| |
| |
|
Copywriting Information |
|
|
|
Copywriting and Your Five Senses
In its most basic form, copywriting is, among other things, the art of conveying a message in writing for the purpose of persuading someone to do something. This is especially true when writing descriptive copy. Why? Because your customer's five senses don't work on paper? they only work in person. That's why we, as copywriters, have to create a sensory experience for our customers through our words. Have you ever stopped to consider copywriting as a sensory activity? You should. As I said, in order to see, hear, smell, taste, or feel a product, we have to be in the presence of that product. All too often, when copywriters create descriptions, they leave a lot to be desired. There is no excitement, no interaction, no experience. Descriptions should be, well? descriptive. Effective descriptions should fill the gap of what customers would see, hear, smell, taste, or feel if they were standing in the presence of the product. Effective descriptions should draw customers in and create an actual event? as if they were able to be right there with you. Do you make cinnamon rolls? You wouldn't want to describe them simply as "delicious" or say they "smell great." Instead, you'd want to bring your customers into the experience of enjoying your cinnamon rolls. Think of which of their five senses would be most in tune with your product and write to those. Try this: Definitely NOT grandma's cinnamon rolls! Bake them fresh right in your own oven. As the aroma of these gourmet rolls begins to waft through the air, your nose will start to tingle and you'll immediately know they are worth the wait. The scents of freshly ground cinnamon and yeast begin to merge as the dough rises and the cinnamon, sugar, and butter begin to bubble. Open your oven door to reveal one of the largest sweets you've ever seen. Drizzle the homemade frosting over the top to complete your warm, gooey treasure. Your taste buds will praise you with every bite! Can you smell the cinnamon? Can you visualize the dough rising in the oven with the cinnamon and sugar bubbling on the top of each roll? Are you remembering the times you've glazed cinnamon rolls in the past and, with sticky fingers, taken that first bite out of a freshly baked, warm, gooey pastry? This copy brings it all back, doesn't it? Do you rent private, Jamaican beachfront condos? Taking a basic route and falling back on the phrases "ocean view" and "sunsets are included" will leave your reader lacking a truly intriguing experience. Something like this will work better: As your day begins, enjoy a gourmet breakfast prepared by your own private staff who is at your disposal 24 hours a day. A gorgeous view overlooking your own crystal blue freshwater pool welcomes you to another exciting adventure in Jamaica. A morning stroll along your private, white sand beach is the perfect way to welcome the day. A fun-filled outing can consist of splashing in the surf, sunning on the beach, or napping in an authentic hand-woven hammock that cuddles every curve of your body. At the end of the day, you'll have sun-kissed shoulders, a glowing bronze tan, and a phenomenal appetite. Unwind at the poolside gazebo as you prepare for a world-class dinner that rivals any five-star restaurant. Refreshing after-dinner cocktails are especially enjoyable when sipped on the terrace as nature provides an amazing display of sunsets and a soft, caressing breeze you won't soon forget. Let's go! "Splashing in the surf, sunning on the beach, or napping in an authentic hand-woven hammock that cuddles every curve of your body." Can you just imagine? How about "sun-kissed shoulders, a glowing bronze tan"? That paints a picture, doesn't it? Can you feel that warm tingling you always get after spending a day in the sun? "Nature provides an amazing display of sunsets and a soft, caressing breeze." I'm ready! Where do I sign up? Are you beginning to see the importance of writing truly descriptive descriptions? Your customers aren't there. They can't see, hear, feel, taste, or smell what you can. You have to do the next best thing and vividly depict what their sensory experiences will be like so they'll want to buy what you have or do what you've done. When you write descriptive copy, choose the senses that are most appropriate and focus on them. If you're describing food, of course you'll want to think about what you're tasting, but also what you smell and see. (Presentation is just as important as taste.) If you're writing travel copy, you'll want to focus on sights and sounds plus feelings (relaxation, enjoyment, excitement, etc.). Your goal is to have your readers close their eyes and genuinely, vividly imagine they are in the midst of the same experience you are. When you accomplish that, you'll find your sales increase as will your bank account balance! Karon Thackston © 2004 About The Author Copy not getting results? Let Karon provide search engine copywriting, catalog copywriting, or other types for you. Just visit http://www.marketingwords.com. You can also learn to write your own SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Leap to the top with new in-house web copywriting service from ... - Response Source (press release)
