Writing advertising copy

Everyone who sells needs to be able to write advertising material, or copy. Here's some ideas on creating good selling words.

"Copy" - the jargon for words used in advertising. Effective 'copy' must be both concise and descriptive.

Maybe you suffer from "writer's block". You sit with a blank piece of paper (and a blank mind), as if the first word will be carved in stone!

Here's how to start writing - and how to chop it down to give it punch...

Step 1: Just start writing. It doesn't matter what you write. No-one else is going to see it. Write the whole advert, sales letter - whatever.

Step 2: Go back and re-write it - several times if necessary.

Step 3: If you used a word processor, print it out your 'final' version. Then, using a pen, cross out every third word, whether it makes sense or not.

Step 4: Go through it again, this time looking at the words you have crossed out; are they all really necessary? At the same time, look at the words left in - are they all essential? This forces you to put every word on trial for its life.

Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But it works. You should end up with material that's at least 25 per cent shorter than when you started. And it will have more punch!

If your appetite is well and truly whetted, have a look at some of the great copy writing resources in the side bar on the right

Further help on this topic...

You'll find further help on this topic, or closely related issues, in the side columns on this page..