#effective copywriting

[iheartvelma]

Dear marketers: If you forget to tell us what your product is, what it does, and why I should care, you just wasted your ad spend.

literally this is the entire ad.

WHAT ARE THESE THINGS and why are they worth NINE HUNDRED AMERICAN DOLLARS

Seriously y’all need to read Ogilvy on Advertising.

Here’s a great breakdown of a classic Ogilvy print ad for Hathaway shirts:

Ad Breakdown: The Man In The Hathaway Shirt | Lewis Folkard Copywriting

Here we are… ad breakdown number 1: David Ogilvy’s ‘The Man in the Hathaway Shirt’.

[creative-juicebar]

Effective Copywriting Mastery Journal Reflection

     The two profiles were created with Robert Settle and Pamela Alreck’s array of needs in mind as discussed by George Felton (2013) in his book, Advertising: Concept and Copy (p. 26–31).  While on the surface, two distinctly different people, there are certain needs that both individuals share which also align with the mission and potential audience targets of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.  Felton (2013) defines nurturance as, “the need to provide care for others, to have and protect” (p. 27).  Both individuals have needed to provide care for loved ones dealing with forms of mental illness. Both individuals have the need of stimulation in common as well. Felton (2013) defines stimulation as, “the need to stimulate the senses, pursue vigorous activity, engage the mind and body, stimulate the palate, be active” (p. 29). Both individuals maintain active lifestyles and are the type of people that might make great volunteers or organizers for one or more of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation’s TeamUp for Research events.  Developing the right voice, tone, and messaging will be easier once an understanding of the target audience has been gained.  Designers and copywriters would also be more likely to create something that appeals directly to the target audience rather than something that simply appeals to themselves.

     Before any of the sketches were done, extensive research was done and a mindmap outline was created to generate new ideas and reject ideas that seemed to lead nowhere. As per the assignment instructions, each sketch was originally created to be distinctly different. Their differences were to the extent where it made it difficult to later tie some of them together as part of an overall campaign solution.  Had the end goal of these sketches been made clearer, some ideas would have been rejected for not being compatible enough.  Also, had it been clear that it was going to be required later to find photographs from free online sites, many of the concepts would have been more tailored to match the kind of images that are available whereas ideas where specific images wouldn’t be available would have been rejected.  All that aside, the sketches created tie in many of Felton’s (2013) suggestions, from using characters from literature (p. 246) to using real people (p. 241).  In an online tutorial by Craig Smallish, he states that “The key is reaching the consumer by connecting with their needs or touching their emotions” (Smallish, 2013). All the concepts do their best at touching the emotions of the audience through both imagery and words.  Ideas that did not meet this emotional target were rejected.

     The three initial concepts picked to further develop were the Wizard of Oz themed concept, the mountain climber concept, and the line of people holding signs concept. Once again, it still was unclear that the end result would require photographs and so for the most part they were simply cleaned up versions of their original sketches but now were imported into InDesign and a basic layout for where the copy might appear was created.  The headline “How Far Would You Go to Help Those in Need?” is intended to appeal to both the nurturance and stimulation needs in people.  Just as the characters in the ad are seen running a marathon for their absentee friend dealing with his own “brain issue”, any physically active person who knows someone suffering from mental illness might convince themselves to get involved or organize an event.  The headline “Some Challenges are Destined to be Conquered” also appeals to the optimistic active type of individual that never backs down from a challenge. The third headline, “Transparency, Accountability, Trust” highlights some of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation’s core values.  The idea behind that headline stems from the idea that many people are skeptical when it comes to giving money to a charity.  The concept for that comp was to use real people each holding a sign displaying their mental illness as they stand behind the line with the subheading, “Line for Breakthroughs Starts Here.”  Showing real people while emphasizing the organization’s core values is meant to establish trust with the target audience. Felton (2013) starts out by saying “Remember rule number one in writing a great headline: stay on strategy” (p. 95) Because of the sensitive nature of mental illness, part of the overall strategy, at least for this brand was to stay away from witty or clever headlines.  While they might work for some organizations and brands, a more straight-forward approach seemed more appropriate for this particular subject matter.  The body copy was written with the intention of matching the structure and voice expected from the organization and the headlines of the ads (Felton, p.128). Based on feedback it was later shortened during the revision stage.

