ukswg copywriting slides_slideshare_v1-1
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to
Copywriting fornon-copywriters
Alan Barker
I GAVE THIS SESSION AT THIS CONFERENCE:
I RUN THIS CONSULTANCY:
www.kairostraining.co.uk
... AND I WRITE BOOKS.
I’M ASSUMING THAT YOU’RE NOT A COPYWRITER. MAYBE YOU WRITE:
... REPORTS, EMAILS, LETTERS –
THE KIND OF WRITING I CALL
FUNCTIONAL
IT’S A BIT LIKE THE KIND OF WRITING WE WERE TAUGHT AT SCHOOL.
NEWSLETTERS, MARKETING
EMAILS,BROCHURES, LEAFLETS, BLOG POSTINGS- AND EVEN TWEETS AND TEXTS
BUT MAYBE YOU’RE FINDING
YOURSELF WRITING
MORE AND MORE :
... THE KIND OF WRITING THAT’S OFTEN CALLED:
COPYWRITING
WHAT’S THE
DIFFERENCE?
I LOOKED AT SOME OF THE GUIDES TO COPYWRITING, AND THEY SAID STUFF LIKE...
Copywriting: received wisdom emotions.
Show definite benefits, and start at once.
Tap the primal emotions.... AND...
Copywriting: received wisdom #2
gets attention focuses on the target reader stresses benefits differentiates your organisation from others proves its case establishes credibility and conviction builds value closes with a call to action
ALL VERY GOOD, BUT -
BUT HOW DO YOU
ACTUALLY DO THIS
KIND OF WRITING?
LET’S THINK ABOUT THREE KEY VARIABLES...3
Three variables
functional copy
committedreader contract
uncommitted
FIRST: THE CONTRACT THE READER MAKES
WITH YOU.
Three variables
functional copy
committedreader contract
uncommitted
FUNCTIONAL: THE READER
WANTS TO READ
COPY: WE HAVE TO ATTRACT THE
READER’S ATTENTION
committedreader contract
uncommitted
purposeinform perform
Three variables
functional copy
SO THE PURPOSE OF THE WRITING
DIFFERS...
committedreader contract
uncommitted
purposeinform perform
styletext voice
Three variables
functional copy
.. AND THE STYLE WILL
BE DIFFERENT,
TOO.
styletext voice
THE WORD ‘TEXT’ IS
RELATED TO THE WORD ‘TEXTILE’...
styletext voice
FUNCTIONAL STYLE IS ‘WOVEN’
INTO COMPLEX PATTERNS...
THE WORD ‘TEXT’ IS
RELATED TO THE WORD ‘TEXTILE’...
Once final decisions are made about the available funding for 2011/12, this strategy will also need to involve making difficult decisions about the level and allocation of money raised from council taxpayers and the Mayor’s revised priorities across the GLA group.
LIKE THIS:
styletext voice
... AND COPYWRITING FOLLOWS THE RHYTHMS
AND PATTERNS OF SPEECH...
Here’s some advice for companies in search of a better bottom line: Send your workers home early.
Sound silly? It certainly does to most executives.
... LIKE THIS!
Three dimensions of copywriting
Sense
Sound
Structure
THIS PRINCIPLE PLAYS OUT IN THREE
DIMENSIONS...
Three dimensions of copywriting
Sense
Sound
Structure
THIS PRINCIPLE PLAYS OUT IN THREE DIMENSIONS...
... AND I’VE GOT THREE
SUGGESTIONS FOR EACH...
Three dimensions of copywriting
Sense
Sound
Structure
AND THE FIRST DIMENSION IS:
Sense
Be clear
Be memorable
Use the senses: literally or metaphorically
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES -
Monkey visits German pizzeria, vandalises toilet
A PRETTY CLEAR
HEADLINE!
Sense: be clear
Sense: be clear
IF YOU’RE
BOB THE BUILDER – SAY SO.
Sense: be memorable
YOU CAN EVEN DRAW
ATTENTION TO HOW CLEAR YOU’RE BEING...
Sense: be memorable
YOU CAN
EVEN DRAW ATTENTION
TO HOW CLEAR YOU’RE BEING...
...IN FACT, THIS
TAGLINE HAS
BECOME SO MEMORABLE, IT’S NOW
LIKE A PROVERB.
Sense: be memorable
PROVERBS ARE INTERESTING.
Sense: be memorable
THEIR MEANING IS ‘OPEN’...
Sense: be memorable
...WE HAVE TO ADD SOMETHING FROM
OUR OWN EXPERIENCE TO MAKE SENSE OF
THEM.
