Copywriting – Page 13 – Express Writers

How To Kill Content: Learning Copywriting From Tarantino

December 31, 2020October 24, 2014 by Adam Oakley

No matter your taste in films, you’ve probably heard of Quentin Tarantino. Born in Tennessee, he wrote, acted, produced, directed, even created the soundtracks, and edited more than 23 films. He won two Oscars, two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, two BAFTA Awards, over 100 more awards, and was nominated 97 times. His movies are jam packed with violence, non-linear storylines, and, of course, epic soundtracks. This star is a prime example of how using epic copywriting can boost your views, show people who you really are, and create a dedicated fan base. Just what is this five-finger punch to the heart? Can only the Bride do it, or is this something you can learn and create some killer content ready to make audiences laugh, cry, or maybe squirm? Let’s take a look at what you can learn about copywriting from a Tarantino film. Retro Is Always In – Use Something Familiar in Your Copywriting Cue the seventies disco and begin imagining yourself walking down the streets of California in an awesome seventies suit and tie. In the nineties, this sure was a surprise because many people thought that the seventies were just a thing of the past. In fact, many kids and teenagers thought the seventies were oh-so-boring until Tarantino made seventies fashion and music an absolutely amazing plot piece in his most well known film Pulp Fiction. Just why was this successful? Tarantino used something that was still known, and familiar to audiences. He wasn’t trying to reach out to young audiences, but to those who were in their twenties and older, and he succeeded. This is important to your copywriting because you want your audience to feel comfortable with your content. You will find that it is much easier if you utilize familiar items in your marketing pitches because people will be more likely to click on a link to something that sounds familiar than something they’ve never heard of before. You don’t have to go all retro-glam with some disco playing on your site. Just simply focus on utilizing a few popular memes, work in familiar aspects of your product, or just anything that you know audiences can and will connect with. Details, Details, Details The one consistent truth of any Tarantino film is that each time you watch it, you will find something new. The stories are incredibly intricate with several tie-ins and references. It is easy to lose sight of all of the details when watching, but they’re still there and they make each viewing enjoyable and just as exciting as the first view. This is because Tarantino pays extremely close attention to details. This is one of the reasons his films take a while to be released because he works on them in script form to get every detail, and works further throughout filming and post-development. He wants to make sure audiences have the best experience, and no one can say that he doesn’t succeed at this. Just watch Kill Bill: Volume One a few times in a row and see what new things you notice in each viewing. Many times, you might feel like you can just write rather generic blogs and web content, but this might be something that hinders you from making sales. Sure, people aren’t always keen on Tolkien-like detail, but people do want a bit more information that many companies give. However, the details for your copywriting shouldn’t only be focused on the words, but every aspect of your social media campaigns, your web layout, and any other details that could impact your content. In fact, user experience is a major part of how someone views your content. You can have the best content out there, but if your clients’ experience isn’t a great one, they will leave quickly. Audiences Like To Be Shocked And Entertained While Tarantino focuses on several familiar aspects of films and trends, he also shocks his audiences. This can be through simple story re-telling like Inglourious Basterds or by cutting an ear off in the best way possible such as the scene in Reservoir Dogs. In fact, that particular scene is one that makes everyone cringe; yet the surprising fact is that you never actually see it happen. He blends suspense perfectly with his amazingly written scripts, causing everyone who views his films to feel something no matter what it is. He understands that people don’t just want to be shocked though, he knows that they want to be entertained, which is why his films have some of the best soundtracks out there. Now, when you start writing your content, you don’t have to go to the extreme of cutting off an ear; that would be a little much for your company! However, you can still do various things to shock and entertain your readers and clients. When you shock your clients, make sure it is with things that they will find enjoyable, not something that will overwhelm them. A simple way to shock and entertain is to offer freebies with a service, but not just any freebie. You can give away something that is much bigger than a pen with a name on it, maybe an e-book or an extra product to try. This is likely to shock your clients, and it will bring some pretty great success into your business. In fact, you might find that your clients are more than willing to buy more items from you after receiving great freebies. Entertaining your clients is also important, but I discuss this in the next point. Don’t Be A Square – Share Some Corny Jokes One of the things that really helps set Tarantino apart from other similar directors is the fact that he loves corny jokes. There’s the obvious one that Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction says about the tomato needing to “ketchup.” He also does subtler jokes that are more one-liners, a look between actors, or making a cameo himself. Fans love this and it is something you … Read more