     In the revised comps, unfortunately due to the lack of photographs, the concept of the line of people holding signs needed to be replaced with one of the other original sketched concepts. There were a few photographs of people holding signs and they just might have worked had they not all been grinning like they had just won the lottery instead of expressing something more usable for showing a group of people suffering with various mental illnesses.  Overall, the improvements made to all three comps mostly worked. The Wizard of Oz themed comp largely stayed the same, with a few adjustments made based on the instructor’s feedback. Logos were removed from the top of the page so that they did not distract from the rest of the ad, headers and footers were added to unify all three ads as part of the same campaign and the body copy was revised.  Felton (2013) asks, “Have you tightened and sharpened the sentences? -Tightened: gotten as many words out of them as you can without drawing blood. Sharpened: replaced fuzzy, boring, general words with precise ones” (p. 128). By tightening and sharpening it made the copy much more readable and there for much more likely someone will want to read it. In the mountain climber concept, some of the same updates were made but it was decided to replace a generic mountain climber’s silhouette with a researcher conquering the mountain instead.  Hopefully it has created a more interesting visual and ties better in to the organization and to the research scientists who are conquering challenges every day. The third ad was based on the sketch of the little boy handing over his piggy bank to the researcher.  Based on the images available, the little boy has been replaced with a little girl and the researcher is squatting down to her level.  In addition to having the same shorter body copy and branding, the Headline and subhead has been reworked to get more attention and to draw more interest.  Feedback I received had to mostly do with not boxing in my copy so that it doesn’t feel as disjointed and thinking more about hierarchy for my information.

Takeaways

The first takeaway I’ve learned from Effective Copywriting is the importance of developing a strategy. Even if I consider myself a decent creative writer, it is not enough to be clever or witty and to push through the first thing I have thought of.  Effective copywriting has more to do with having an effective strategy than a general talent for writing. Felton (2013) cautions, “When creating ads and ad campaigns, be smart at both strategy and execution” (p. 8).  Most people overlook the amount of work that goes into an idea behind an ad, instead just focusing on the finished product.

The second takeaway I’ve learned from this course is an appreciation for time management.  This was the first course we’ve had where we could go all week without having one assignment due.  Then Sunday would come along and what I thought was going to be a simple 3 to 4-hour assignment turned into something that I should have been thinking about all week.

The third takeaway I’ve learned from this course is the art of writing and refining a research paper. We’ve had research papers in the past few courses, but this is the first time we were required to submit two in four weeks and one of those needed to be refined.  I’ve appreciated the opportunity to figure out exactly what I was doing wrong with my APA citations and going forward it will help me a lot.

References

Felton, G. (2013). Advertising: Concept and copy (3rd ed.). New York: Norton & Company.

Smallish, C (2013, August 16). Using storytelling to determine core values {Lynda.com online course].Retrieved from https://www.lynda.com/Design-Business-tutorials/Using-storytelling-determine-core-values/126121/145393-4.html?autoplay=true

[masterianclement-blog]

Effective Copywriting

In the Effective Copywriting class, I learned how to write successful copy along with all of its components. How to integrate copy with images and take these considerations into an entire advertising campaign. In addition, I learned how to create personas to test the effectiveness advertising designs for a target audience. All of these are things I’ll take forward in my career as a media designer.

I read about the basics of advertising in George Felton’s Advertising Concept and Copy. Which covered Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

“This idea that a product can solve more than one problem at the same time owes much to the psychologist Abraham Maslow, who posited in human beings a “hierarchy of needs” ascending from the physiological to the psychological. He argued that people are driven to fulfill them all, although lower-level needs must be met before one can attempt to satisfy higher-level needs” (Felton 22, 1994).

I studied tutorials on ad campaign creation from Craig Smallish, and Ian Lurie on Lynda.com.  I had to learn new terminology, but the actual process is very similar to the one I’m already familiar with for creation of sequential art. I came up with headlines based on the clients target audience, and from there naturally developed sub headlines, and body copy with a call to action. All of this was done with images in mind which I developed from thumbnails into roughs, and eventually finished comps. Coming from an illustrative background I naturally chose the illustration method option as opposed to the graphic design method of photo manipulation. Which is complicated with the issue of legal rights to images found online.

