Chapter 7: Words on PaperConnecting to consumers’ hearts and minds

Headlines: Functions

1. Capture the attention of target audience.

2. Select your audience. Right people watching

3. Lure readers into body copy.

4. Communicate a benefit.

5. Reinforce the brand name (Absolut Vodka)

6. Make emotional connection to the consumer

7. Enhance a visual

Headlines: Types

Direct Benefit IT’S LIKE TOSSING A TWINKIE INTO A

WEIGHT WATCHER’S MEETING

Headlines: Types

Reverse Benefit NO WONDER THEY CALL IT HIGH

FASHION. TO DREAM UP SOME OF THOSE PRICES YOU’DH AVE TO BE HIGH.

Headlines: Types

Factual information: IT TAKES 12 MILES OF COTTON TO

MAKE A LANDS’ END PINPOINT OXFORD. AND THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING.

Headlines: Types

Selective audience: MICHELIN. BECAUSE SO MUCH IS RIDING

ON YOUR TIRES

Headlines: Types

Curiosity: EVER WONDER WHY MOST POPLE

MAKE LOVE IN THE DARK?

Headlines: Types

NEWS “New, now, finally, at last, today, presenting,

first, introducing”

Headlines: Types

Command “hire us” HIRE US TO PAINT YOUR HOUSE AND

YOU WON’T NEED THIS NEWSPAPER

Headlines: Types

Question IF YOU WERE TWO YEARS OLD, COULD

YOU TELL THE DIFFFERENCE?

Headlines: Types

Repetition I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE. I DON’T KNOW YOUR COMPANY I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR COMPANY

STANDS FOR I DON’T KNOW YOUR COMPANY’S

CUSTOMERS NOW WHAT WAS IT YOU WANTED TO SELL

ME?

Headlines: Types

Word Play: WANT FRIES WITH THAT? = WANT CASH

WITH THAT?

Headlines: Types

Metaphors, Similes, Analogies

(THINK OF US AS AN AMUSEMENT PARK FOR READERS)

Headlines: Types

Parallel Construction and Rhyme

SAIL BY MAIL

Body Copy tells the rest of the story

Approaches to Writing Body Copy The Standard Approach Copy as Story Dialog Copy Bulleted Copy or Listings Poetic Copy

Mandatories: Writing the Small Print

Body Copy: English Settlers Had they moved East to "Croatoan" (now

the place called Hatteras Island), as the cryptic message seemed to indicate? Or perhaps could they have all capsized and drowned in a homemade boat bound for England?

Body Copy: English Settlers Were the tales the later settlers at

Jamestown heard true: that they had gone to live with the Indians somewhere in the backcountry? Or had they all been brutally murdered?

Body Copy: English Settlers Each theory has its merits. But despite

the efforts of countless professional archaeologists, scholars and amateur sleuths, it still remains one of America's most baffling mysteries: What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke?

Body Copy: English Settlers Today, on the actual site where the mysterious

events transpired, tantalizingly scant physical evidence exists. 

For example, near a grassy mound outlining the foundation of a fort, a subtly marked trail lures you into the gnarled trees, feeding you tidbit by tidbit some of the fatal misconceptions the colonists could have had about the New World.

Body Copy: English Settlers (The loud "caw" of a raven pierces the

silence. Is he trying to give you a clue? Or merely mocking you?)

And on summer nights at a theater nearby, America's oldest outdoor drama, "The Lost Colony" lavishly presents yet another theory.

Body Copy: English Settlers Of course, the Lost Colony isn't the only historic

site on our coast with the power to make your imagination take flight. Just a few miles away as the seagull flies, you can visit the windblown dunes where the Wright Brothers electrified the world by launching the first powered airplane. And out near our barrier islands, you can go skin diving where over 2,000 shipwrecks have occurred.

Body Copy: English Settlers Or go searching for the booty Blackbeard

reportedly buried here. Further down our coast, different kinds of treasures beckon. Like the charming old seaport town of Edenton, where a group of fiery ladies led America's second rebellious Tea Party. Or Fort Macon, where one of the Civil War's pivotal battles was fought.

Body Copy: English Settlers So come. Walk through our fine old ante-

bellum homes. Read the ancient headstones in our graveyards. Sit on our porches and listen to tales told by the world's best storytellers. And give yourself a chance to do what the first English settlers did all those centuries ago: Get lost in history.

Answers to Questions about Writing Copy

Is it OK to Break the Rules? What’s the Best Headline Length? Which is Better, Long or Short Copy? Does a Brand Need a Slogan? How Should Copy be Formatted?

Guidelines to Writing Effective Copy

Love your Product Don’t try to do everything in one ad Write to one individual Translate business-speak into human-speak Avoid catchall phrases Be specific Don’t brag Use the present tense and active voice whenever

possible

Guidelines to Writing Effective Copy

Use transitions to connect different thoughts and establish a relationship between them

Avoid cliches Vary the length and structure of sentences Make the strange familiar, the familiar strange Write “out loud” Use contractions Pay attention to every word you write Test your copy Revise your work Proofread your final version

Steve McKee’s list of five overused words

Quality Value Service Caring Integrity

Checklist for Writing Copy

Does your message reflect the strategy? Does your message make an emotional

connection to the reader? Is the tone of the ad appropriate for the product

and target? Does your headline stop, intrigue, and involve

the reader? Does your headline encourage readership of

body copy?

Checklist for Writing Copy

Does your headline work with the visual to create synergy?

Does your body copy contain readable paragraphs and conversational language?

Does your copy sound like a conversation between the writer and the reader?

Do you present selling points in a non-boastful way?

Checklist for Writing Copy

Does your message end with an urge to action a summary of the main idea, or an open-ended statement designed to provoke readers to complete the thought?

Will customers connect your message to the brand name?