Copywriting Tip: It’s all about one on one.
In the previous post on thinking about your advertising plan I had a very short section where I talked very briefly about making people feel like it is just you and them in your advertising.
I’d like to elaborate on that a little bit. I kind of left it hanging there and wanted to make sure that there isn’t any confusion about what I meant by that.
Copywriting is about a conversation.
In my years of copywriting and working with people in their advertising I have come to realize that copywriting is all about the conversation between you, the advertiser, and the reader, the consumer.
When you talk to somebody you’re not carrying on multiple conversations with several people all at once. Hopefully you are paying very close attention to the one person that you are addressing. When you do this the conversation is a lot more productive and both sides feel comfortable. It’s a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling really.
Copywriting, no matter what the piece is you are writing, needs to have the kind of connection. You need that same warm, fuzzy feeling.
In the previous post I made this statement, “People like to feel like they are the only one you are talking to.” That means a one on one conversation.
How do you do that with a sales letter, or ppc ad, or email ad, or even a blog post?
That’s where the tricky part comes in.
1. Be passionate about whatever it is you’re advertising. People can tell instantly if there is no feeling in your copywriting. If it’s just hype and drivel the conversation never gets started. It falls into the background as noise and never taken seriously. But, if there is passion… true passion… your copywriting takes on a personal feeling.
2. Use personal stories. Whatever is going on in life, whether it be yours or theirs (economy, holiday, etc.) touch on it a little bit right at the beginning. That sets a personal tone and narrows the gap between out of touch advertiser and thinking consumer. Again, you are making things more personal.
3. Use “you” and “we”. One way to become more one on one in your copywriting is to use “you” and “we” throughout your writing. Again, you are trying to be more personal and bring the conversation down to just you and them. Saying things like, “How do you feel during the economic down turn?”, or “When was the last time you read a report on…”, or “When we get together for this special webinar…” creates a real conversation.
4. Be letter like. Everyone loves to receive letters. Even in today’s age of email and quick, short notes a personal letter always gets people’s attention. It makes them slowdown and really take in what is being said.
5. Think like you are sitting across from them. Finally, one of the biggest hurdles to jump over when writing conversationally is to think it. Picture in your mind that you are actually sitting across from someone in your target audience and talking about your product, opportunity, or service.
If you can picture that then everything else comes naturally. You will naturally write like it is a conversation and follow the personal rules that apply.
Whenever I am writing anything I always picture a particular person in my mind. Once I get that picture in my head then I start talking. From there the advertising piece begins to take on a whole new dimension. It is no longer advertising but a conversation.
Try conversational copywriting in your next advertising piece.
I will admit that this is a copywriting strategy that does take some time to get use to. But, it does improve your results. Give it a try, or you can always hire me to do it for you.