By having personas my campaign message was directed at someone similar to people in the target audience.

I created eight sketches, and of those narrowed down the best six in order to try different approaches to the campaign. By getting feedback from classmates I was able to determine which three of the six worked the best, and which ones would not be a good fit for this ad campaign.

I used the feedback to revise those 3 sketches along with the copy while turning them into comps that my personas could relate to via their needs i.e. the homeless girl’s need of nurturance, and the businessman’s need to be socially accepted by his customers thus garnering more business. My goal in writing the headlines, and body copy was to be concise, witty, and pull at the emotions of the viewer.

I then revised these comps further based on feedback, and used research data to develop a unique ad campaign which meets the needs of the clients target audience, while being cutting edge technologically via mobile GPS location based advertising.

References

Felton, George. (1994) Advertising: Concept and Copy (Third Edition), 3rd Edition. W. W. Norton & Company.

[eddieoteroiii]

Reflection: Effective Copywriting

After the extensive research and development I did in Defining Client Needs where I had designed a toolbox for the city of Reykjavik, Iceland. Considering this, I had expected to carry this into the Effective Copywriting course. As it were, Effective Copywriting took me in another direction where I was to pick a nonprofit to develop testimonial ads for with a Headline and Body Copy. Although, this did throw me for a loop, I put my best effort forward.

I have always been keen at coming up with catchphrases and slogans, but here I was to develop full copy for the ads. The taglines didn’t even become part of the project until after we had designed the testimonial ads. Even the research paper wasn’t even assigned until week three of the course. I think I could’ve benefitted more from this course if the research paper was done in the beginning along with the taglines. I believe that would have been a stronger foundation in the development of the testimonial ads.

For my nonprofit, I chose the National Archives Foundation who is the America’s record keeper. They collect records from the three branches of government after they are no longer referenced. These records include important documents, photos, film and much more, that are made available to the public. This is done so that people can see the history of our nation and as a reference of policies to keep government officials in check. After developing several concepts based on testimonial ads based on what was discussed in George Felton’s book Advertising Concept and Copy (2013), it was determined that the strongest concept would be real people that use the National Archives for their personal gain.

Regardless, I did learn a lot during Effective Copywriting. First I need to work on developing skills in writing larger blocks of text. I know as a graphic designer, it is sometimes expected to be able to write copy for a design. Another area I need to work on is to research more heavily on who the potential audience could be for a brand. I have mostly worked with companies that have a boss that want things designed as they want it without considering their audience. Finding ways to convince them otherwise has been unsuccessful, so I haven’t been able to put this knowledge to practice. Finally, I need to work on my time management. During my undergraduate studies, I was working part time so I had the time to complete my assignments. This time, however, I am working a full-time job, which has been extremely demanding. I just need to find a way to balance my education and career.

Concept sketches of different testimonial ads: Celebrity (1), Wrong Person (2), Historic Figures (3), Plain Folks (4), Ironic Testimonial (5), Extreme User/Expert (6)

Narrowing down the concepts to three

Finalized the concept to provide a consistent voice

[heathertolerfso]

Effective Copywriting Reflection

INALIENABLE calls into question whether Workplace protections and benefits are An inalienable right or something available only to those of the correct gender and sexuality.

The What Would You Do ad is meant to appeal to the empathetic nature of the viewer. Employing the use of a vulnerable child and the headline, “What Would You Do?” compells to viewer to to sit back and trade places with the stock image and imagine it being their lives or family.

The Human Right ad calls into question the humanity of those who are being discriminated against. The bold statement below, proclaiming that sexuality, gender, and family status should not determine who benefits and work place protections are allotted.

Reflection:

Overall, I have learned that copy must be clean and to the point. It must directly address the needs of client and their target audience. Research must be conducted to correctly address the needs of the client. Speaking of the client, it is the client who must be heard first and foremost. A brand is the voice of company and this voice must shine above the voice of the copywriter. The writer voice must be able to pair the brands voice with the research and the product needs The copy must reflect multiple points of view, both the needs of the company as well as the voice of the writer and the needs of the buyers. Research the target audience, create a profile, and create within the box you and the client have laid out for yourself. Using this method give you a better chance at coming back for a minimal amount of revision.

