Nudge Copywriting

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By Trevor Campbell on 11/01/17 | Copywriting

Reality lies in the eyes of the beholder. I recently read (okay, looked at the pictures) ‘Reality is not what it seems’ by the best-selling physicist Carlo Rovelli. It struck me that one of the central tenets of both the quantum world and the quest to get noticed are the same: you do not exist.

Your business, service or product doesn’t exist, that is, until there is an interaction with another body. Until you pop in front of someone’s eyes or under their nose you may as well be as elusive as dark matter. You are in a bubble of your own creation.

Because when we work for a company we often get insulated from crucial facts. We assume people know much more about us, understand our key benefits, and decide to use us based on the perceived strength of – and goodwill towards – our brand.

Yet this perception about our impact on others is regularly skewed.

Thinking that we are more significant is not unusual. We know our brands and the successful aspects of what we do inside out (we share this experience with colleagues every day) and we tend to suffer from overconfidence. But we’re often like atoms running amok – there is not enough time or resources to assimilate every latest feature or development and convert them to important benefits for our readers.

In many cases – especially with larger firms – your audience has heard of you. But you can never presume that they fully know what sets you apart… why they should choose your latest service… how you plan to earn their trust.

According to quantum physics, sub-atomic particles don’t technically exist (in a quantifiable sense, at least) until measured or there is interaction with them. It’s smart thinking to consider that the same rules apply for your business, service or product.

And all the more reason for your messaging to be in tip-top shape when it collides with a customer.


By Trevor Campbell on 04/01/17 | Copywriting

 

 

Straight talking works. And the goal for any business is to get your message out clearly – to cut through the clutter and to nudge your readers to act. So they sign up, try out, bookmark, read, recommend, visit, buy, share, or make a mental note that shrieks: "Yup, I like this firm – must explore more”.

Actions not clouded by words.

Try these tips to help your communications stand out more in 2017:

Say it simpler– don’t purchase when you can buy, don’t endeavour when you can try. Some may think that talking to an educated or more sophisticated audience demands fancier words. The opposite is true. The bigger the brain, the more Peter and Jane.

Cut back on ‘we’ – it’s not about you, it’s about the reader. I want to hear about what you do, but much more importantly, what can you do for me.

Be aware of how people behave – it’s all about shortcuts. When we make decisions, we prefer not to have to think too much. So if your website or literature is reinforced by proven authority, case studies, guarantees, testimonials, awards, and so on, this makes it easier for the reader to trust what you say. And make any decisions quickly.

Watch your language – words are not toxic by their strength, but by their weakness. Words deadened through overuse (innovative, engage, solutions etc) make readers snooze and neglect the important things you have to say.

Unearth your benefits – you may have to dig deep. If you have a similar quality business to other quality businesses, you don’t have to come unstuck. Shout about what you do better or differently or what others don’t talk about, but what matters. 

Be inventive – but don’t bamboozle. You may work in a conservative business but your customers don’t live there. Why not use creative ideas that sparkle to set you apart?

Don’t use jargon – it bogs down readers and makes them switch off. It’s a complete no-no for grabbing the public, but you should also curb jargon when writing to others familiar with your industry. Btw, acronyms are also hell IMHO.

Use more video – start, then make them better. Using video to talk to your audience is a must but what you say – your story – is just as important as how it looks. Plan scripts and concepts so your video content is not just another talking head.

Outsource thinking – because you can’t think of everything. A few extra brain cells help you focus on the bigger picture. A skilled professional, like say, a copywriter, can burrow down to a reader’s needs to help you meet your campaign and business goals.

 

By Trevor Campbell on 16/12/16 | Copywriting

 

If your headline doesn’t work, you don’t eat. You don’t even get to sit at the table. Because a headline without a solid reward, relevance or suitable intrigue won’t inspire readers to read on. And in this age of ride-the-lightning comms and nano-attention spans, a well-crafted signpost is more valuable than ever.