Great Copywriting In Action: The Wizard Of Oz

June 19, 2024October 20, 2014 by Adam Oakley

The world of cinema didn’t start with the first Transformers film (thank goodness!), even though there have been about a hundred sequels to it (or is that just me?). You know that a film is truly great when it stands the test of time. And few classic films have stood the test of time as well as ‘The Wizard Of Oz’. The film is now 75 years old, yet still regularly features in lists of the greatest films of all time, and the American Film Institute selected it as the greatest fantasy film ever made. There’s one word that sums up the reason for this. No, it’s not ‘courage’ (we’ll come to that later), it’s ‘quality’. The film has quality stamped all over it. Successful copywriting has to put quality first as well, particularly as Google are now making the quality of content its main criteria. Take a look at the film again, and there are plenty of lessons that a smart copywriter can learn. Now, tap the heels of your ruby slippers together, and follow me to a magical land full of incredible copywriting. Look Magnificent You could put a 5-year-old child who speaks no English in front of The Wizard Of Oz, and they would love it. Know why? No, there’s no subtitles, that would be cheating. You do know why, because I put it in bold up above. It looks magnificent. No expense has been spared when it comes to the overall appearance of the film. Do you remember the moment when Dorothy gets transported away from Kansas to the world of Oz? If you’ve seen it, it’s impossible to forget. The screen changes from black and white to amazing color. And what color! It’s one of the most incredible moments in cinema history, and I have to say I always find it strangely moving too. A great copywriter needs to make their content just as exciting. This can involve selecting the right images, and it always involves selecting the right words. Remember that your writing shouldn’t simply be functional, it should be fun and fabulous! Splash a little technicolor into your content. Keep Your Copywriting Fresh How can a movie that’s now three-quarters of a century old still feel so fresh? That’s because it deals with things that everyone can empathize with. Our world has changed a lot since 1939, but, believe it or not, people are still exactly the same. Cinema and television audiences today are just as uplifted and excited by the film as they were when it was first shown. Show it to a child for the first time, and watch the look of joy spread across their face. The film doesn’t need 3D, it doesn’t need super high definition or CGI, because it has superb writing. Noel Langley. Florence Ryerson. Edgar Allan Woolf. These are the scriptwriters behind the film. Their names may be little known, but their work certainly isn’t. If they were copywriting today, they’d be naturals, because they knew the importance of keeping things simple, to the point, and, well, fresh. Use The Best Sources Which came first, the chicken or the egg? (The answer’s ‘the egg’ by the way, because reptiles laid eggs millions of years before birds evolved, so that’s that one cleared up). Which came first, the book or the film? Yes, it may surprise lovers of great films such as The Wizard Of Oz, The Lord Of The Rings, Schindler’s List and more, but before the film there was already a great book. That doesn’t make the achievements of the screenwriters, producers and actors, it simply means that they were smart enough to find a superb source. Copywriters can learn from this too. Plagiarizing is a complete no-no of course, but we shouldn’t live in a vacuum. We can take inspiration from great writers, and great content, that’s come before us. By adding our own unique thoughts and interpretations we can make copy that’s more useful than a self driving car that tans you en route. The original author, L. Frank Baum, is well credited in the film and its promotional material, so this helped to gather the interest of his fans. Copywriters can achieve the same effect by citing their high authority sources. Be Truly Memorable What do you remember the most about The Wizard Of Oz? The dissolving witch (‘I’m melting, I’m melting’), the beautiful ending (‘There’s no place like home’), the flying monkeys, the munchkins, the cute dog, Dorothy’s gingham dress, or the incredible music? Both the American Film Institute and The Recording Industry Association of America named ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ as the greatest song of the twentieth century. You could ask a hundred people, and get a hundred different answers, but what’s indisputable is that once you’ve seen The Wizard Of Oz, you’ll never forget it. There’s even a mythology that’s sprung up around the film (watch it as much as you like, but you won’t see a munchkin hanging themselves in the background). Copywriters should strive to make their writing just as memorable. There’s a huge amount of data and content in the world today. Humdrum won’t cut it any more. You have to engage your audience, and teach them something that will stay with them. If your work isn’t memorable, then you may as well stop after the first word. Send A Message That Matters The Wizard Of Oz, although enjoyed by adults, is a film made for children. Does that mean it’s simple? Not a bit of it. There are more messages in The Wizard Of Oz than you’ll find in ten series of Grey’s Anatomy. It’s packed full of themes. Loneliness. The importance of friends. How to fit in when you’re in a new place. Standing up for what you believe in. Following the yellow brick road, er, I mean following your dream. At the center of the film is a theme that may go over the heads of most viewers. In essence it’s a … Read more

