Copywriting

Last week I shared Nicky of Run to Live’s story of creating her own powerful marketing copy. And as promised, here’s the finished article! Can you see how the finished copy is so much more compelling than her original bullet points?

You can download the PDF below and see Nicky’s finished copy, and our final design. You really can see the difference this would make over a home-designed leaflets with a few bullet points on.

But this didn’t come easy. Copywriting is one of those skills which is vastly under-rated. Because we’re all taught to write at school, it makes sense that we should all be able to write sales copy. But writing sales copy is a skill that needs a lot of practice. Nicky and a colleague spent a whole day writing this copy, and sent me three revisions to review! I think we got there, but it was certainly a long slog.

If you’d like help with creating powerful copy then why not book on our Copywriting for Beginners workshop on 3rd July. Your investment is just £60, and when you book I’ll also give you one to one feedback, as I’ve done with Nicky (worth £149) for free. You can find out more and book here.

Download 854717.pdf

Tagged as in Case Studies, Copywriting, Graphic Design, Workshops

Have you ever stopped to think about your brand’s voice? Sounds like a silly question doesn’t it, why on earth would you? Well because the strongest brands think about the way they communicate through the written and spoken word, as well as the brand image.

printing.com has a very strong brand voice. All of their copy is written in a particular quirky style. And that’s not just because they have the same copywriter. We now use multiple copywriters, but we define our writing style, just like we define our brand image. It means that people know where they stand. It creates a unique selling point and differentiates us from our competitors.

So how do you apply that to your business. As with all branding, start by thinking about what makes you unique. And who your target audience were. Imagine you were standing face to face with your ideal client. How would you speak to them? What tone of voice would you use? Is there any language you’d avoid (swearing is the obvious one, technical jargon might be another)? How would you engage that target audience?

Just a little planning at the outset makes all the difference. Try it, you might be pleasantly surprised at the results!

Tagged as in Branding, Copywriting

It takes courage to leave things out when you’re copywriting. In this post I shared with you Nicky’s story of creating a compelling piece of copy to encourage people to her specialist running shop. We met up last week and Nicky explained how her challenge wasn’t just to create the perfect piece of copy, she also needed to persuade her two business partners to leave out the extra information on the swimwear and half marathons.

It’s tempting to put everything in, as another client said to me, so that “if one thing doesn’t appeal to them, maybe the other will”. What’s key to remember when you’re doing any sort of mailing campaign, is that the print is usually, piece per piece, once of the smallest costs – it’s the distribution which will always be more. So it’s essential that when you’re sending out this expensive piece, you maximise your chances of gaining a great return. Ensuring that you create a compelling argument and engage your target audience are keys to success.

How do you create a compelling piece of copy?

Imagine for a second that you’re not writing to someone at all. Imagine you’re standing face to face with them. Are you just going to blurt out everything that you do? Without any regard for what’s relevant to your potential customer? Unless you’re a candidate from the Apprentice, I would say that’s unlikely. A great salesperson would start with some qualifying questions – “are you a runner?” would be a good start. “How do you find it?” “where do you buy your shoes at the moment?”. All of these questions would build up a profile in your mind and then you’d know which arguments to construct.

Selling in print is no different. You just need to ask these qualifying questions before you start to write. You need to have a clear idea in your mind as to who you’re talking to and why they need your services.

Discover more expert insights like this on our Copywriting for Beginners workshop on 3rd July. Investment is just £60 and will more than pay for itself the first time you write! To book visit our www.guildfordprinting.com/workshops.html

Tagged as in Copywriting

Whether you’re creating copy for a website, leaflet or company brochure, if you want your copy to sell as effectively as it can do for you, you need to stay focused. You need to think about what you’re asking people to do, and then you need to give them enough information and persuasion to take [...]

Tagged as in Case Studies, Copywriting, Workshops

You know that unpleasant feeling you get when you’ve bought something and you somehow just feel a little let down by it? Maybe you feel you paid too much. Maybe you felt the product wasn’t up to spec. Maybe you felt a little ripped off. Whatever the reasons, this is known as post purchase dissonance. [...]

Tagged as , cognitive, dissonance, factor, feelgood, isabella, oliver, post, purchase in Branding, Business Strategy, Copywriting, Graphic Design

I had a great marketing consultation with a client last week who really got me thinking. Just how ‘accessible’ is AIDCA? To me, it’s second nature. Attention, Interest, Desire, Conviction, Action. And yet to Julian, it was only when I explained the concept in plain English that the lightbulb really came on. And so I [...]

Tagged as , AIDA, AIDCA, copy, Copywriting, literature, marketing, writing in AIDCA, Copywriting, Workshops

Can I share one of the most effective free marketing tools that every business has at their disposal? Testimonials. Happy clients are your best asset. Happy clients will sell for you harder than your best salesperson. They’re genuine, impartial, and most importantly, they’ll sell the benefits of your product or service from a client’s perspective. [...]

Tagged as , agency, copy, Copywriting, design, farnham, godalming, guildford, marketing, strategy, surrey, testimonials, web, Websites, woking in Blogging, Copywriting, Web Design, Websites, Workshops

Take a look at your marketing literature – a leaflet you’ve recently produced, your website or a company brochure. Is the emphasis of the writing (copy) on your business and how great you are? Or do you focus on what your customers need to hear about? Are you talking in language that you understand? Language [...]

Tagged as in Copywriting

We’re all pretty familiar with the power of the testimonial aren’t we? Testimonials give your marketing another, more powerful, more genuine voice and can really help sell your products or service. I think one area of the testimonial we overlook is the ability of testimonials to generate interest in your business from people who weren’t [...]

Tagged as , cost, ideas, low, marketing, testimonials in Blogging, Copywriting, Workshops

Tell me would you like to: Stop your mailings going straight in the bin? Build trust with your target audience? Increase the number of people that buy from your leaflets or marketing literature? Well now you can. Here's how… Over the next few days I'll be sharing some incredibly simple secrets to making your marketing [...]

Tagged as in AIDCA, Copywriting