Copywriting – A Few Easy Copywriting Rules

Maybe Not Rules More Guidelines.
How do you write copy that people want to read?
Well that’s a bit of a leading question and the subject is so huge we could be here all day trying to answer it. There are however a few rules that can be applied to help you keep your readers interest. Keep your first sentence short. Not always, but usually a good idea. If your reader starts to read your letter and the first sentence rambles on chances are he’ll get fed up and go on to something else. Compare these two opening sentences:-
“I have something you want!” Or “I have something that could interest you if you are looking for a new business opportunity”
This is easy to apply if you remember when you are writing that you are talking to your reader…what would you say?
Never have a paragraph longer than seven lines. People have very short attention spans on the whole. If it’s hard to read…it won’t get read. If you have a longer paragraph read it through aloud, you will always be able to break it down to two or three paragraphs. Even the spacing between sentences and paragraphs can make a difference. Think about it.
If you have double spacing between every sentence a single page letter becomes two pages, two become four and so on. Suddenly your letter is a lot harder to read. So the rule is always single space between sentences, double space between paragraphs.
If your letter is longer than one page never end a paragraph at the end of the page. Always end mid sentence. This is a little trick known by anyone in the newspaper trade, you may have noticed “continued on page 5 column 3” at the end of a story on page one. It’s a great way to keep your reader interested because they have to know the ending.
Fire your big guns first…what I mean by that is never keep your reader guessing what it is you’re selling. Your best benefits should be up there at the top of the letter. If your reader has to get part way down the page before they even know what you’re talking about, you’ve lost them. In fact your target prospect probably won’t even start to read.
The way you start your sales letter can build instant rapport if you personalise it. Here are a few examples:- “Dear Fellow Entrepreneur”, “Dear Golf Nut” and “Dear Collector”
Adding a word like “Fellow” is particularly powerful. Your reader will immediately feel that you are on the same wavelength. Like I said copywriting is a huge subject and we could talk about it all day, but if you remember these easy guidelines it will help you to write copy that people actually enjoy reading.