Great Copywriting In Action: Once Upon A Time

December 31, 2020October 16, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Repurposing content is one of the hottest topics in the world of copywriting. Why? It’s something almost every brand is finding valuable. Not only does it save time, but it’s a fantastic means of reusing existing, already-awesome copy. Now, we’ve talked about content repurposing before. In fact, we’ve handed you a handy how to guide and backed our stand that repurposing helps you get the most content mileage possible. But as I sat at my desk, racking my brain for a worthwhile-copywriting-in-action topic, I thought to myself, “Hold the phone! We haven’t really shown you how valuable and worthwhile content repurposing is.” So guess what we’re going to talk about? Repurposing one of the oldest types of content around: Fairytales! Once Upon A Time There probably isn’t a person on the planet who hasn’t heard at least one fairytale. In fact, the tales we grew up with know no cultural bounds. They’re worldwide stories that teach lessons, morals, principles, all kinds of good stuff. And on October 23, 2011, a television series based entirely on repurposing traditional fairytales premiered. Simply called Once Upon a Time, this series is an incredible example of content repurposing in action. Modernization Once Upon a Time is a fantastic example of repurposing content through modernization. Now, we’ve talked about this concept before, but this series really drives home how you can take something old and make it new. The characters live in the seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine. They live in a modern setting in which the wicked Queen from Snow White’s fairytale is the town Mayor. In season one, her right-hand man (the Huntsman tasked with killing Snow White) is the town Sherriff. As we work our way down the list of fairytale characters, they each take on modernized roles that connect back to their traditional identity: The Evil Queen is Regina Mills, Mayor of Storybrooke Snow White is Mary Margaret Blanchard, a school teacher Prince Charming is David Nolan, a coma patient who awakes in search of his true love Jiminy Cricket is Dr. Archie Hopper, a therapist The Huntsman is Sheriff Graham Humbert Pinocchio is August Wayne Booth, a writer of sorts whose destructive path leaves life altering consequences Red Riding Hood is Ruby, a waitress at the local diner, Granny’s which is run by the grandmother from her fairytale Belle is Lacy, a confused young woman who falls for the biggest “beast” in town Perhaps the most epic character in the entire series is Rumpelstiltskin. In Storybrooke, he is Mr. Gold, the one powerful man in town that everyone is terrified of. He doubles as the Beast Belle falls for and the crocodile Captain Hook seeks to destroy. When it comes to repurposing content, one of the most important things we can do is modernize it. Once Upon a Time proves that no content is too old for modernization. And when it’s done right, it reminds the audience of the traditional content while mesmerizing them with a fresh perspective. Compelling Twists If I had to pick the most surprising and compelling twist of the series, it came in season three when we were introduced to the infamous Peter Pan. Yes, I said infamous. Although we’ve always known Peter as the boy who never grew up, and we saw his getaway island as fantastic and magical, Once Upon a Time chose to take a completing different approach. In an epic and slightly terrifying twist, Peter Pan becomes a villain! His shadow steels children from their beds, dragging them to Neverland. But instead of being a land where little boys never grow up, it’s a terrifying place where Pan searches tirelessly for one boy. Even Captain Hook fears the place. Peter is depicted as a villain, capable of ripping shadows away like ripping the hearts from chests. This compelling twist is a fantastic example of a technique we can use to repurpose content. We can insert new, compelling twists that shake things up. A reasonable twist can leave people in shock and awe. In the case of Once Upon a Time, it made season three irresistible. In the case of your copywriting, it can make people hunger for what comes next because all they can do for now is guess. Incredibly Human Characters It could be said that the most successful content is also the most human. Let’s face it; we don’t like trying to connect with anything that is less than human. Once Upon a Time, although comprised of fictional fairytale creatures and characters, never shank away from the task of making the modernized and classic characters incredibly human. For example: Emma Swan: Arguably the main character of the series, she is a completely new addition the storybook world. Daughter to Prince Charming and Snow White, she’s a character a lot of us can relate to because she is so human. She’s had her fair share of trouble. She’s made bad decisions that have come back to haunt her, and she’s bent on doing the right thing, no matter the cost. There’s hardly anything fictional about her, except for her roots. Henry: As Emma’s son, he is a highly human character. He spent a good part of his life wondering why his birth mother gave him up for adoption. When given the opportunity, he takes off to find Emma. He finds her to convince her that she is the savoir of Storybrooke, but at the same time he just wants his mother—his real mother. As the series progresses, we connect with a kid from a broken home with one pretty crazy family. Sound familiar? A lot of us can relate personally! Rumpelstiltskin: My favorite character in the series! Unlike his traditional fairytale, he takes on a whole new level of sheer darkness as “The Dark One.” As one of the most multifaceted characters in the entire series, he offers so much to relate to from feelings of numbing fear to overwhelming rage. What’s the point? The point is that the most … Read more

