I run copywriting masterclasses in all sorts of places. To find out more, email me:
alanbarker830@btinternet.com
These are a slide version of a session I ran at 'Words that Work', a conference in Bournemouth on 18 May 2014, organised by Brian Jenner of the UK Speechwriters' Guild, and Richard Spencer of A Thousand Monkeys - both of whom did a great job. One of the interesting insights of a very insightful day was that the word 'copywriting' seems to be becoming rather old-fashioned. We're all writers now, as Sarah McCartney noticed. (She's decided to call herself a scribe - good idea.)
11. I LOOKED AT SOME
OF THE GUIDES TO
COPYWRITING, AND
THEY SAID STUFF
LIKE...
12. Copywriting: received wisdom emotions.
Show definite benefits, and start
at once.
Tap the primal emotions.
... AND...
13. Copywriting: receivedwisdom#2
gets attention
focuses on the target reader
stresses benefits
differentiates your organisation from others
proves its case
establishes credibility and conviction
builds value
closes with a call to action
ALL VERY GOOD, BUT -
22. Once final decisions are made
about the available funding for
2011/12, this strategy will also need
to involve making difficult
decisions about the level and
allocation of money raised from
council taxpayers and the Mayor’s
revised priorities across the GLA
group.
LIKE THIS:
24. Here’s some advice for
companies in search of a better
bottom line: Send your workers
home early.
Sound silly? It certainly does to
most executives.
... LIKE THIS!
25. Three dimensions of copywriting
Sense
Sound
Structure
THIS PRINCIPLE PLAYS
OUT IN THREE
DIMENSIONS...
26. Three dimensions of copywriting
Sense
Sound
Structure
THIS PRINCIPLE PLAYS OUT
IN THREE DIMENSIONS...
... AND I’VE GOT THREE
SUGGESTIONS FOR
EACH...
27. Three dimensions of copywriting
Sense
Sound
Structure
AND THE FIRST DIMENSION IS:
28. Sense
Be clear
Be memorable
Use the senses: literally or metaphorically
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES -
29. Monkey visits German pizzeria,
vandalises toilet
A PRETTY
CLEAR
HEADLINE!
Sense: be clear
32. Sense: be memorable
YOU CAN
EVEN DRAW
ATTENTION
TO HOW
CLEAR
YOU’RE
BEING...
...IN FACT,
THIS TAGLINE
HAS BECOME
SO
MEMORABLE,
IT’S NOW LIKE
A PROVERB.
44. Sense: use the senses (literally or
metaphorically)
Window box,
modest lawn,
wildflower meadow.
HERE’S A SIX-
WORD STORY THAT
USES THE SENSES
REALLY WELL...
71. ... LIKE THIS.
BUT PYRAMIDS SIT STILL; THEY DON’T PERFORM...
A written agenda acts as:
a plan of the meeting;
an objective control of the meeting; and
a measure of the meeting's success.
74. Structure: perform
In the beginning God created heaven and
earth.
And the earth was void and empty,
and darkness was on the face of the deep;
and the spirit of God moved over the waters.
And God said …
WRITING THAT PERFORMS
OFTEN MAKES STRUCTURES
BY ADDING...
76. Structure: shape your sentences
One day you’re in, the next day you’re
out.
THIS SHAPE –
CREATING A
CONTRAST – IS
CALLED
ANTITHESIS.
77. Summarise: shape your sentences
My fellow citizens: I stand here today...
humbled by the task before us;
grateful for the trust you have bestowed;
mindful of the sacrifices borne by our
ancestors.
AND
THIS...
78. ...IS CALLED A TRICOLON:
A SET OF THREE
(HUMBLED...GRATEFUL...MINDFUL)
My fellow citizens: I stand here today...
humbled by the task before us;
grateful for the trust you have bestowed;
mindful of the sacrifices borne by our
ancestors.
79. ...MUCH USED BY THIS
MAN:
My fellow citizens: I stand here today...
humbled by the task before us;
grateful for the trust you have bestowed;
mindful of the sacrifices borne by our
ancestors.
80. TAKE A LOOK AT THE
WRITING ON THE NEXT
SLIDE. HOW WELL
STRUCTURED IS IT?
81. Structure: shape your sentences
So what is it that has made this festival the gem
that it clearly is? I think the answer is quite
simple. Great music played by some of the
most wonderful musicians, surroundings
which offer the audience the opportunity to
feel directly involved in the experience, while
at the same time giving the performers the
chance to be inspired and energised by the
intense concentration of those listening.
82. Structure: shape your sentences
So what is it that has made this festival the gem
that it clearly is? I think the answer is quite
simple. Great music played by some of the most
wonderful musicians, surroundings which offer
the audience the opportunity to feel directly
involved in the experience, while at the same
time giving the performers the chance to be
inspired and energised by the intense
concentration of those listening.
IT STARTS WELL: A
GOOD RHETORICAL
QUESTION AND A
SIMPLE STATEMENT.
BUT THEN IT GETS
HORRIBLY LOST...
83. Structure: shape your sentences
So what is it that has made this festival the gem
that it clearly is? I think the answer is quite
simple. Great music played by some of the most
wonderful musicians, surroundings which offer
the audience the opportunity to feel directly
involved in the experience, while at the same
time giving the performers the chance to be
inspired and energised by the intense
concentration of those listening.
AND THE GRAMMAR
GOES WRONG.
96. Three dimensions of copywriting
Sense
Be clear
Be memorable
Use the senses,
literally or
metaphorically
Sound
Keep it simple
Give it rhythm
Play with patterns
Structure
Inform or perform
Shape your
sentences
Be unusual