Best of 2008: Sales & Marketing Copywriting
Want to know how to write more effective marketing and sales copy? Avoid common grammar and usage mistakes that diminish the impact of your writing? Craft more compelling headlines and ads? Combat dreaded “writer’s block”?
Then read on—you’ll discover these answers and more in the blog posts reviewed here, some of the best of 2008 on writing great sales and marketing copy.
Copywriting: 7 Ways To Trigger Emotions by Self SEO
After stating “all human beings buy on emotion. With that in mind, here are 7 ways to trigger emotions in your copy,” Lisa Packer shows how to effectively add emotional appear to B2B or B2C writing in this brief but insightful post.
See Like An Outsider In 3 Not-So-Easy (But Worth It) Steps by GrokDotCom
“Insiders” in any business or industry develop their own jargon over time. While this can serve as useful shorthand for communication within the organization or community, it also creates a barrier between that group and the rest of the world (e.g., does anyone who’s not immersed in SEO know or care what “canonicalization” means?). Marketers need to be able to shed this jargon in order to be able to communicate effectively with customers and prospects who don’t use this insider language, don’t know what it means, and couldn’t care less. Jeff Sexton provides three helpful techniques to help anyone who’s been “inside” for a while to take an outsider’s perspective in order to produce more effective, relevant copy.
Do You Make These 7 Mistakes When You Write? by Copyblogger
Brian Clark tells you how to avoid common grammatical and language usage errors that can ruin the impact of your writing by making people “assume you’re dumb” (though I’m sure he meant “stupid” rather than “unable to speak”). 
He sounds a bit like your 8th-grade English teacher, but with a much more entertaining style. Many more examples of common mistakes are provided within the 237 (or so) comments to this post, including one from Ford’s Scott Monty. Another of Brian’s most entertainingly educational posts of last year was The Inigo Montoya Guide to 27 Commonly Misused Words.
Rocket Skates or Running Shoes, Just Make It Interesting by StraightUpSearch
Marketing writers are often tasked with writing something interesting about a topic they know little or nothing about; this post provides some guidance in how to accomplish that, such as “Instead of saying ‘driving fast is dangerous‘ in four or five different ways, show the reader why it’s dangerous; give them broken glass, emergency rooms, and sedans wrapped around telephone poles.”
Power Headlines To Increase Conversion by Marketing Tips Blog
Jenn Blanchard contends that, when crafting headlines that compel readers to want to learn more about your topic, “Certain ‘power’ words and phrases consistently outshine other words.” She then provides a list of 57 such phrases such as “7 Sure-Fire Tips For… ” and “Do You Wish There Was An Easier Way to…” Although targeted at writing sales letters, the phrases in this post can serve as an inspiration when writing blog posts, ad copy, white papers and other types of collateral as well.
Six Ways to Instantly Find the Right Words by Copyblogger
Chris Garrett shares “tips for producing great copy even when your brain is not cooperating,” such as starting in the middle, taking a short break to refresh your mind, and “rubberducking.”
Copywriting – Write Ads That Get Customers and Cash Fast by Angela Booth’s Creativity Factor
Copywriting expert Angela Booth explains how to write compelling ad copy using “a simple formula: HPSA. It’s an acronym for Headline, Pain, Solution, Action. HPSA works for any kind of ad, from a simple classified ad to a long direct response sales letter, whether for the Web or print.” She advises starting by putting yourself in your customers’ shoes and understanding their pains, then clearly describing how your product/service alleviates that pain and the next steps to take.
Tags: Angela Booth, b2b writing, Brian Clark, Chris Garrett, CopyBlogger, GrokDotCom, marketing copy writing, sales copy writing tips, StraightUpSearch
