As a professional copywriter, writing comes pretty easy for me. But that doesn’t mean I’m not constantly striving to improve my copywriting skills.
So I really enjoyed an article my friend and colleague Gordon Graham, aka That Whitepaper Guy, wrote recently that detailed 10 tips to improve your copywriting skills. Gordon was summarizing tips that were shared at a copywriting bootcamp last year by keynote speaker Alexander Green, an accomplished business-to-business copywriter,
Before sharing his top 10 writing tips, Green emphasized three things that any professional copywriter must do to be successful:
1. Think clearly.
2. Write plainly.
3. Argue persuasively.
Wow, talk about hitting the nail on the head! I’m constantly amazed at how much copy I see that isn’t well thought out, plainly written or persuasively argued. If you don’t read anything else here, write these three things down and stick them on a note next to your computer monitor.
Top 10 Copywriting Tips
Here are Green’s top 10 tips for becoming a better copywriter:
Tip #1: Write, write and write some more. There’s simply no substitute for practice and experience. The more you write, the better writer you’ll become. If you want be a better writer, make it a practice to write something … anything … every single day.
Tip #2: Check your ego. This tip applies specifically to professional B2B copywriters. Here’s how Green puts it: “The idea when you’re writing copy is not to draw attention to yourself, to your own words. Your job is to see things from your client’s point-of-view and argue the best case you can possibly make.”
Tip #3: Believe what you’re writing. It’s hard to fake it as a professional copywriter. “Unless you believe in what you’re writing about, you won’t do your best work,” Green said.
Tip #4: Strive for pitch-perfect tone. In other words, make sure you’re using the right diction, the right phrases and the right arguments for your audience. “To keep your readers engaged, keep every sentence moving and strike the right tone,” Green said.
Tip #5: Remember that good writing is rewriting. Green uses the analogy of polishing a stone: Every time you polish your writing, it gets better. My caveat here: Know when it’s good enough so you can finish a writing project and move on to the next one.
Tip #6: Don’t reinvent the wheel. I really like this tip — it’s something I practice every day. Once you’ve mastered a certain style of writing, stick with the formula that has brought you success. You’ll increase your writing productivity exponentially.
Tip #7: Make a $5 investment. Green is referring to the classic writing book The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White. This was required reading for me as a 22-year-old editorial assistant and it should be for any professional copywriter, regardless of age.
Tip #8: Prioritize your day. I like this tip, too. If you have a writing deadline today, get started right away, first thing in the morning. This will relieve some of the deadline pressure and give you more time for rewriting and polishing.
Tip #9: Don’t multi-task. Multi-tasking is a misnomer. People say they’re good at multi-tasking when, in reality, they’re not really doing any particular task well. This goes double for writing: You simply can’t write well while you’re also trying to do two or three other different things at the same time.
Tip #10: Show, don’t tell. “The secret of A-plus copywriters is they tell a story and let the facts speak for themselves,” Green said. “You don’t want to tell people about the product — you want to show them.”
Good Writing … Is Good Writing
These tips are obviously geared toward professional copywriters. But Green said he doesn’t see a big difference between good, clear writing for editorial purposes and good, clear writing for promotional purposes.
I agree wholeheartedly. Whether you write marketing and promotional copy, fictional books and short stories, or journalism copy, you can glean a few tips from here that will help you become a better writer.