With the plethora of information made available through the web, making oneself seen and heard on the web can be a challenging endeavor. This proves to be even more difficult for companies reaching out to millennials whose attention span for ads lasts for a mere 5 seconds. How then can you differentiate yourself from the sea of voices shouting for attention? The secret is in writing highly relevant, value-adding and interesting copies. Here are 8 tips to get started with that super copy.
1. Have a strong voice that conveys your brand’s personality
Adopt a conversational tone that offers a unique point of view. Avoid convoluted sentences that are unnecessarily complex, as they would require longer processing time. This deters your audience from reading on. On the contrary, try using a variation of sentence length. Simple syntax structures with strong words is a good rule of thumb.
2. Write to connect
Writing academically is very different from writing on social media. While you may have impressed your high school professors with obscure adjectives and complex sentence structure, such techniques do not work well with the digital natives of today. The fast pace of life and climate of instant gratification has cultured a generation of readers who want information that is immediate and direct. Therefore, it is best to identify your target audience, understand their needs and preferences, and thereafter fashion your writing to connect with them.
3. Be concise
Be short and sweet. Deliver what you wish to say; nothing more, nothing less. See if you can shorten your copy by canceling out superfluous words that do not add value to the sentence. Have more than one similar adjective describing a single noun or verb? Choose just one. Repetitive sections? Strike them out.
4. Create value-adding material
There is nothing more frustrating than being enticed by an interesting or thought-provoking article title, only to plow through paragraph and paragraph and receive- nothing. Reward your readers with information promised by the title, thereby making their time and effort worthwhile.
5. Capture interest with a compelling title
Creating an interesting and attractive title is the first step in casting the net. According to David Ogilvy, an advertising tycoon and founder of Ogilvy & Mather, 5 times the number of people read the headlines as compared to the main text. As such, after you’ve written your headline, 80 cents of your dollar have been utilized. Therefore, go straight to the heart of the matter!
6. Steer clear of grammatical errors
Any article less than being grammatically accurate compromises your brand image as a reliable and professional firm. Leverage grammar checking tools online for impeccable copies that make a strong impression!
7. Diversify with a variety of adjectives
Instead of filling your copy with vague and overused descriptive words poised at the elementary school level, include words that conjure an image or paint a scenario! Swop “happy” for “blissful”, “sad” for “gloomy” and “surprised” with “awestruck”.
8. Always proofread
Writing under time constraints often results in an array of grammatical and spelling errors overlooked by the eyes. Avoid such situations by reading with fresh eyes. Set a few hours of rest between the completion of your copy and proofreading process. Reading aloud engages your ears to spot those errors that your eyes have gotten used to as well.
