How to write better advertising copy

Veteran copywriter Steve Hayden nailed it when he said, “If you want to be a well-paid copywriter, please your client; if you want to be an award-winning copywriter, please yourself; if you want to be a great copywriter, please your reader.”

Strangely enough, advertising copywriters have ignored his ‘between the lines’ advice altogether, with most opting to please the client. Pick up a newspaper or magazine on any given day and you’d think all the ads were written by the same person. One long list of features bridged with terms like ‘What’s more’ and ‘But that’s not all’.

To write great advertising copy you really need to develop a style unique to your brand. Self-deprecating wit for instance is very effective. What it says about your brand is: “We don’t take ourselves too seriously”. This approach breaks down the barriers constructed in your target audiences’ mind; everyone likes personality traits in people which are non-confronting. The same is true for brands.

More later…