Sense: be memorable
NOBODY IS THE ‘AUTHOR’ OF A
PROVERB; PROVERBS BELONG
TO ALL OF US.
Sense: be memorable
GREAT THINKERS CAN CREATE NEW PROVERBS...
Sense: be memorable
... AND SO CAN GREAT
COPYWRITERS.
Sense: use the senses (literally)
ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE OUR WRITING MEMORABLE IS TO APPEAL TO THE SENSES...
Sense: use the senses (literally)
FROM TASTE
TO SOUND..
.
Sense: use the senses (literally)
IN THIS EARLIER
VERSION, THE COPYWRITER HAD TO TELL US WHAT TO
DO!
WE CAN FIND
OTHER EXAMPLE
S OF THESE
EFFECTS IN SIX-
WORD STORIES..
.
...OTHERWISE KNOWN AS
FLASH FICTION...
Sense: use the senses (literally or metaphorically)
Window box, modest lawn, wildflower meadow.
HERE’S A SIX-WORD STORY
THAT USES THE SENSES REALLY
WELL...
www.smithmag.net
(LOTS MORE
SIX-WORD STORIES HERE.)
Sense: use the senses (metaphorically)
METAPHOR IS A GOOD WAY OF CONVEYING AN IDEA BY USING THE SENSES...
Sense: use the senses (metaphorically)
AND WE CAN PLAY
WITH METAPHOR
S BY MAKING THEM
LITERAL.
Sound Keep it simple
Give it rhythm
Play with patterns
THIS IS THE SECOND
DIMENSION OF
COPYWRITING...
Sound: keep it simpleA
BRILLIANTLY SIMPLE BRAND NAME...
Sound: keep it simpleA
BRILLIANTLY SIMPLE BRAND NAME...... REGULAR
ALTERNATION OF
CONSONANTS AND
VOWELS.
Sound: keep it simple
THIS COMBINATION OF VOWELS SEEMS
TO BE PROBLEMATIC...
Sound: keep it simpleWHEN SONIC SIMPLICITY
WORKS, IT REALLY FLIES...
Sound: keep it simple... AND WHEN IT DOESN’T
WORK...WHO REMEMBERS IT?
Sound: keep it simple(and give it rhythm)THE SIMPLICITY (AND DOUBLE
MEANINGS) MAKE THIS SLOGAN SO MEMORABLE...
Sound: keep it simple(and give it rhythm)... THAT IT’S BEEN
STOLEN FOR ANOTHER CAMPAIGN!
Sound: give it rhythm
WHY NOT
‘PEPPER AND
SALT’?
Sound: give it rhythmWHY NOT
‘PEPPER AND
SALT’?
BECAUSE WE
PREFER REGULA
R RHYTHM
.
Sound: give it rhythmWHY NOT
‘PEPPER AND
SALT’?
BECAUSE WE
PREFER REGULA
R RHYTHM
.
STRONG – WEAK – STRONG - WEAK
Sound: give it rhythm
THE SAME EFFECT
CROPS UP IN ALL SORTS
OF PLACES – EVEN GREAT LITERATURE.
..
Sound: playing with rhythmic patterns
... AND WE CAN PLAY
WITH THESE EFFECTS
TOO, JUST AS WE CAN PLAY WITH SENSE AND
METAPHOR...
/troch/ ee/
iamb trochee
RHYTHM IS ALL ABOUT ALTERNATING STRONG AND WEAK
STRESSES...
Sound: playing with rhythmic patterns
Sound: playing with rhythmic patterns
APPARENTLY, MANY ‘FEMININE’ BRANDS
HAVE IAMBIC NAMES...
APPARENTLY, MANY ‘FEMININE’ BRANDS
HAVE IAMBIC NAMES...
Sound: playing with rhythmic patterns
... AND MANY ‘MASCULINE’ BRANDS
ARE TROCHAIC... APPARENTLY...
Sound: play with patterns
WE CAN ALSO PLAY
WITH VOWEL SOUNDS (IT’S
CALLED ASSONANCE..
.)
Sound: play with patterns
...AND CONSONANT
SOUNDS (WHICH IS
ALLITERATION)
Sound: play with patterns
OR BOTH!
Sound: play with patterns
Pickles, pregnancy, puking, pain, premature. Priceless.
HERE’S A LOVELY
ALLITERATIVE SIX-WORD
STORY.
Structure Inform or perform
Shape your sentences
Be unusual
INTO THE THIRD
DIMENSION...
Structure: inform
A VERY EFFECTIVE
FUNCTIONALSTRUCTURE ISTHE PYRAMID:
Structure: inform
Say it first, then
support it.
