Shaun Crowley (bio)

Later, once we had a few projects under our belt, he went one step further, telling prospective clients that his agency not only offered copy, but specialized in managing all aspects of marketing collateral, from concept and copy, to design and print (I had a few good printer contacts to share). It wasn’t long before he was landing bigger clients and hiring more designers.

The moral of this story is twofold: firstly, if you can find a good copywriter, don't be shy about proposing you work together more often. Buddying up shouldn’t be difficult – copywriters relish the chance to work alongside designers, as this effectively doubles their chances of finding work.

Secondly, copywriting is probably the best way of expanding your design business and moving from 'freelancer' to 'full creative agency'.

But like so many things in life, you only get out what you put in. To work as an effective team, you will need an awareness of what makes good copy, just as you’d hope your copywriter has an awareness of what makes good design.

Fortunately, the essential copywriting tricks are fairly straightforward and can be defined into a set of pointers, or “things to watch out for”. That is what I attempted to record in this set of entries, which I hope you find useful when you need to evaluate your copywriter’s prose (or your own prose, if you decide to try writing yourself).

In the previous two entries, we discussed how you can assess if the copy responds to the client’s brief, how well it communicates the product’s key sales message, and how convincing it is at selling the product.

In this last entry we’ll look at the aspects of copy that give advertising a polished and attention-grabbing edge. They are:

- Ensuring the copy is engaging and easy to read
- Ensuring the copy inspires an eye-catching design

1. Ensuring the copy is engaging and easy to read

Do the messages of each section lead on from each other?

Ask yourself if the copy keeps to a coherent voice. If the sections of copy focus on different points, ask yourself if they are connected sufficiently in order to keep the sales pitch smooth and flowing.

Some phrases can help you link sections of copy together, so that the messages lead into each other (e.g. That’s not the only way product X helps you… Product X goes one step further… There are more reasons to look at product X… And that’s not all… That’s just the start… So here’s the deal… Here’s how it works...)

Does the piece work if the reader only looks at the headlines and visuals?

Just as the body copy should keep to a flowing style, so too should the headlines and visuals. Headlines should grab attention and draw the reader into sections of copy. But they should also work in isolation, summarizing each section of copy – so that if readers skip the copy, they still get exposed to the key sales messages.

In long copy items, headlines and visuals work best when they build up to form a ‘product story’. That way a reader can skim-read for gist. If particular headlines grab attention, the reader can pick out the respective sections of copy that interest most, rather than having to read everything. This makes the piece more approachable and manageable for a glancing audience.

The ‘AIDCA’ model can help you determine whether the order of the information revealed in the headlines and copy sections is appropriate:

The first headlines/visuals should grab Attention.
The next headlines/visuals should spark the reader’s Interest in the product
The next headlines/visuals should elicit the reader’s Desire for the product
The next headlines/visuals should foster Conviction to try or buy the product
The last headlines/visuals should call the reader to take Action towards buying the product.

For example, the headlines at copywriting-designers.com, extracted below, tell the story of the ebook offer. Even if you don’t read the copy, you still get a sense of the product story. Can you see how the headlines follow the AIDCA sales approach?

Headline #1:
You’re the perfect person to offer a copywriting service

Headline #2:
So how do you get started as a copywriter?

Visual:


Headline #3:
Practical tips just for you…You won’t find this book anywhere else

Headline #4:
Buy 100 Copywriting Tips for Designers now—and take advantage of this special discount price of just $37

Does the copy ‘speak’ directly to the reader?

Friendly-sounding copy makes people want to read on, and primes them to become more receptive to the sales message. The easiest way to make copy friendly is to address the reader personally as ‘you’.

Example:
You don’t need thousands of dollars to start investing with SureBank. You can open a lump sum or regular investment from as little as $20. And when you do, there are no upfront fees reducing your initial investment before it’s even started.

Being direct isn’t just about using the word you, it’s also about using the words we and us. Publicity that speaks in the first person can make the brand or company feel accessible and welcoming.

Passive:
Your reservation has been booked.
Direct:
We have booked your reservation.

Passive:
A free bottle of wine will be given to everyone who opens an account.
Direct:
Open an account with us and we’ll give you a free bottle of wine.

Notice that direct sentences starting with a command verb are more engaging than sentences starting with a pronoun or noun. For example:

Make sure your home looks stunning this Christmas with a seriously cool sofa …

Select from over 400 entertainment options, including blockbuster movies …

Imagine a camera that reached out to wherever your creativity took flight …

One of the main causes of dull and distant copy is the copywriter being shy about using the words ‘you’ or ‘us’, or not using direct commands that urge the reader to take action.

Is the copy succinct?

As you read the copy, check that it communicates just one idea per sentence, and just one point per paragraph.

Copy is easy to read when sentences and paragraphs focus on just one thing at a time. Copy is difficult to read when sentences and paragraphs ‘fire multiple tennis balls’—the reader doesn’t have time to take in one thing, before being asked to digest another.

If the copy appears too dense, suggest that your copywriter break up longer sentences and paragraphs into shorter ones that deliver the message step-by-step, like this copy does:

Free trade sounds like a great idea. But if it’s not between equals it doesn’t work. Yet free trade is often forced onto poor countries through trade agreements and as a condition of aid and debt relief. This means their growers and producers are overwhelmed by powerful international competitors and unprotected fledging industries are destroyed.

