Advertising Copywriting 101

with

Amanda Caswell

About Amanda Caswell

Amanda Caswell is a former Nickelodeon scriptwriter and has written print & digital advertisements and commercials for some of the biggest brands in the industry including: Comedy Central, Bravo TV, Johnson & Johnson, Campbell’s Soup, Coca-Cola, Honest Tea, Heinz, L’Oreal, Yellow Tail, Seagram’s, Five Below, Walgreen’s, Disney, and many more Fortune 500 companies and small start-ups.

She has over ten years of experience writing and editing for online and print media and has written for several national and international publications. As an award-winning copywriter she is among Ad Age’s Top Rated Writers and currently makes her living as a copywriter and publicist as president of AdBuzzPR Inc. She has written two books currently on Amazon.

@amandacaswell@adbuzzpr

Week 1What is Copywriting, Anyway?

Subheads & Subject Lines & Taglines, Oh My!The Real Estate of Copy

Bonus: Clickbait!

What is Copywriting, Anyway?

Copywriting is...

• Copywriting is the process of writing advertising promotional materials. Copywriters are responsible for the text on brochures, billboards, websites, emails, advertisements, catalogs, and more.

• This text is known as “copy.” Copy is everywhere — it’s part of a $2.3 trillion industry worldwide.

• Unlike news or editorial writing, copywriting is all about getting the reader to take action. That action might be to purchase, opt-in, or engage with a product, service, or company.

• That’s why a copywriter is often referred to as “a salesman in print.”

• Copywriting should not be confused with “copyright.” Copyright means an individual or company has the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute someone’s work (such as books, music, artistic items). The purpose of a copyright is to protect that material and prevent illegal use of it by unauthorized agents. The owner designates the material is copyrighted with the symbol ©.

What kind of qualifications

do you need to be a copywriter?

• Zero! There are successful copywriters with college degrees and some who didn't finish high school. Some copywriters are only 18 and some are retired. Some copywriters are stay-at-home moms and some left six-figure corporate jobs.

• The only thing you need is a computer and an Internet connection. Everything else can be learned. If you can write a letter to a friend, you have all the qualifications you need to get started now.

The Real Estate of Copywriting

Words Are Everywhere

The Creative Copywriter

Creative copywriters have the magical gift of being able to communicate an idea in a short,

pithy, punchy, snappy, memorable phrase. Their main habitat is consumer ad-land, where

they’re paid vast sums to come up with punchy headlines, taglines, and more. Creative

copywriters are brilliant at coming up with attention-grabbing concepts, but you might think

twice about asking one to write your next ebook. (Also, tragically, they don’t charge by the

word.)

What they’re good at: campaign concepts, headlines, straplines, ad copy.

Business value: they create the ideas and phrases that get your brand noticed and

remembered.

The Digital Copywriter

Digital copywriters are responsible for all the largely-unsung microcopy that gets website

visitors and app users to click on the right things and enter the right information. If you’ve

ever wondered whether your CTA button should say “Start your free trial” or “Start my free

trial”, ask a digital copywriter. (And yes, that single word change can have a huge impact –

a 90% increase in conversions)

What they’re good at: on-page navigation copy, microcopy, button copy, calls-to-action,

social media copy.

Business value: they write the copy that gets people to try, buy or sign up for what you’re

offering.

The Marketing Copywriter

Part writer, part psychologist, the marketing copywriter knows not just how to get the

attention of the target buyer, but how to make them feel that your widget is the one true

thing their lives are desperately missing. A good marketing copywriter will immerse him or

herself in buyer personas until they understand the target audience better than they

understand themselves. They’ll use that insight to write copy that inspires, educates,

empathises, terrifies and/or just gently guides the prospect towards your product or

service. Crucially, this kind of writer can set up, develop, and sustain an argument, in an

appropriate tone and voice, over a long-form piece.

What they’re good at: email campaigns, ebooks, video scripts.

Business value: they develop a strong emotional bond between your brand and your

target buyer.

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The Explainer Copywriter

There’s a current school of thought that executive papers, whitepapers and case

studies are dead, and that the way forward is to use lively, engaging copy to appeal

to the buyer’s emotional side. But not every brand wants to appear puppyish, and

some conservative buyers are reassured by a writing style that reflects the gravitas

of the investment decision and the quality and reliability of the brand. This style of

writing doesn’t have to be boring or jargon-filled – in the same way that The

Economist or the Financial Times aren’t boring or jargon-filled – but it does need a

skilled writer to make it simultaneously serious *and* engaging. The Explainer

Copywriter is someone who knows how to present the logical and rational case for

investment in a product or technology, in a way that’s clear, digestible and easy to

read.