... LIKE THIS.
BUT PYRAMIDS SIT STILL; THEY DON’T PERFORM...
A written agenda acts as:
a plan of the meeting;an objective control of the meeting;
anda measure of the meeting's
success.
Structure: perform
For sale: baby shoes, never used.
...LIKE THIS
DOES!
Structure: perform
Every sentence takes you on a little journey somewhere.
[Susan Bernovsky]
Structure: perform
In the beginning God created heaven and earth.
And the earth was void and empty,and darkness was on the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.And God said …
WRITING THAT PERFORMS OFTEN MAKES
STRUCTURES BY ADDING...
Structure: perform
HERE’S AN EXAMPLE FROM A (RATHER
OLD) AD...
Structure: shape your sentencesOne day you’re in, the next day
you’re out.
THIS SHAPE – CREATING A CONTRAST – IS CALLED
ANTITHESIS.
Summarise: shape your sentences
My fellow citizens: I stand here today...
humbled by the task before us;grateful for the trust you have
bestowed;mindful of the sacrifices borne
by our ancestors.
AND THIS...
...IS CALLED A TRICOLON: A SET OF
THREE
(HUMBLED...GRATEFUL...MINDFUL)
My fellow citizens: I stand here today...
humbled by the task before us;grateful for the trust you have
bestowed;mindful of the sacrifices borne by
our ancestors.
...MUCH USED BY THIS MAN:
My fellow citizens: I stand here today...
humbled by the task before us;grateful for the trust you have
bestowed;mindful of the sacrifices borne by
our ancestors.
TAKE A LOOK AT THE WRITING ON THE
NEXT SLIDE. HOW WELL STRUCTURED
IS IT?
Structure: shape your sentencesSo what is it that has made this festival the
gem that it clearly is? I think the answer is quite simple. Great music played by some of the most wonderful musicians, surroundings which offer the audience the opportunity to feel directly involved in the experience, while at the same time giving the performers the chance to be inspired and energised by the intense concentration of those listening.
Structure: shape your sentencesSo what is it that has made this festival the
gem that it clearly is? I think the answer is quite simple. Great music played by some of the most wonderful musicians, surroundings which offer the audience the opportunity to feel directly involved in the experience, while at the same time giving the performers the chance to be inspired and energised by the intense concentration of those listening.
IT STARTS WELL: A GOOD RHETORICAL QUESTION AND A
SIMPLE STATEMENT. BUT THEN IT GETS HORRIBLY LOST...
Structure: shape your sentencesSo what is it that has made this festival the
gem that it clearly is? I think the answer is quite simple. Great music played by some of the most wonderful musicians, surroundings which offer the audience the opportunity to feel directly involved in the experience, while at the same time giving the performers the chance to be inspired and energised by the intense concentration of those listening.
AND THE GRAMMAR GOES WRONG.
Structure: be unusual
WE CAN PLAY WITH
GRAMMATICAL
STRUCTURES, TOO...
Structure: be unusual
(IT SHOULD BE
‘DIFFERENTLY’
OF COURSE...)
Bald. Unreliable. Easily distracte
HERE’S A FUNNY SIX-WORD STORY THAT
PLAYS WITH SPELLING ...
Structure: be unusual
... COPYWRITING OFTEN PLAYS FAST AND LOOSE WITH
GRAMMAR.
Structure: be unusual
(WHICH FUNCTIONAL WRITING SHOULD
NEVER DO!)
Structure: be unusual
BUT IT HAS TO LOOK DELIBERATE – NOT
LIKE A SIMPLE MISTAKE.
Structure: be unusual
I CAN’T HELP THINKING THAT THIS
NEXT EXAMPLE IS ACTUALLY A MISTAKE
-
Structure: be unusual
Structure: be unusual
Structure: be unusual(THERE SHOULD BE AN APOSTROPHE:
FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE
FOR ME, THIS IS ONE OF THE MURKIEST
ASPECTS OF COPYWRITING:
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO BE
GRAMMATICALLY ‘CORRECT’?
TRICKY!
MEANWHILE, HERE’S A SUMMARY OF ALL MY SUGGESTIONS:
Three dimensions of copywriting
Sense Be clear Be memorable Use the senses,
literally or metaphorically
Sound Keep it simple Give it rhythm Play with
patterns
Structure Inform or
perform Shape your
sentences Be unusual
BUSINESS WITH CONFIDENCE icaew.com
Alan Barker
www.kairostraining.co.uk
Copywriting fornon-copywriters