Copywriting - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Want a Sticky Site That Sells? Forget Content! An interesting debate is currently raging among copywriters, web designers and content developers about the differences, if any, between writing copy for the web versus writing content.According to prolific copywriter Nick Usborne of ClickZ. 3 Ways to Increase Conversion Rates In a previous article I talked about a few similarities between writing direct mail packages and writing web sites. In short, I concluded that as online writers we could learn a lot from direct marketers. Dont Be Satisfied With Your First Draft Sometimes it's a struggle to figure out what's the best thing to say. You're writing a heading, the first sentence of an email, the introduction to a newsletter, a short description on a homepage. Finding Your Clients Business Problem Leads to Better Copy WHAT'S THEIR PROBLEM?How do you begin a dialogue with a prospect, be it in person, on your website or in print?You talk about your client's business problem.What IS your client's business problem?Answering this question is the hardest part of marketing. 19 Secrets to Making Your Ad Copy More Effective The sales letter is the key; the sales letter is the key - echoes through the Internet marketing mountains.Ad copy, sales copy, sales letter, copywriting or whatever you want to call it - the goal is the same for every Internet marketing business. Why Your Advertising Copy is not the Most Important Part of Your Ad If you own a shop in the middle of the desert, and nobody walks past.. How to Build Benefits from Features Fast and Easy with the Solution Approach Every salesperson and fledgling copywriter hears the harangue: DON'T SELL the FEATURES of a product - SELL the BENEFITS those features bring!!!The concept's important but it confuses a lot of people. Many sellers don't understand how to build a benefit from a feature. Copywriting 101: Exclamation Point, Friend or Foe? My name is Ann and I'm a grammar geek. There, it's out and I'm relieved. 7 Big Ticket Copywriting Secrets I Learned from Ted Nicholas I recently sponsored and attended Joel Christopher and Ted Nicholas's Double Birthday Bash and Interactive Marketing Summit in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. There was a fantastic lineup of speakers including John Assaraf, Joe Vitale, Brad Fallon, George McKenzie, Shawn Casey, Alan Bechtold, Tom "Big Al" Schreiter, Brian Keith Voiles, Rosalind Gardner, and Sydney Johnson. Steps to a Writing an Effective Press Releases Want to get the most media attention and spotlight for your business? Then the first place to start is with a GREAT press release. Now I can almost see half of you leaving now, dreading the thought of having to write one of these. Tomorrow's Clichés Today I went to Google and entered a couple of different search terms.The first was, to my mind, the cliché of all cliché's: "Tomorrow's Solutions Today". Working With a Freelance Editor If you are interested in creating information products, you will very likely deal with editors throughout your career. You may need someone to edit a book, review a special report, or tighten up a magazine article. Content is King IntroductionA pencil. Yes, a pencil. Is Your Content Provider Selling You Ripped Content? Ripped content: well the term itself is self explanatory. Content that has been copied from some other site, without any official authority to do so. 10 Things You Should Expect From Your IT Copywriter Anyone who's ever tried marketing IT products or services knows that it's a specialist field. Your customers in the IT industry have very unique and specific requirements, and that means you do too. 10 Tips for Writing Web Copy One of the most important aspects of a website today is the webcopy - sometimes called the sales letter.In days gone bye, banners and graphics were all important but now it's the words that do the selling. Is Freelance Hiring Right For You? Assume you were faced with the task of hiring a new group of talented individuals to handle a huge account you just landed. Are you up for the task? Or perhaps you have a small job that needs completing but no one on staff can handle the project. The Biggest Mistake Copywriters Make Most of the sales pieces people ask me to rewrite seem to offer great products and services. In fact, some of their offers are so good, prospects would be crazy to turn them down. 8 Reasons to Outsource Your Copywriting Thinking of hiring a staff writer? Think again. Below, I will give you eight geat reasons to reconsider and outsource instead. Top 7 Things To Do Before You Hire A Copywriter Now that you've decided to hire a copywriter, how do you go about finding one? Here are seven things to look for to make sure the match is a good one.#1 - Define your expectations.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
