Style and Substance: The key ingredients to writing influential copy
The fake news scandals of the past few years, as well as changing the course of history, also highlighted how we consume online media. We are now a content driven culture with little quality control. Due to the constant barrage of bilge that the average consumer of the web has to wade through, our online audience (for the most part) has become more discerning, impatient and ruthless.
Millennials are bombarded with over five thousand images a day, whereas his medieval counterpart saw just three images a year. As a result, we have evolved highly valuable filtering tools. We skim read, we block out and we don’t engage because if we did quite frankly, we’d go mad.
One could argue, and indeed I will, that well-written copy is now more needed than ever. The use of excellent and appropriate copywriting can make your business heard above the clamorous throngs of cliches, sales and inarticulates.
Below are my seven key ingredients for winning copy, enjoy.
“Speech belongs half to the speaker, half to the listener.” Michel de Montaigne.
1)Your Audience, who are they, what do they want and why should they listen?
Understand your audience, and use appropriate language. Are they going to be turned off by jargon fuelled double speak or do they expect to see some technical terms to demonstrate market insight? Make sure you know ‘whom’ you are addressing before you tilt your hat, they may prefer a firm handshake.
“Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret of style.” Matthew Arnold.
2)Your Style
Style in copywriting is understanding the character of the copy. Is the brand suave, debonaire, or no nonsense and factual. Once you have this in mind stick to it. With different editors contributing to copy it can quickly become a schizophrenic mish mash of voice and ideology. Know who you are and what you are saying. Avoid using language that is complex beyond it needs, this is often done to try and foreshadow intelligence, which is by far one of the most stupid and annoying mistakes of bad copy, remember clarity is sexy.
“I don’t know the rules of grammar. If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language.” David Ogilvy
3) Your Grammar
Think of grammar as the well-tailored overcoat of style, you can wear it long, dress it up with accessories, or take it off entirely. Grammar, like good manners, can help you to be understood more clearly. It can open literal and figurative doors and can smooth over any misunderstandings. Good grammar is essential for good writing. However, when doggedly following the rules of grammar some authors forget why it came into being; for the clarity of expression. Once you know the rules, you can (on occasion) bend them, as long as you have good reason.(See style). As with any art form first, you must know the rules and then you can break them.
“The devil is in the detail.” Grandmothers and school teachers across the world
4)Your detail
Ok, you are still not convinced grammar is that important, let us then think of detail. Carnegie Mellon University was able to show that the devil really is in the detail, especially when it comes to creating copy that converts. In their study, researchers tested how changing a single phrase would affect conversions. They set up a free DVD trial program that customers could sign up for. It was tested with two different phrases …
“a $5 fee” to “a small $5 fee”
They found that the second phrase increased sign-up rates by over 20%. So chose your words carefully when aiming for the click.
“The more you leave out, the more you highlight what you leave in.” Henry Green
5)Your Editing
Following hot on the heels of style and detail is editing. You have done your research and whilst it is important to show this, one must always steer clear of being a bit too verbatim. Information, like a perfect cherry, should be picked for its appeal. One must always ask. ‘Is this relevant to the point I am making’? and if not don’t be afraid to cut it. Less is more, especially when your average user only reads the first three sentences of every article.
“Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication” Leonardo Da Vinci
6) Your Simplicity
Describe what you actually do, what you have achieved rather than fluffing up your copy with adjectives and don’t be afraid to address the reader directly. Studies show that personal pronouns keep you on the page (Do you see what I’ve been doing) Don’t forget that your copy is often a navigation tool for the end user. So use appropriate navigation headings, short, succinct, self-explanatory — don’t be too clever. Think of their journey and the story that you’re telling by the quality of that journey. If you are having trouble coming up with the pithy strap lines and catchy call to actions concentrate on the text and come back to it later. Something is sure to pop out that encapsulates your idea.
“Large scale human cooperation is based on myths, the way people cooperate can be altered by changing the myth - by telling different stories.” Yuval Noah, Harari. Sapiens.
7) Your Story
The foundation of civilisation is the human ability to tell stories. What is the origins tale of your product/ company/ event? Nothing holds the attention of a reader more than a good yarn as we are all in fact programmed to respond to them. So don’t be afraid to deploy the weapons of the storyteller, make your reader feel something or at least see something, use imagery and pleasing language. So far in this article, we have seen handshakes, hats, coats and cherry’s. An arresting visual image will stay with the reader long after they have left the page.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. To learn more about other techniques to be influential online, please feel free to get in touch jenny@yoyodesign.com
