Two Tips for Writing Good Copy

Continuing on our theme of advertising basics, let’s look at writing copy. Here are some guidelines that you can follow to make your ads better.

1. Change the focus of your ads from being about your business to being about your customers. One way to help you achieve this change of focus is to start your first draft with the word “you”. You dance…, You are standing…, You wouldn’t think about…. This puts you immediately in the customer’s perspective and helps you stop talking about yourself, your fast, fair, friendly service, your hours, or anything else you are tempted to brag about.

2. Slash the cliches. They take decent ads from respectable to absolute garbage as soon as they are uttered. Cliches are indications of lazy ad writing and because they have been heard so many times before, they cause the listener’s brain to tune out instantly. You want to keep the brain of the listener surprised, engaged and trusting but cliches kill any chance of that. Don’t believe me. Watch this video of the great George Carlin and between bouts of laughter, tell me if you would trust anyone who says any of this in their ad?

There is so much to writing copy that will work.  Start by trying these two things.  Stop talking about yourself, but focus on your customer and stop using cliches, and use original thoughts.

You’ll see how your copy (and your results) improve.