometimes, coming up with the right words seems harder than balancing an egg on your head while hula hooping. In 2017, there are plenty of people who communicate more in GIF and Bitmoji than grammar and punctuation.
But when it comes to business, you HAVE to learn to not only understand your brand and audience, but also how to effectively communicate with them. And often, the writing part is the hardest – here are some of the most critical elements to pay attention to.
5 Critical Elements of Effective Copywriting
1. Know your Audience
If your audience is 80-year old veterans seeking health care, your voice and tone may be very different than if you are selling single origin coffee to millennials. Practice writing in a way that best speaks to your target audience, whoever that may be. Who knows, maybe if your business sells fidget spinners, GIFs are just the short, punchy communication you need!
2. Know the End Product
Is this a blog post, brochure, sign, press release, or website copy? Each has it’s own unique attributes. One rule of thumb? No matter the end product, always try to give the maximum amount of information with the minimum amount of words. Attention spans are short these days, so if you need to say something, make sure you aren’t hiding it with a bunch of superfluous, unneeded words.
3. Tell a Story
Whether it is three sentences on a postcard or a twenty page white paper, storytelling is the best way to engage an audience, in any age or demographic. And, believe it or not, you can incorporate storytelling even in something with very little copy. Another way of saying “tell a story”? Make it relatable. People understand stories, because they can place themselves in an imaginary situation. If you can get your audience to do that, you’ve mastered one of the most critical elements of effective communication!
4. Always Use a CTA
CTA stands for “call to action”. Meaning, always ask something of your audience at the end. A CTA could be as simple as “Click here for more info” or more elaborate with something like, “Find your perfect getaway”. Across the board, what is the reason for someone viewing and interacting with your content? Make it clear with the right CTA.
5. Proofread! Then, Once More From the Top
Professional writers have editors for a reason. Once you’ve looked over, read over, and re-written several parts of a piece, your chances of it being free of typos, spelling or punctuation errors is next to impossible. As many eyes as you can have on your work before it is published, sent to print, or sent out over the internet, the better. Maybe this guy can help.
Paperkite Writing Hack! Have a sentence that looks like this?
“Enjoy a cold draft beer on our enjoyable lakeview patio where guests enjoy the company of friends and family.”
Avoid using the same word over and over by using the thesaurus (www.thesaurus.com – it’s free) to find alternatives that may be more accurate and descriptive.
When in Doubt – Hire a Professional Writer
Is it a really important press release or huge marketing campaign? When in doubt, the best thing to do is hire a professional and then heed their advice. Copywriting is just one piece of the bigger puzzle and whether you need help crafting the words effectively or more than that, Paperkite Creative has an entire team of marketing professionals who can offer expertise in branding, video, copywriting, social media and more. Learn more about our services here.
