Keeping It Real: The Only Copywriting Trick That Works

Much of today's accepted copywriting wisdom comes from old books written for a different, quieter world.

For most of the twentieth century, widely promoting a successful message was expensive and difficult, requiring control of significant resources and substantial time commitments. Though the general public was more trusting and open to suggestion, more effort was required to reach them. Until the mid-nineties, marketing was generally a money game: whoever could afford the loudest message often sold the most product.

The information age - and the Internet in particular - changed all that.

Today, your competitors aren't the other businesses providing similar services: they are the millions of voices screaming at the top of their lungs, desperate for attention. They are the vast seas of noise - the four billion websites that are of no interest to your prospects, the commercials that don't relate to them, the telemarketing calls that still interrupt their dinner despite new laws. Your competitors are everyone and everything that pushes the general public into apathy, desensitized by information overload.

Creative and pushy techniques don't work when a million other people are doing the same thing. The battle today is not to make people listen, but to convince them that you are worth listening to. While authenticity has always been a good strategy, now it is the entire game.

To write truly effective marketing copy, you must go beyond the buzzwords, slogans and pitches, to get to the secrets that make your business unique and credible:

Challenge your own assumptions about your clients and their needs. It is easy to fall into the trap of limiting your market with faulty assumptions. Take a hard look at your current marketing efforts - who do you think your clients are, and why do you think that? Gather as much information about your clients as possible and challenge any beliefs you hold that are not based on solid evidence. Never assume that common wisdom is actually true - it often isn't.

Question the quality and value of your own services. People do not buy things; they buy values. Take a fresh look at the value of what you offer, and what makes that value attractive to prospects and clients. Question it: explore new areas where your services would be useful, and new ways that you can improve their relevance. Dig deep to learn what you are really selling and what it truly means.

Embrace your flaws as well as your strengths. None of us are perfect, but most attempt to disguise or deny their flaws by overcompensating in marketing. Flaws are relative things, and weakness in one area is often the result of strength in another. Don't disguise your flaws - simply present them positively. Brainstorm ways to turn your weaknesses to your advantage.

Ask yourself - is your marketing driving you to higher standards, or disguising lower ones? Effective marketing is never about the status quo; it is either a growth vehicle or a means of damage control. Which are you doing? Are you promoting yourself based on valid strengths, or are you trying to cover up apparent weaknesses? If your marketing does not inspire you to serve your clients better, it won't inspire prospects to become new ones.

In a world of noise and manipulations, your prospects crave simplicity and integrity. Honestly approaching these issues will result in a wealth of unique material for your advertising efforts, as well as new insights into your own business.

Retire the tricks and gimmicks - they don't work anymore and probably never will again. If you want to attract and keep clients, use the only copywriting trick worth learning: reality.

About The Author

Robert Warren (http://www.rswarren.com) is a professional marketing copywriter and editorial consultant, specializing in promoting experts and independent professionals with the power of the written word. His offices are based in Orlando, Florida.

writer@rswarren.com

---

Knowing Copywriting Basics - How To Get Ahead In Your Copy Writing Business

In order to get ahead in your copy writing business,... Read More

How Writing Radio Can Help You Become a Better Writer

Knowing how to write, and write well, is a skill... Read More

Four Things Every Web Site Headline Must Do

As you know, I'm constantly making the point that the... Read More

Three Steps To Pump Up The Drama In Your Copy

All the world's a story. Video games have storylines; newspapers... Read More

Progressive Headlines Guide Customers To Buy

Headlines are, without a doubt, one of the most important... Read More

3 Copywriting Tips - How To Edit For Mass Appeal!

Web copy that's intended to sell or generate leads needs... Read More

Lapsed Donors: How to Write a Fundraising Letter That Wins Them Back

Your definition may differ, but I define a lapsed donor... Read More

On Copying and Stealing Designs

The notion on the great artist, Pablo Picasso's quote, "Bad... Read More

How To Make A Career Out Of Copyediting And Proofreading

Do you possess the qualities of a good proof reader?... Read More

Prevent Procrastination With Positive Pressure

My wife and I recently bought a house.It's currently being... Read More

Copywriter Rates, Getting The Facts Beforehand

Have you ever had the experience of hiring a freelance... Read More

7 Easy Tips on How to Improve Your Sales Letter Instantly

Would you like to get more sales from your online... Read More

Bullshit Avoid the use of the word Bullshit

It is important in this new paradigm of political correctness... Read More

No-Holds-Barred Conversation with Dan Lok - Part 1

Question: If you were starting out and had no references... Read More

Direct Mail Sales Letters Flow Better With Subheads

A subscriber to my newsletter asks: "Got any good pointers... Read More

Freelance Writing As A Career

Most people would love to make a living from freelance... Read More

Your USP is Useless

One of the keys to writing good marketing copy is... Read More

Segmenting Your Target Audience Through Your Copywriting

Ask any copywriter what the first commandment of copywriting is... Read More

The Secret to Web Copywriting Gurudom

Have you seen those copywriting gurus, working it on the... Read More

How to Build Benefits from Features Fast and Easy with the Solution Approach

Every salesperson and fledgling copywriter hears the harangue: DON'T SELL... Read More

A Writers Secrets

Every person has secrets that only he or she knows,... Read More

Copywriting Goldmine: One of 20 Insider Secrets to Great Copywriting

Each weekday during my Red Hot Copywriting Bootcamp, attendees (or... Read More

How To Write Headlines That Grab Your Prospects Attention

It doesn't matter if you're writing an article, a newspaper... Read More

How You Can Become A Freelance Business Plan Writer

As with any business, becoming a freelance business plan writer... Read More

Five Keys To Leaner and Meaner Copywriting

Grab 'em and don't lose 'em. Every marketer knows that... Read More

Keeping It Real: The Only Copywriting Trick That Works

Much of today's accepted copywriting wisdom comes from old books... Read More

11 Things You MUST Know Before Hiring a Copywriter!

If you're considering hiring copywriting help for your next brochure,... Read More

A Copywriters Rant: Either You Get it, Or You Dont

Today I am having a rant inside of my own... Read More

Are Long Copy Salesletters Scams?

A passionate debate is currently raging in the Copywriters Forum... Read More

?Super Adjectives? Boost the Power of Your Copy

Pretty or elegant? Good or scrumptious? Nice or delightful? There... Read More

Creative Copywriting?

There is a difference between creative writing and copywriting. It... Read More

Buy My Book for $27 and Ill Give You Bonuses Worth a Gazillion Dollars!

Subhead..How to bundle for valuable results without devaluing your productI... Read More

Ten Eye Popping, Jaw Dropping Ad Copy Secrets

In order to make more sales and get more profits... Read More