Welcome to Copywriting - dsc.org.uk · PDF fileQuestions about our readers What’s their...

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Welcome to Copywriting Alan Barker

Transcript of Welcome to Copywriting - dsc.org.uk · PDF fileQuestions about our readers What’s their...

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Welcome toCopywriting

Alan Barker

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http://bit.ly/16sGqnJ

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Google: “Alan Barker publications”

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My objectivesHow to:

Types of copy:Please list

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Writing in three stages

Planning

Drafting

Editing

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Planning your time

1___________________________________________________________________________100

Planning Drafting Editing

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The three key planning questions

Who is my reader?What do I want my reader to do?

What do I want to say?

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…and the other three

How much space do I have?How do I want to come across?

How long have I got?

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I want my reader to:Buy somethingDonate moneyTrial a product

Opt in to an email listOpen an account with us

Transfer to a different payment procedureRenew a contractGive us a contractVisit our premises

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Questions about our readersWhat’s their gender?

How old are they?What do they want more of (and less of)?Where would they rather be right now?

What do they want most of all?What are their values?

How do others see them?Head or heart?

Promise of wealth or removal of fear?

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My typical reader is so they want and they’re to avoid looking for

overworked a to-do list rest

vulnerable exposure reassurance

status-conscious being upstaged prestige

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Writing copy #1: instant copywriting

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Writing: what works

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Good writing: what works

• Establishing rapport • Staying focused on the reader, not the information• Brevity• Telling stories• Asking questions

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Good writing: what doesn’t work

• Showy writing• Jargon• Long-windedness• Talking about yourself• Using boilerplate (cut-and-paste)• Over-excitement• Humour

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Four ways to make your copy zing

• Use power words• Use personal words• Use verbs• Be positive

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Four ways to make your copy zing

Use power words Use personal words Use verbs Be positive

Single-syllable words

Human words

Action words

Feeling words

Concrete words

Words that stimulate the senses

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The water Kassa drinks could kill him, but he has no choice.

You may have seen Kassa in our recent TV appeal. Your donation will mean so much to a child like him.

No more drinking filthy river water, teeming with parasites, bacteria and animal waste.

An end to the worry of diarrhoeal diseases, which kill 900 children every day.

A pump or tap in the heart of the community, rather than a daily trek to the river with a heavy jerry can.

Please, choose to bring clean, safe water to families today. Your kindness will be felt for generations to come.

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Four ways to make your copy zing

Use power words Use personal words Use verbs Be positive

Names

People

Characters in a story

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When Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1970, the amount of debris, litter and waste that he saw worried him so much that he submitted a report to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. Since that conference, held in Stockholm in 1972, a huge swell of research studies has shown that the marine environment is accumulating an increasing volume of human-originated debris.

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Four ways to make your copy zing

Use power words Use personal words Use verbs Be positive

Aim for a ratio of 3:1:

three times as many instances of ‘you’ as of ‘I’ or ‘we’.

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Four ways to make your copy zing

Use power words Use personal words Use verbs Be positive

Avoid abstract nouns, especially long ones!

Termination Announcement AuthorityProduction Management OperabilityDecision Arrangement ProbabilityReplication Development Sustainability

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The sophistication of our advocacy strategies has experienced considerable improvement the last year since the adoption of a unified international advocacy strategy, increased fundraising capacity, and stronger planning and monitoring and evaluation for our advocacy work in priority countries.

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The sophistication of our advocacy strategies has experienced considerable improvement the last year since the adoption of a unified international advocacy strategy, increased fundraising capacity, and stronger planning and monitoring and evaluation for our advocacy work in priority countries.

In the last year, our advocacy strategies have become more sophisticated. We have adopted a unified international strategy for advocacy and increased our ability to raise funds. We also now plan, monitor and evaluate our work more effectively in the countries where we operate.

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Four ways to make your copy zing

Use power words Use personal words Use verbs Be positive

Always express an idea as a positive, not as a negative.

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Except when passengers have failed to check in without complete documentation, boarding will not be denied.

We will allow all passengers with complete documentation to board.

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AIDCA

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How people read

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The reader contract

uncommittedcommitted

structureinformative performative

attitude

formal/written informal/spokenstyle

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AIDCA

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Finding your voice

Culture

ConversationCommunity

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Culture: what do you stand for?

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Tone of voice

Adapts to the reader’s situation and feelingsEnacts a brand valueEngages the reader

Stimulates positive feeling

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HotelCarRestaurantShoeFashion houseHandbagWatchBank

Department storeBreakfast foodCredit cardAlcoholic drinkFragranceCameraToyHoliday destination

If my brand were a…

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List of oppositions

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Voice and tone guides

http://bit.ly/1KMmc72

voiceandtone.com

http://bit.ly/1AerIhs

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Telling a story

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Telling a story

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Situation

Problem

Question

Response

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Situation

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Problem

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Question

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Response

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Sample introduction 1: feature article

Croydon is known for many things, but spiritual enlightenment is not one of them. With its concrete 60s shopping centre and high-tech office blocks, this satellite town is a fast becoming as hectic as central London. For many people who live and work here, the closest they’ll get to meditation is drinking a Sea Breeze at the local lounge bar. But that’s precisely why the Croydon Buddhist Centre plays such a vital role in the community.

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Sample introduction 2: handbookHealthcare staff are often highly motivated – but highly pressured. The demands of the work itself leave staff little time to consider the impact of their work, or to acknowledge the day-to-day achievement of providing compassionate care.

Schwartz Center Rounds® are meetings that enable healthcare professionals to share their experience of caring for patients, to acknowledge and explore the pressures they face, and to help them carry out their role more effectively.

This handbook explains how to set up Schwartz Rounds within your organisation and how to manage the process from start to finish.

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Inverted pyramid

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Informative pyramid

Message

Key Point

Sub-Point

Minor Point

Minor Point

Sub-Point

Key Point

Sub-Point Sub-Point

Key Point

Sub-Point

Minor Point

Minor Point

Sub-Point

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Pyramid structure

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The style spectrum

uncommittedcommitted

structureinformative performative

attitude

formal/written informal/spokenstyle

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formal

informal

Complex sentences

Additive sentencesSimple sentences

Words in full

Contractions

Passive verbs

Active verbs

Abstract nounsVerbs, adjectives

Long words

Short words

The formality spectrum

People

Ideas, concepts

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Developing your voice

• P• R• A• I• S• E

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Developing your voice

• Proverbs• R• A• I• S• E

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Developing your voice

• Proverbs Good causes deserve good copy

• R• A• I• S• E

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Developing your voice

• Proverbs• Resonators• A• I• S• E

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Developing your voice

• Proverbs• Resonators images, metaphors,

analogies,• A human action, concrete

examples• I• S• E

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Developing your voice

• P• R• Attractors• I• S• E

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Developing your voice

• P• R• Attractors figures of speech,

gestures,

• I suspense, surprise

• S• E

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Developing your voice

• P• R• A• Influencers• S• E

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Developing your voice

• P• R• A• Influencers testimony, testimonials

• S statistics: influential sources

• E appealing to shared assumptions

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Developing your voice

• P• R• A• I• Stories• E

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Developing your voice

• P• R• A• I• Stories background, context, case

studies

• E

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Developing your voice

• P• R• A• I• S• Emotions

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Developing your voice

• P• R• A• I• S• Emotions identification

evoked, not expressed