Trade justice is a better way. Put simply, it means the world’s poor nations should have the right to choose for themselves the policies that will help them trade their way out of poverty. (…)

Can the copy be shortened?

Ask yourself how quickly the copy gets to the point. If it takes a paragraph before you get to the crux of the message, ask yourself how necessary that initial paragraph is. Be ruthless. If you don’t need a section of copy, remove it when you drop it into design.

Cut out any unnecessary adjectives, adverbs, and clichés (e.g. contemporary, flexible, hands-on). Unless backed up with evidence, descriptive words like these rarely motivate readers.

If your copywriter uses sub-headings, make sure your headline summaries don’t repeat existing sentences of copy. If they do, ask your copywriter to scale down.

Can you shorten words and simplify phrasing?

If you find yourself tripping over the sentences as you read the copy, see if you can cut down on syllable length by simplifying long words.

Multi-syllable Latin-based words can usually be replaced with shorter Saxon words, as shown in the following list:

Complicated - Simple
Information.............Facts
Demonstrate.............Show
Regarding...............About
Immediately.............Now
Construct...............Make
Regulation..............Rule
Conversation............Talk
Discover................Find
Commence................Start
Gratis..................Free
Continue................Keep
Encourage...............Help
Majority................Most

If the copy is still difficult to read, check for complicated syntax. Phrases that use advanced tenses tend to feel clunky and read more slowly.

Clumsy syntax
It wasn’t until we had filtered through your comments did we realize what we needed to do to improve X.

Simple syntax
We looked at your comments. We saw how to improve X.

2. Ensuring the copy inspires an eye-catching design

Does the format lend itself to an attention-grabbing design?

Copy and design go hand-in-hand when it comes to advertising. That’s why a good copywriter should have an awareness of visual presentation.

The most effective advertising concepts unify a copy-based idea and a design or format-based idea. If your copywriter offers copy only, with no suggestions for the overall look or functionality, ask him or her to give this some thought before resubmitting.

If you are working on off-line collateral, try to get your copywriter into the habit of suggesting visuals – ideally finding samples from photo archives to guide you. You may not agree on the choice of visual, but at the very least the suggestion offers a starting point for brainstorming.

Has enough thought gone into the presentation/hierarchy of the copy?

Research suggests that people often subconsciously scan a page of publicity momentarily before they decide to read it properly (Source: Eyetracker.co.uk).

The eye naturally settles on the top-left section of a page, then wanders down to the bottom-left part of the page, then up and across to the middle-right. Website visitors often scan website pages in a similar way.

Your copywriter should offer you guidance as to which headlines, visuals, copy sections, and flashes should have the most prominence. Then you can set out the copy so that the important messages catch wandering eyes.

You also need guidance as to which sections of copy should be larger, and which headlines should stand out more – so you can set out the copy in a way that prioritizes key messages for skim-readers.

If your copywriter submits more than one headline and visual per page, ask what one message the reader should be left with, so you can emphasize the most important sentences and paragraphs through different design treatments.

Is there a strong headline/visual concept for the front cover?

If you are working on print collateral such as brochures and leaflets, the front cover should be strong enough to stand out from a pile of other brochures, and encourage people to pick up and read the item. Has your copywriter provided you with a headline/visual concept idea that inspires you?

Your copy ‘concept’ can be defined as an engaging way of communicating your sales message through copy, design, and format. Concepts work best if they pull on the audience’s emotional strings and/or present the product in a way that makes it appear desirable.

Before you start to work up the front cover visual, ask yourself if your copywriter’s ideas fill a recognized need amongst your target audience (this is information you should have noted when you took the assignment - see How to brief a Copywriter Part 2). If the idea fills a need, or the benefit is well-focused, the chances are the concept will work.

There is another reason for asking your copywriter to work up a good front cover concept. If you can provide your client with a visual that works well, it may have other uses as an advert, banner, or conference poster – which could encourage your client to develop the idea further. What starts as one brochure could turn into a much larger assignment.

Has enough thought gone into the presentation of the product?

If you are promoting a product (as opposed to a service), remember the old marketing maxim of 'product is hero'. If the reader goes away remembering just one thing from the item, it should be the product.

This seems fairly obvious, but it’s easy to fall into the trap of neglecting to show the product in your collateral. People want to see, evaluate, and test what you are trying to sell them.

Make sure the copy offers appropriate opportunities to show-case the product. Also ask yourself, is there enough room to show the product at a decent size. There may be too much copy – if so, your copywriter will need to scale it down.

Summary:
I hope this list of pointers offers a good starting point for helping you to evaluate copy.

Some of the pointers are quite prescriptive, and not everything will apply to the same assignment. At the end of the day, evaluating copy is often about making judgement calls. What works and what doesn’t work isn’t always black and white.

But the tips I have revealed over the last few weeks should help you identify advertising copy that does its job – to sell your client’s product. These posts are intended to help you articulate your concerns to your copywriter, if you feel the copy is not doing its job.

After all, if you want to expand your design business by hiring a copywriter, the quality of the copy is your responsibility in the eyes of your client.

© Shaun Crowley 2007

Shaun Crowley has worked as a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant. He currently works as a communications manager for a major UK publishing company and is the author of The Freelance Designer's Self-Marketing Handbook and 100 Copywriting Tips for Designers and Other Freelance Artists.