Copy...
at the Point of
Customer Contact
What
Makes
Great
Copy
Great copy does three things:
Identifies
Informs
Persuades
“People buy based
on emotion, then
rationalize the
purchase decision
with logic.”
To
reach
consumers
on these
levels,
Copy
reaches
prospects
on three
determine
your audience’s BFD profile:
different levels:
 Beliefs
– What
is their attitude
Intellectual
– Weakest
level;
solely based
logic
towards
youronproduct?
Emotional
– Taps
emotions
 Feelings
– How
dointo
they
feel about
such
as fear,
greed,
the
major
issues
inlove
their lives?
 Fearful?
Personal
– Most powerful
level;
Nervous?
Confident?
uses “you”
to connect
with want to
 Desires
– What
do they
consumer
accomplish?
What change do they
want to see that your product could
help them achieve?
The Copy Checklist

Does it have
fulfill the
promise
made inand
the headline?
short
words,you
sentences,
paragraphs?

Does
Is
it easy
it align
to understand?
with your business goals?

Is it visually
interesting?
stimulating?

Is there
it relevant
a consistent
to your audience’s
voice throughout?
BFD profile?

Does
Is
it believable?
it integrate corporate branding strategies?

Is it free
in anofactive
grammatical
voice? errors and spelling mistakes?

Does ityou
Have
callgiven
readers
buyers
to action?
all the benefits for an easy
purchase decision?
The points of customer contact
E-Mail
Catalogs
Flyers
Websites
Persuasive Flyer Copy
“Thehave
headline
the most
You
threeisseconds
important
or less to element
grab theof an ad.
It attention
must offer
promise to the
ofapotential
reader of Make
a believable
customers.
it
benefit
and it must
be
count
by writing
a great
phrased
headline.in a way to give it
memory value.”
–Morris Hite
Persuasive Flyer Copy
The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing a Headline
Don’t:
Do:
Mislead
reader. Always check the facts
Select anthe
audience
Use
words
cliché phrases
Honegeneric
in on one
veryorimportant
question:
Settle
try. Seek the opinions of
“What’sfor
in your
it for first
them?”
others to see if it works
Keep it short
Avoid using jargon or slang
Tell the story in less than seven words
Forget the rules of grammar
Make
it newsworthy
Fluff up
the copy with unnecessary words
Entice the reader into the body copy
Persuasive Flyer Copy
Monroe’s Motivating Sequence – A five step formula to writing
effective body copy.
1.
Get their attention – Provoke customer’s curiosity with headlines and
visuals. Answer the question “What’s in it for them?”
“Hey! Listen to me, you have a PROBLEM.”
2.
Show a need – Immediately demonstrate a need through a concise,
detailed first sentence. “Let me EXPLAIN the problem.”
1.
Provide satisfaction – Show that your product satisfies their needs by
providing the benefits they’re looking for. “I have a SOLUTION for you!”
1.
Prove your product is the solution – Use case studies, research, and/or
testimonials to support your claim.
“This is what will HAPPEN if you implement my solution.”
1.
Call them to action – Get them involved and urge them to take action.
“You can SATISFY your need if you do this.”
Persuasive Flyer Copy
The problem that
needs to be solved
and how they
intend to fix it.
Clean, simple
images with
minimal copy.
A clear,
direct call
to action.
Benefits of the
product and
why and how it
will meet the
needs of
customers.
Persuasive Flyer Copy
Remember To:
1.Keep sentences short and
straightforward (between 14 and
16 words).
2.Avoid technical jargon that
readers won’t grasp.
3.Use graphic formats for
emphasis such as bold, italics, or
underlined copy.
4.Organize selling points in order
of importance.
5.Use bullets and numbers to
separate long blocks of copy.
Persuasive Catalog Copy
Three years ago, a new CEO at
the women’s appeal store, Cold
Water Creek, came in looking for
a way to save money.
After dramatically reducing the
number of catalogs printed and
mailed out, sales began to
plummet—even Internet sales,
because the catalog had been
driving customers online.
Coldwater Creek reverted back to
sending out a large number of
their catalogs, sparking a rapid
turnaround. 1
Tim Feran, “Despite the prevalence of digital media, catalogs remain a huge part of retail business,” 2012, The Columbus Dispatch, 05 Aug.
2012<www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/08/05/bulk-mailings.html>.
1
Persuasive Catalog Copy
More than 12.5 billion catalogs were
mailed to U.S. homes in 2011 and
89.6 million Americans bought an
item from those catalogs.
–The Direct Marketing Association
The Two Jobs of Catalog Copy:
Interest the reader so they want to see
the product in person.
Help them remember your product’s
name and why they want it.
Persuasive Catalog Copy
Tips for Great Catalog Copy
Use
your
hot spots.crisp,
These
include
front cover, inside cover,
 Keeps
sentences
clear,
and the
concise
back cover, center spread, and pages adjacent to order form
 Use an active tense to encourage customers to take action
Make ordering simplistic
 Watch out for redundancy
Use colorful, specific description words
Make the information stand out with large headlines, subheads,
and bursts
Persuasive Catalog Copy
The Beauty of
Crate & Barrel
Crate & Barrel uses only key
copy elements throughout
their catalog. Instead, they
rely on vibrant pictures,
limiting copy to motivational
introductions and selective,
benefit-driven callouts.
Persuasive
E-mail Copy
“Communications should
be personalized and not
one-size-fits-all. You’ve got
to determine who each
person is and where do
they stand out.”
– Nick Swinmurn,
Zappos Founder
Persuasive E-mail Copy
The Subject Line
The Four U’s of Subject Lines:
Useful – Is the message valuable to the reader?
Ultra-Specific – Does the reader know what is being promised?
Unique – Is it unique and compelling?
Urgent – Do they feel as if they need to read it now?
Elements of a Successful Subject Line:
Action Language – Words such as “take,” “buy,” “listen,” and “reserve” let readers
know exactly what they can do by opening the email.
Personalized – Highly segmented emails have a 39% better open rate. Think about
ways to make the subject line stand out to a specific target audience.
Clarity – Subject lines should be clear. Readers should see at a quick glance what
the email will be about and why it relates to them.
Email Copy Tip: Using ALL CAPS in a subject line can be interpreted
as screaming when being read online.
Persuasive E-mail Copy
Popular Subject Line Terms
Persuasive E-mail Copy
Did You Know? 27% of emails were opened on a mobile device during
the second half of 2011, up from 20% during the first half.
The Message Should…
* Herschell Gordon Lewis
Establish http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRit98Mk8rU
Relevancy



