Is sleaziness sneaking into your marketing copy? Here are 11 copywriting tips from Enchanting Marketing that give sleazy sales-ness the middle finger. Follow these suggestions, and your copy instantly becomes more sincere, more engaging, and more persuasive.
- Cut the gobbledygook — For each sentence, ask yourself, “what does this mean? If you can’t come up with a specific answer, rephrase your text until it’s concise, concrete, and meaningful.
- Be specific using numbers — Saying hundreds or millions sounds like marketing overpromise. Instead, use specific numbers to increase credibility.
- Forget subtlety in your call-to-action — Be bossy. Tell people exactly what you want them to do. Don’t say, “If you’d like to receive…” say “Add your email address…”
- Turn features into benefits — Give readers a reason why they should follow your suggestions. People want to know how you’re going to make them happier, healthier, and richer.
- Give people a better reason — Most real benefits are related to saving money, making more money, becoming happier, being free from fear and worry, a feeling of belonging, etc. Make an authentic and convincing case.
- Lose sugar-coated testimonials — If they sound like they were written by a marketer, nobody will believe them. Make them as genuine as possible.
- Don’t avoid the difficult stuff — Meet objections head-on, and address them by proving your value with facts, figures, and honesty.
- Avoid self-indulgence — Messages that go on and on about a company or its products become marketing drivel. Avoid it by addressing the problem or benefit right away.
- Don’t overuse exclamation marks — It’s lazy. Remove them from your copy. Period.
- Resist superlative sins — Using superlatives like “best” or “easiest” sound insincere. Only use superlatives if you can prove why you’re the best.
- Remove adjective excess — When they have nothing to say, some marketers add loads of adjectives to describe their products or services. It’s not believable and readers see right through them. Instead, simplify, add pictures, and use facts and figures.