 

What is often known as the 80/20 rule has long been a go-to marketing maxim – proven through copy testing, eye tracking and the findings of such advertising giants as David Ogilvy. It states that on average, 8 out of 10 people will read a headline, but only 20% will read the rest.

 

So if your headline doesn’t whisk readers away from their daydreams – prompting them to gobble the rest of your advert, article, web or print copy – you’re sunk. You could have the most amazing product or service, sure-fire reasons why prospects should choose you, a compelling stockpile of what sets you apart, pain and guilt-free calls to action…

 

But nobody will ever know. Because your heading says ‘Our thinking’ and not something like ‘7 time-bomb investments you must sell now’. (An example, not plucked from fiction.)

 

More importantly, feeble headlines cost money. Time after time, week after week, without you even knowing it.  You may have deployed a snappy set of ads, tricksy and cutesy, marvels of wordplay (sometimes known as creative twaddle) – but if they don’t make people read on and act, they’ll knock the stuffing out of your business. Your ad-spend at the very least.

 

The rule of creating headlines that work is not just for the hard sell, it’s for anyone who wants to be read. It doesn’t matter what sector, media or audience. Whether for emails, adverts, posters or web pages. Some of the best headlines are on Twitter, for example. And also, unfortunately, on the click-bait ads beneath many web articles.

 

But an irresistible headline is also a contract. And you must deliver on your promise.

 

Because creating powerful headlines demands skill, knowledge and time, there is not enough space here to conjure up a comprehensive tip-list. Yet you can avoid some mistakes by making sure you:

 

Don’t make your heading the name of your firm. Sounds improbable, but seeing the name of a company as the most prominent text happens surprisingly often.


Attract attention. Shout something worthwhile from the rooftops, in a way that cuts through the clutter.

 

Deliver a benefit. Or news, curiosity or offer useful information. Or pose a thoughtful question or make a strong statement.


Avoid wordplay for the sake of it. A common flaw is to say something like ‘Get in the driving seat’ when selling cars. But it’s easy to neglect to say why a reader should pop in for a test drive, whether you have any offers, or if you’re the only fund manager who invests in a lunar Helium-3 mining operation.

 

And don’t forget to... study what works. Copy winning formulas, adapt and redeploy. And study, again and again. There really are no shortcuts to the graft of testing and rewriting.

 

Or you can always hire someone who writes headlines for a living.

 

By Trevor Campbell on 08/12/16 | Copywriting


 

Lists are everywhere – and articles built around them, often called listicles, are endemic. Easily digested and simple to share, some firms (eg, Buzzfeed) have surged on the back of listicles. But do lists still have impact?

List articles don’t seem to be going out of fashion. Yet. Inside our scorched brain-scapes they can quash the pain of taking in too much information – mighty handy for absorbing benefits in a jiffy.

6 ways eggs can scramble a hangover.

7 secrets scrooge lenders don’t want you to know.

9 winning habits of leading nuns.

You get the idea.

But in the scrum to capture eyeballs it’s often easy to make mistakes with your aspiring hit-list. So you should remember a few nifty tips. Like, say, four…

1. Avoid padding

Don’t stretch your list to nine if you only have six things really worth shouting about.

2. Know when to say when

If you must impart 17 ways to get your marketing firing like a hot piston, how many will readers remember? The components may all be worth their weight in rare ink, but few people take the time to study a long list. Or can feasibly implement their findings. Different rules apply whether a list article is for serious consumption, or just a bit of fun.

3. Beware of sounding like junk

Because so many listicle headings lead to junk articles designed to prosper on ad clicks, sometimes you may have to rein in your heading’s verve. And sometimes, therefore, a little of the magic to avoid sounding like click-bait.

4. No more, I’m whacked

Finally, list fatigue can deaden impact. As with anything popular it’s easy for bombarded minds to tune out if – again on their feed – is another list article with grab-all tentacles. Like overused words (innovative, engage etc), using a certain device too often also nudges readers to snooze.

