Tom Albrighton - Copywriting Made Simple: How to write powerful and persuasive copy that sells

Copywriting Made Simple

How to write powerful and persuasive copy that sells

By Tom Albrighton (abccopywriting.com) Internal illustrations by Rebecca Osborne (rebeccaosborne.co.uk)

Cover illustration by Ollie Hoff (olliehoff.co.uk)

Page design by Kaarin Wall ()

Author photograph by Stuart Beard (stuartbeardphotography.co.uk)

Proofread by Liz Jones (ljed.co.uk)

Text, design and illustrations

ABC Business Communications Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

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Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research of private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publisher.

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ABC Business Communications Ltd accepts no responsibility or liability for any marketing or business decision a reader may make, or refrain from making, based on the content of this book. All URLs were correct at the time of going to press, but online content may have been moved, changed or deleted since then. The author accepts no responsibility for the content of third-party websites.

ABC Business Communications Ltd

100 George Borrow Road

Norwich

NR4 7HU

ISBN 978 1838054 502

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Thank yous

Many thanks to Joanna Tidball, Kevin Mills and Liz Jones for their feedback on the text, and to Leif Kendall, Kate Toon, Dave Trott and Katherine Wildman for kindly endorsing the book.

Thanks to Ollie and Rebecca for their wonderful artwork and to Kaarin for her brilliant design.

Thanks to all my clients, past and present, for supporting my work and helping me develop my skills.

Thanks to everyone I know on Twitter for their enthusiasm, intelligence and humour, and for sharing so many reflections about copywriting and examples of the craft.

Finally, thanks to Mum for the bridge and Dad for the prospectus, and to Karen, Adele and Freddie for their love and support.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

What copywriting is, and how this book can help you do it.

What is copywriting?

There are lots of reasons to write.

You might want to tell a story. Create something beautiful. Express yourself, or share your knowledge. Or you might just enjoy the act of writing itself.

All those reasons are fine. But copywriting is something else.

Copywriting is writing with a job to do. Writing with a practical purpose. Usually, that purpose is to make the reader think, feel or act differently from the way they did before.

Copywriting is like a bridge. On one side is the person who will read your copy. On the other side is you, along with whatever youre selling. Your job is to get the reader to cross the bridge and give it a try.

Now, the reader might not be ready to cross the bridge just yet. They might want to, deep down, but still feel unsure about taking the first step. They might be able to see the other side, or have a vague idea whats over there. Or they might not know the bridge is there at all.

Whatever theyre thinking or feeling right now, youve got to change it so they act differently and cross the bridge.

Copywriting is like persuading someone to cross a bridge

Most copy is written to sell products or services, so crossing the bridge means buying or trying something. But you could also be aiming to provide information, explain ideas or build support for a cause. If so, youre trying to get the reader to buy in rather than buy to invest their attention or commitment instead of their cash.

Copy appears in marketing materials like adverts (printed, broadcast and online), sales letters, brochures and websites. It pops up in tweets, posts and updates. It fills articles, white papers and even whole books, as well as other types of content like video scripts and infographics. Wherever words are making things happen for businesses and organisations, thats copywriting.

Sometimes, it can feel like technology has made reading a thing of the past. But while we certainly use many different devices and channels these days, most of what we do on them is still text-based. And marketing messages still have to be written, regardless of how and where people read them. The skill of the copywriter is as important as ever.

The challenge

Copywriting can be tough. The search for a simple, powerful idea can be long and frustrating. Getting the right ideas in the right order can feel like doing a crossword without the clues. And once youve found words that are powerful and persuasive, youve also got to give them the right personality.

Whats more, nobody cares. Your reader isnt eagerly waiting for your copy. In fact, theyd rather not read it at all. You have literally seconds to capture their attention before it jumps to something else.

If your reader is online, theyve got plenty more sites to choose from if yours turns out to be dull or confusing.

People are busy, distracted and self-absorbed not eagerly awaiting your copy. PHOTO: PIXABAY

If theyre on the tube, theyd rather be looking down at their Facebook than looking up at your ad.

If theyre at work, theyve got a to-do list as long as their arm, and researching your product is just one more thing thats been added to it.

And if theyre picking up your mailshot from the doormat, youve got to make your case before they walk from the front door to the recycling bin.

Does that mean copy can never work? Absolutely not. It just means you have to respect your reader, give them something interesting and always remember that theyre human.

Legendary copywriter Howard Luck Gossage said, People read what interests them, and sometimes its an ad. Your job is to hit that sweet spot where your message meets readers interest and turn that interest into action.

People read what interests them, and sometimes its an ad

and the reward

So yes, copywriting is challenging. But its also fun, varied and massively rewarding.

As a copywriter, you create the ideas that give marketing its soul. You decide what brands will say, and how theyll say it. Through your copy, you connect with thousands of people out there in the world, whisper in their ear and offer them something theyll really like. With nothing more than ink on a page, you can change how they think, feel or act. How cool is that?