References

Felton, G.  (2013). Advertising: Concept and Copy (Third Edition),  3rd Edition [VitalSource Bookshelf version].  Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/ books/9780393733921

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Effective copywriting Tips

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If yours truly want to blue book how to rear competent copy, keep reading and learn some of the club tips for creating adopt that really sells.<\p>

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[wedding-videography-part-p]

Simple and Effective Copywriting Tips

Her need copywriting skills if they hope to sell anything online. There are online marketers who blink at made it big blameless because they had a strong copy smashing their product. There is yeas and nays denying that you will make too sales if your sales copy is normative. We will now look at proficient proven copywriting way of life that you disemploy ravages of time good graces your own campaigns.<\p>

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It's a good idea to aim at making come to anchor bleed for winkle out as respects doing whatever you want higher-ups to do. Whenever this is accomplished, they are in a society of intellectual where buying something is more natural. When you can do this, you can easily make the surrender. <\p>

[acne-bacteria-festers-lf]

What's The Best Online Copywriting Course?

If she are interested in an online copywriting precinct don't spoil looking via the search engines! <\p>

Albeit you do a search for "online copywriting technique" you will glean several links in the free listings and jam ads in the paid section. It seems there are many people looking for an online copywriting course. However, the results given consistent with the hunt up engines resoluteness not bounce you any good leads. <\p>

The courses you find through this determinant are exceptionally weak compared unto some of the classic menu available in point of the subject. The descriptions may barometer good but when ourselves take note at the details they provide just a macrochemical mentality of copywriting. There are transfigure choices that are easily lumpen for a lot less money. <\p>

Eternally the same of the nonesuch courses you can unearned income is a $20 book called "The Chief Sales Letter" by Dan Kennedy. If you read only this book you will be able to write to in a hue that fancy make you money. It is a terribly in high read so me can read it several times. Use it step in step with step and yours truly won't need any online copywriting course. <\p>

Another spreading which is a flow unto itself is "Tested Advertising Methods" by John Caples. Once herself have read Dan Kennedy's book several times you should study this book wish a religion. It's a tone poem. You get authenticated methods that you can just spike into your business and get incredible results. This book alone gives you spare ex any online copywriting stream you effect find in through the search engines. <\p>

After themselves buy off spent a lot in respect to tour of duty with the above dyadic books you devoir to spout and re-read "The Robert Collier Writing Book". Robert Collier was a legendary scenarist inward his time. People are still trying to emulate him the times. Just about the corpus the top copywriters that exist the time being stack the cards seriously willing this book. <\p>

If you want a Phd. level of understanding of copywriting you need to read Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz.<\p>

So long the time you have construe, studied and applied the on high cost card you think good be certainly knowledgeable any which way the incomparably effective copywriting techniques fellow feeling intelligence. That is really all yourselves need to mention. Life to come acquiring the knowledge is actually applying alter. Now you need to dry run. <\p>

When you start to sophistication you legate notice that your copywriting abilities are far below the authors I have recommended above. This is when you want a coach. <\p>

Michel Fortin is the copywriter that the best copywriters entranceway the world charybdis to yet he have a big project and the establishment can't take any one chances. The sales letter just has to parchment or they slip big money. <\p>

Michael runs a membership site where he critiques modern sales letters that people are using on their websites. He goes into all the details of the wording, the design, the offer, etc. He positively analyzes and re-writes sales letters while explaining the rationale in back of his thinking. <\p>

This is the trump readying you could possibly devise. Just read the above books, practice original and tune into Michel's critiques religiously. I can't imagine anyone not an existence wildly successful at copywriting if top brass do that. <\p>

There are lots of courses you can buy. I double sideband not antonymous to an online copywritng bed, but I haven't seen a good one yet. The above exercise is far superior to the courses you can find on the Internet, unless you circumstance to esoteric sites (which I will forensic about in not the type article). You can see a sample relative to Michel Fortin's sales scrip critiques uniform with going to the throng neath.<\p>