Learning to Write Marketing Copy

Overview of Marketing Copywriting

What is Copywriting?

Do you want to sell your product or service? Then stop demanding money. is using words to build relationships with vendors or customers to gain sales. When trying to sell or advertise your product or service you first need a slogan. Get creative! Use your imagination! The slogan should catch the readers eye and called to action so people want to buy your product not because they have to. Copywriters are in charge of the text on billboards, brochures, websites, or catalogues. 

Types of Marketing Copywriting

There are three types of copywriting: collateral, medium, and style. Collateral is copywriting on the hardcopy advertising products such as brochures or websites. Nike‘s slogan (2019) is “Just Do It” when I see this it makes me think about the different shoes Nike has and makes me want new shoes (para. 4). When creating your slogan make sure it leaves an impact (Lurie, 2014). 

Medium is copywriting sent through a pipe such as through the internet, or radio broadcasts it’s more like a speech you hear or see. 

Style is copywriting tailoring to each person and their style on how they write. Some writers use laughter to sell products, but you must be careful about the choice of words you use people with different cultures could take offense so keep that in mind (Lurie, 2014).

Preparing Yourself to Write Copy

Before you begin writing copy Lurie (2014) suggests that you have minimal distractions before you start writing so you don’t lose your train of thought. Inform the co-workers or family that you will be busy for the next few hours, so they do not disturb you. Make sure your laptop or computer is plugged in, so you avoid losing any work in case it dies. Make sure you save the document over and over. If you’re at home make sure the pets and children are fed before you begin so they are not distracting you. Lock the door and begin writing and writing (para. 5).

Writing Copy

Assembling Your Tools

The first step to writing marketing copy is assembling your tools to help you focus. Use a timer so you can track your writing sprints. There are free apps available if needed. Keep a glass of water on your desk so there are no excuses for you to stop writing. I am bad for this I get distracted very easily because I write on my kitchen table which is the busiest room. Try to find a quieter area away from everyone.

Like I mentioned before having your document backed up to either a USB stick or in the cloud or Google Docs because it automatically saves the work every few minutes. Using these tools is a nice way to keep you organized so your brain is focused on writing (Lurie, 2014). 

Creating Your Plan

Once you have the tools figured out, outline a plan to follow to ensure you capture the attention of the right audience, in either collateral, medium or style copy. Take 30 minutes to think about what you are going to do. Don’t expect to follow the first plan your draft up, the plan will change numerous times until you have it right (Lurie, 2014).  

Free Writing

You have the tools, and the outline it’s time to start writing. It is important to try and avoid what is called a writer’s block, whatever comes to your brain write it down. Freewriting helps to guide your thoughts reflecting the outline you created (Lurie, 2014).

First Draft

Writing the first draft don’t expect your writing to be perfect for errors and grammar. Focus on the audience you are writing for while focusing on your time. Have notes for do’s and don’ts visible for you so you can refer to the back and forth, so you’re not wasting time looking for them while writing. Set a timer for 45 to 90 minutes and begin writing! Leave the introduction until the end, and ask someone else to proofread (Lurie, 2014).

General Rules

Next there are four general rules to follow when writing copy they are: to define who you are speaking to through your writing, to remind yourself that your customer is not a system, not to use sarcasm, and finally talk to the customer to get to know them so they ‘need’ what you have rather than a ‘want’. There is no template to follow for marketing copy, it comes from creative writers (Lurie, 2014). 

Polishing the Draft

Once you’ve written in the type of marketing copy, you should polish the draft. The draft needs to go through many rounds of proofreading to ensure you find all errors. It is important to make an effort to summarize the writing as brief as possible as well as making sure it is clear as mud to the audience (Lurie, 2014). 

Writing a Headline While Testing It

When creating a headline make sure it’s bold and attractive to the reader. Test a couple of different headlines through a paid ad on Facebookor Googlesee which gets more hits. You could also send a distro email and see which one gets opened, or you could simply just ask around and tally up the score. The headline is what will sell you if you’re not careful it could backfire (Lurie, 2014).

Selling the Page

To get your customers all hyped up you need to sell the page. Start with a joke, make it funny, short and interesting, or you can paint a clear picture of what the reader is going to see by using a list. It’s like an elevator pitch you’re giving to investors to invest in your product in an executive summary (Lurie, 2014).

Structuring for Print or Online

Finally, organize to either fit for print or online copywriting. For print, once you publish you can’t change or make people forget if it turns out worse than expected. For online keep it short and to the point so you don’t lose the reader’s attention. Link it to all social media channels to get the word out. For both print and, online choose pictures that grab the reader’s attention to keep them intrigued (Lurie, 2014).

Typography

The basic rule is to make your copy easy to read using bullets make it simple, short and to the point. With proofreading done by you and someone else. Lurie (2014) suggests following this guide is to give the structure of the writings and so it’s easy to follow (para. 3). 

Rewriting Existing Copy

When and if you are asked to rewrite an existing copy ask for the general information such as: what classification is the copywriting under, collateral, medium or style. Once you’re done brainstorming, write up the first draft, then edit and proofread then edit and proofread again. Organize the writing to fit format to either rewriting.

Copywrite webpage, product description or social media. Copywriting in a webpage and social media keep it short if the structure is confusing to ask the writer just to clarify. When copywriting for product description there are four factors to keep in mind: look for passive voice, keep it short, keep a scannable copy, and a call to action. Following this guideline will help you sell you in the long run (Lurie, 2014).

Conclusion

Prior to this course material I did not know what marketing copywriting was. After reviewing the videos over and over and reading the transcript parts I have an understanding of what it is. Now that I have an understanding I realized that the organization I currently work for uses all 3 types of copywriting. 

The organization relies heavily on brochures and promotional items to promote the company. They also have a website but requires updates on the information. We recently had a Health Forum to inform the members of what programs and services we provide. 

In conclusion, the author Lurie (2014) had a lot of information that helped me relate to how the marketing works in the organization. In the future I plan to recommend the organization hire a Marketing or Communications Coordinator to update the membership thoroughly, so they are not left questioning the programs or services. As well as I need to come up with a slogan for brochures 

References

Dvornechuck, A. (2019). Top brand slogans and how to create them. Ebaqdesign. Retrieved from https://ebaqdesign.com/blog/brand-slogans/#nike

Lurie, I. (2014, May 30). Learning to write marketing copy. Lynda.com from Linked In. Retrieved from https://www.lynda.com/Business-Online-Marketing-tutorials/Welcome/149250/175041-4.html