Becoming Who You Want To Be

If you are a business owner, you may not be able to outsource your copywriting. Your marketing plan should include a lot of content and much of it may be self-written. Whether it is your company newsletter, a blog, direct mail pieces or sales letters, you know you must be continually reaching out to your customers to stay on top of the competition. Making your writing more powerful is one way to do this.

Don’t beat around the bush in your writing. Expert copywriters Michael Masterson and Robert Bly recommend that you write headlines and points that are useful, urgent, ultra-specific and unique. The most important message should be first and you should be brief. Let your readers know right away what you are trying to tell them.

Avoid the passive tense!!! Not only does the passive tense break the “be brief” rule, it also is, well, passive-not powerful! For example the PASSIVE: “The bar exam was failed by nearly half of the candidates” is not as good as the ACTIVE: “Nearly half of the candidates failed the bar exam.”

Repeat important points, but word them differently. “Our retail store offers a 100% money back guarantee.”, “Feel secure because we guarantee your satisfaction 100% -or we’ll refund your purchase price!”

Using emotions in marketing is key. Emotional words grab readers attention more than dry, stale writing. Consider a florist ad “We’re your hometown florist, since’34.” Now “For love, joy or sorrow, we understand what you want your arrangement to say. Your Hometown Florist, since’34.” If you get stuck, do an online search for lists of emotional words. You’ll find more than enough!

One of the most powerful and effective writing methods is adding storytelling. Create a case study of a customer and how you served them or tell the story of your business and how you got started. Let your readers know about the hobbies and interests you have outside of work. The more they feel they know and like you, the more likely they are to become a customer.

One of the most tiresome mistakes amateur writers make is using long, unbroken paragraphs of text. Break up your writing with white space, use bullets, italics, indents, borders and color to point out important information and images to create interest. Readers have short attention spans. Help them find what they most need to know with graphic elements.

The more powerful your writing, the more compelling your content is for readers. It doesn’t take much to improve this skill. You can easily make small changes to make your marketing materials more unique and more likely to attract attention.

With 30+ years consulting experience, Steven Schlagel provides training and coaching for startups, entrepreneurs and small business owners. Check his site for more articles to increase your success!