So use your 50 ways to kill your mammy listicle with caution. Or make sure your list sparkles like Christmas tinsel every time.
By Trevor Campbell on 29/11/16 | Copywriting

 

 

Everybody’s busy. You’re too busy to read this, I’m too busy to write it. But some things should be shared – especially when they can make a difference.

Everyone who runs a business or is involved with marketing is hammered for time.

…Crushed under the weight of limp processes and worst practises.

…Changing tack as events muddy the path – Brexit/competition/staff shortages...

…Reports on progress. Reports on morale. An endless snowstorm of reports.

…Non-stop meetings (often about reports).

…Emails… social feeds… phone calls.

But a copywriter doesn’t need to go to meetings which are not an interrogation of relevant facts. And they don’t need to write endless reports.

So they have some time away from the hubbub, but it’s not empty time – because 30-40% of what a copywriter does should be thinking. (Research/writing about the same.)

Thinking about the audience and what they want. What suitable products or services you have to lure them. The often-hidden nuggets of a product or service that set you apart. Whose name should go with the message? How fast can we get some scrummy testimonials? What channel or media might work best? And on and on.

Thoughts – which lead to questions – which lead to answers – which lead to words that can make a difference.

A decent copywriter should be seen as a right-hand sense-check for anyone who has to make marketing decisions – because it’s all too easy for you to get swamped in managing people and processes. Or looking after your customers from day to day.

And they can also help you to avoid the thinking traps of availability bias (where recent or vivid information influences how we think) and confirmation bias (where we rely more on views we already hold, despite data to the contrary). Not to mention our natural tendency towards overconfidence…

Writers have a close connection to the reader. They think about them constantly as they write to them. They wear their shoes and often much more.

Consider a valued copywriter as an extra thinking cap – not just someone who bluntly etches words on a screen or page. A copywriter should have the spirit and outlook of a business person.

Because if you want to write to people you want them to do something. And that’s worth thinking about.

 

 *Almost, because (a) flattery works, and (b) no sane copywriter would insinuate they have the mental vigour of a harried business owner or marketer.

By Trevor Campbell on 22/11/16 | Copywriting

In that heading: four words guaranteed to make me gnaw my knuckles to the bone (not How, help, you, to, with, your). And if you’re reading this far I’m a little ashamed of myself for any deceit. But thank you anyway.

 It’s not that I necessarily dislike any of the offending words above, but some – especially used in the wrong context – damage what you want to say. Through overuse, because they are jargon and because they don’t make enough sense.

Seemingly innocent terms can become toxic. They dilute the good things you say and can cause readers to glaze over and tune out. They’ve heard it all before, or what you’re trying to say is not clear.

Words are not toxic by their strength, but by their weakness.

 For example – and I have to pinch myself to stop swearing – but…

-        What are stationery ‘solutions’? (Solutions should only be used when talking about a liquid, or when you’ve got to grips with Fermat’s last theorem.)

-        Instead of ‘engaging’ with customers why not talk or write to them?

-        And ‘stakeholders’ sound like an angry herd who are about to impale you.

-        ‘Holistic’ just mystifies me. But it may be suitable in the arena of mystics and therapies and so on.

When words are overused they lose meaning. Remember when ‘innovative’ truly meant an advance? It was reserved for a new car design from Pininfarina, a blizzard of wizardry from Nabokov, when a phone grew a screen.

Innovative should never be used for a dry cleaner on the high street. Nor should a ‘disruptive’ delivery service spur much confidence.

Presenting these examples like so may sound flippant, but the point is serious. I understand very well that a company hammered for time can find it difficult to scrutinise everything you need to rush out.

Sometimes the conditions of herd behaviour and social influence play a part – terms can quickly gain traction (and ubiquity) when popularised by funky tech start-ups or entrepreneurial culture.

And it’s not the fault of a small business for using ‘innovative property solutions’ on a hoarding, because they might not hire a copywriter to help them compose their messages. (Different skills – I wouldn’t know one end of an engine from the other.)

But you should be worried when flaky lingo persistently creeps into what you say to your customers.

Because they’ll switch off, have a little snooze, and go find your straight-talking competitors when they wake up.

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