Personalized
Convincing
Recalls why readers are getting an email
Be in Second Person


Focus on customer, not brand
“You” and “your,” not “we” and “our”
Talk about Benefits


Identify why product is worthwhile
Benefits vs. features
Be Simplistic


Summarize in a compelling way
Keep copy on-point
Describing the benefits of the shorts, not the features
Persuasive Website Copy
Web Content Should…
Delight
Be personable; entertain readers
Satisfy
Be user friendly; consistent
throughout
Inform
Educate the reader; prompt them to
keep reading
Persuasive Website Copy
Always keep brand personality and voice in mind when
writing content for the web.
Voice: Should never change; overall verbal personality.
Tone: Varies based on situation and audience; a verbal
expression of mood adapted according to the
audience.
MailChimp, a free email marketing service, created
Voice and Tone, a website dedicated to teaching the
difference between a brand’s voice and a brand’s tone.
Persuasive Website Copy
Five Rules for Writing Persuasive Web Copy
Leadattention,
with
4.2.Grab
active
words
be
exciting
1.
is more.
5.3.Less
Use
Design
simple
for
sentences.
scan readers
Persuasive Website Copy
During an average search online, consumers read 28% or less of the
words on the page.
Six Elements of Engaging Web Copy:
1.
1.
1.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) –
Content should be shareable and
engaging; should be easily searchable
through non-branded keywords,
anchor text, links, ect.
Extension of Brand – A place to
create a cohesive message and to
refer back to company objectives,
tone, and audience.
User-friendly – Homepage should
start out simple with little text and
slowly go into more detail. Navigation
should be easy.
4. Promotes Action – Lead them to the
pages you want them to go. Draw your
reader to your call to action by giving
them what they expect.
5. Bridges the Gap – Use your website as
a place to provide readers with
everything you what want them to know.
6. Reinforces the Message – Consider
imagery as a type of content. Pictures
and words should work together in
harmony to create a compelling
message.
Time to
Take Action!
Write with the five D’s of
content strategy in mind..
Discover
Define
Design
Develop
Deploy
Who are you trying
to reach and why?
What does your
audience want
to know?
How is content
organized,
prioritized, and
accessed?
How is your
content created
and maintained?
Who is involved?
How are the
decisions about
content made?
Kristina Halvorson,
"The Content Strategy Roadmap," 201
Take Action
Start making copy about
Caring for Customers
Engagement
Education
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU
EFFECTIVE content is created by:
Research
Focusing on the story and key issues
Targeting and tailoring to audience
Involving the consumer