5 Copywriting Tips To Write More Effective Marketing Materials

A basic principle of good copywriting is to use simple, direct language. Although this type of copywriting may not impress novelists or English professors, it serves an important purpose. It motivates prospects to take action.
Using simple and direct language when writing marketing copy makes it easier to understand your marketing message. Prospects don’t have to stop and think about what you are trying to say. Instead, they understand at a gut level. As a result, your copy will connect with more prospects and ultimately generate more sales.
Five things to avoid when writing your copy are:
1. Jargon. To be effective, your marketing copy needs to connect with prospects. It must assure them that you understand their challenges and frustrations, as well as their motivations and desires. Your marketing copy needs to speak your prospects’ language.
However, you should be wary about using jargon. Although it is tempting to say “but everyone in my industry understands this terminology,” you should stop and ask whether this is true. Will people new to your field or area of expertise understand your references?
2. Idioms. Idioms are words, phrases and expressions that cannot be taken literally. They pose the same danger to your marketing success as jargon. Some prospects, particularly those from other countries and even different regions of the country, may not understand what you are truly trying to say.
3. Cliches. It may seem counterintuitive to avoid cliches. After all, cliches earn their status when they become so common that nearly everyone has heard them and understands them. The reason to avoid cliches is not that they aren’t understood, but rather that they make your writing seem flat and boring. Boring marketing copy does not connect with readers, resulting in lower response rates.
4. Passive language. As with cliches, passive language is dull and fails to hold prospects’ interest long enough to spur them to action. Scour your draft copy for passive language and rewrite the offending sentences. For example, rewrite “The seminar will be taught by John Smith,” write “John Smith will teach the seminar.”
5. Focus on yourself. Prospects are interested in one thing: What’s In It For Me? This is the question that is constantly running through prospects’ minds. If they don’t see a good answer to this question, not only will they not act on your marketing offer, they won’t even finish reading your marketing promotions. To keep readers engaged, focus your copy on “you.” Whenever possible, avoid talking about “we” or “I.”
If you find it difficult to incorporate these tips when writing the first draft of your marketing materials, try this tip: write your copy the way it feels most natural. Writing the first draft is the hardest part of copywriting. Once the draft is finished, review your copy with a careful eye. Circle examples of the copywriting mistakes listed above, and then rewrite your marketing copy to remove them.