Say what you mean, mean what you say.

In all advertising and media, with the exception of Radio, it is the visuals and graphics that seduce the audience primarily. The attention grabber that leads into the headline and body copy or voice over. It is the copy however that communicates the completeness of the message, with the whole process flowing in line; visual-headline-copy-call to action-tagline.

There are a few exceptions, fashion and luxury ads where the model, product and brand convey a minimalist message. This is an image strategy rather than tactical that works harder at the
"sell".

As a writer every sentence you compose, particularly ad copy which needs to work hard in limited space, should ask yourself; what am I trying to say? Which words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clear? Is the image fresh enough to have impact?

Effective copywriting must use as a matter
of course the right words, the right tone, while working toward a measurable commercial end- a sale. While you are working toward these ends there are four traps to avoid in the quest for copy that transcends the kicking and
screaming of the media.

1. Talking to yourself.

This mistake finds its way into countless corporate ads, with a message that boils
down to: we are so wonderful-established-massive; you should be doing business with us. Right. Despite the fact that advertising is mass communication, you err grievously if you direct your communication to a mass. Your ads must connect with each prospect individually, with benefits that really matter.

2. Changing your message for no good reason.

Advertising is getting your prospects mind right. If you send inconsistent messages, it will take longer to get the results you want. Everyone wants "fresh". But, consistency pays. If it's working, then stick with it.

3. Diluting your message.

Load your ad with everything you can think of and it will become a food mixer of ingredients, the blend of elements which are only as strong as the weakest one. There is a time for in depth discussion of all your products or service benefits and hashing out what is important. That is in the very beginning before you determine the direction of your media placement and ads. Each should have a singular focus.

4. Creating ads and media placement, just to get attention.

Never forget there is a clear distinction between getting attention and getting business. Of course your ads and media placement must command attention they must do so in such a way that opens the door to making the sale.

Copy writing is a highly specialised art. Mess with it at your peril but make sure that you say what you mean and mean what you say in any language to communicate with your target audience.

Ask yourself; do you want fine writing? Do you want masterpieces? Or do you want a sales curve that moves up?

Don't let words get in the way

Writing original, interesting copy that commands attention is a difficult art. Most lazy copywriters tend to use
well worn industry cliches that readers are bored to death with and have no value anymore.

Here are a few tips on how to write for your audience with copy that works.

• Try to leave out the parts that you tend to skip.
  Think about what you skip when reading long thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them. (I'm guilty of this occasionally but I get reprimanded the editor). Readers however don't hop over dialogue. But even if you're good at it, you don't want descriptions that bring the action, the flow of the story, to a standstill. Keep it succinct, even with a little humour, it works.


• If it sounds like writing, then rewrite it.
  Don't get caught up in what we learned in composition classes in school, disrupting the sound and rhythm of the narrative. If proper use gets in the way- then get rid of it. Just be careful. You need to know what you're doing before you throw them out. Remember, rebellion only goes as far as the mind of the rebel and doesn't make you a good writer.


• Don't get too bogged down with grammatical rules.
  Most of the rules are only "forbidding" things that weak writers use as crutches to try and pass off their written word as real prose. Sure, there are plenty of great writers who break those rules, but there's a reason we call them great, and it has nothing to do with rules. There's a reason we call bad writers bad, too, and it also has nothing to do with rules.


• Read newspapers, magazines, books
  anything by acclaimed authors and journalists, Aldous Huxley, Mark Twain, Summerset Maughme, Paolo Choelo even Daniel Quinn damn it! Leave the stuff written for the Paris Hilton's, the Jordan's and the basketball players alone.


• Use the Thesaurus that's easy enough isn't it?
  Oh, and please be as liberal with the use of; unique, ultimate experience and the like, they are so ubiquitous that they have totally lost their meaning. The other thing of course is that no-one believes them anymore. I mean what's left after "ultimate"?