(An Explainer Copywriter may also choose to buddy with a Creative Copywriter to

‘punch up’ the copy with snappy titles, headlines and pull copy.)

What they’re good at: white papers, datasheets, case studies product/demo video

scripts.

Business value: they help prospects to build an internal business case for

investment.

The SEO Copywriter

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Search engine optimization is the process

of affecting the online visibility of a website or a web page in a web search engine's

unpaid results—often referred to as "natural", "organic", or "earned" results

With Google now actively punishing sites that are crammed with low-quality, keyword-

stuffed copy, SEO copywriters have had to up their game considerably. Today’s SEO

Copywriter is more likely to be a Marketing Copywriter, Explainer Copywriter or Brand

Journalist, creating original, intelligent, engaging and helpful content that guides

customers to a buying decision.

What they’re good for: blog posts, online articles, web page copy.

Business value: they make sure your site ranks highly in relevant searches.

The Brand Journalist

In a noisy world, the brands that stand out are the ones that tell engaging stories –

about their customers, about their products, about their ethos; about anything that’s

going to capture interest and attention. The brand journalist is emerging as a new

style of copywriter who can uncover and tell those stories. Successful brand

journalists use techniques borrowed from newspaper and magazine journalism, like

interviewing experts and customers, reporting news from the brand’s ecosystem,

curating ideas and opinions, weaving in multimedia elements and using supporting

facts and graphics to craft well written copy that’s, fresh, interesting and enjoyable

to read.

What they’re good at: Blogs, articles, case studies, curated pieces, multimedia

extravaganzas.

Business value: they turn your website into a high-profile, must-visit, share-worthy

media property.

The Technical Writer

The technical writer is a rare and valuable species: a hybrid of techie and writer,

they not only know which bit plugs into what (and why you really don’t want to

plug that bit in there), but they can explain it clearly and simply to the end-user.

Look at the credentials of your prospective copywriter. If they’ve got a degree in

medieval French literature and a career history of writing e-newsletters for leisure

resorts, you probably won’t want to let them anywhere near your new RS-Z160

user manual.

What they’re good at: datasheets, user manuals, FAQs, knowledgebase

articles, technical instructions of any sort.

Business value: They keep users happy (and safe), and reduce expensive calls

to your helpdesk.

Subheads & Subject Lines & Taglines,

Oh My!

How do I write a headline?

According to Copyblogger, 8 out of 10 people will read a headline. However,

only two out of 10 tend to proceed to read the rest of your content.

Yikes, right?

Even if the content is truly unique and innovative, a weak headline will ruin its

chances of being super successful.

Fortunately, data and analytics can help you write great headlines that will

instantly capture the attention of your readers.

Write Several Headlines

Your headline makes your first impression with readers. A strong headline can drive

more clicks. A weak one can send traffic away.

That's why it's important to spend time getting them right.

You may need to write up to 25 headlines for one blog post to get it right. That might

sound like a lot. However, if anything, you could consider this the bare minimum.

Some will be better than others. Some, in fact, will be downright terrible.

That's okay though. You have to burn through bad ideas before you can find what

works.

Avoid Clickbait! We will get to that later.

Suggest The Best Way To Do Something ex: “Best ways to stop toddler tantrums”

Give Advice For Improvement ex: “Why you should give up Facebook for good”

Provide Solid Evidence To Support A Claim ex: "10 Productivity Strategies Backed By Science”

Share Your Experience ex: "What I learned from being broke for a decade”

Include Numbers In List ex: “Top 7 Ways to Make Money this summer”

Experiment With Open- and Closed-Ended Questions ex: “What day is the best to send your resume?”

Hint At Something Interesting ex Leave out just enough detail to get readers interested (without falling into the clickbait trap) ex: "This New Car Door Design Is Changing The Game“

State A Problem (And Offer A Solution) ex: “Depression is killing your career, try jogging”

Include A Stat People love to see numbers in headlines. This is especially true when they seem difficult to believe ex: “50% of holiday shopping will be done from a mobile device”

You won’t believe what doctors say Clickbait does to your brain

End of Course 1See you next week for Course 2:

Know Thy AudienceThe Basics of Branding

Finding Your Brand VoiceWinning Over Customers