I went to a networking mixer put on by Dallas SEM a couple of months ago because I wanted to meet Brian Clark, Copyblogger, and absorb some much-needed brilliance. I enjoy his perspective, but I really find his business-sense fascinating. That dude is seriously making some good choices.
I told him he was my mentor. He was less-than-moved, though polite.
He just doesn’t know me yet. I’m still a small potato by comparison. I’m not discouraged about that; we share many of the same viewpoints on popular subject matter – the main thing being a love of great copy. Great copy is engaging and convincing.
Convince me, I totally dig it! A good argument, a persuasive monologue – some things just turn my key.
While online copywriting is changing in many respects due to our short attention spans, great copy continues to be read and shared regardless of the length. Some people swear by long copy, others insist long copy is dead. Love it or hate it, good long sales copy makes people money.
I personally hate long sales pages. Everyone I know hates long copy. But when Brian addressed the Dallas SEM group that night, he said he didn’t care how long it was if it was good. He said he was told over and over by big guys in the biz that he had to write short blog posts, for instance. No one would ever read long blog posts, they told him. He responded that he never had any trouble getting his material read, so it had to depend on the copy itself! Teehee … go figure.
Not to say that short landing pages don’t convert, that’s not the point.
Short or long, the copy has to be engaging to be read. Interesting, for sure, but if your reader stumbles all over your words, they’re not going to feel very captivated by the experience. Here is my list of tips that help me write better, more engaging copy. I think they’ll help you, too.
- Focus on an immediate need or desire.
- Delete all unnecessary words and phrases.
- Use only excellent spelling and grammar, no matter what you’ve heard.
- Remember your audience, and be sincere – speak directly to them.
- Keep your offer relevant to the article, post or landing page.
- Use brief paragraphs and bullets.
- Read your material out loud, and
- Peer-review for copy editing after your second version.
- Never quit revising.
If you can nail those objectives in a compelling story, I know you’ll be pleased with the results. Tell me, what questions do you have about writing engaging copy? We’ll be happy to help. Leave us your questions and comments below!
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