A website like Republic Malaysia is one of your prospects for applying in digital marketing agencies. You know that you can write, and it shows in your college assignments and intern works. You think you are ready to dive into the world of copywriting. Or are you?
Copywriting is different from content writing as it is not as long and its purpose is to pull customers into a product you are copywriting for. In other words, it is a form of advertising.
Copywriting sounds easy on paper, but even three words take a lot of time to actually be published because there will be lots of brainstorming and seeing what kind of oomph can work greatly in getting people to pay attention without cutting their short attention span right after.
You are maybe worried that your words might not achieve the impact you wanted. Worry not, for there are a few tips that you can follow to write as minimal as possible, yet they punch straight into your customers’ hearts.
Get to the point
That is it. No mincing or fancy slogans unless you can get creative in implementing them. Your words must be straightforward and brief, whether they are slogans, promotions, shoutouts or so on.
Remember that the attention span of your readers can be as short as a tiny splinter, so you must never tempt to elongate your copy even if it sounds good. That is only for content writing or an informational brief if the advertisement requires one.
Here is a trick you can learn. First, draft out your copy as long and detailed as you can write. Then from there, read and see how you can summarize the details in words that are few yet on point. Keep trimming down the copy until you finally achieve what you think sounds right.
For example, the following copy reads “L School’s hands-on driving classes will not only allow you to gain the skills to drive a car.”
Then, by trimming the copy down, it will now be read as “L School teaches you driving lessons.” Sounds better than the initial copy, but it can be improved further by trimming more. Now it reads “L School: Learn to drive.”
Not only does it sound even shorter, it is also made simpler to understand. You do not need fancy or quirky words to draw your customers in, though they are welcome if you can fit them into your copy.
Be the customer
Imagine yourself as a customer every time you read over your copy. Do you feel curious about it? Is it too long for you even if it is only one sentence? Are you struggling to understand its meaning?
Putting yourself in that perspective not only allows you to improve your copy so you yourself can finally be attracted to it, it is even better when you already know your target audience and figured out what will make them tick with certain words that are relatable to their likings.
Be inspired
Look around you. There are advertisements on the papers, books, magazines, physical or digital billboards, and online. Look at the way the copywriting was laid out. Study how it makes an advert attractive in the first place. What is the longer version that the copy was possibly trimmed of? How simple are those words?
You can also try to play around in figuring out any better alternatives of that copy. It is good practice in writing your own copy, and you may not also need to draft your own copy into a longer, detailed version since you can simply shorten it from the start and improve from there, just as you would for an existing ad.