Is It Magic? How Supernatural Wins At Copywriting

December 31, 2020October 13, 2014 by Adam Oakley

In 2005, audiences were greeted with an incredibly over-the-top show about supernatural happenings. This show, aptly named Supernatural wasn’t really one that had a lot of critical success in the beginning, but that soon changed. The show’s producers and show runners just wanted to make sure they made it to season 5, to wrap up the incredible “end of the world” story they started. However, they soon found out that fans were slowly attaching themselves to the show, and it grew from there. Eventually, the show became a major success amongst loyal fans and found new fans via the ever-popular Netflix. But, how did Supernatural attract these fans? And how is the show still growing their fan base? I am going to take a look at this, as well as how much you can learn from this show to apply to your own copywriting campaigns! They Are Involved In Social Media One thing that this show does very well is utilizing social media to spread news about it, and engage with their fan base. Oftentimes, you see only a handful of show stars participating on social media, and many times they are secondary characters. This isn’t a bad thing, but by having the lead stars tweeting to fans and live tweeting the show, Supernatural has created an incredible presence on social media. Each night the show airs, Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester), Mark Sheppard (Crowley), and Misha Collis (Castiel) will live tweet the entire show, engaging with fans and telling stories. They’ve had several incredible moments with social media promotion, as well as some interesting moments from fans, including the hilarious Mishapocalypse that took over Tumblr. What can you learn from Supernatural’s spooky ability at utilizing social media? People really enjoy knowing that there is a person behind a social account. Many fans follow the show’s Twitter account, but many prefer the actors because they get a personalized view of the show. While you don’t have to live tweet your work day, you can utilize how the actors and show runners handle social media by being personal with your followers, opening up dialogue, and having fun. You can always keep it professional, but consider showing your personality and letting people connect with the person behind the Twitter handle. The CW Knows How To Market It To Their Audience Supernatural makes its home on the CW channel, and it is quite obvious that the channel knows how to market to their audience. The audience is different for each show such as Vampire Diaries or Supernatural, making it vital that they reach people where they are at in order to not lose interest. When it comes to Supernatural, they advertise the most on Tumblr where their loyal fan base spends a majority of their time. This is also a great opportunity for them to reach out to others who haven’t watched the show, yet spend their time on the social site. The CW knows that in order to reach and market to a Millennial crowd, they have to meet them where they are at and that, sadly, isn’t in the dusty pages of a newspaper. The same is true for you; you need to know your audience and you absolutely need to market to them and where they are. You might not be marketing to Millennials, but you can still learn where your demographic spends the majority of their time. This includes social media, but also whether or not your audience is one that reads press releases, white papers or other sources of information you have available. They Utilize The Familiar And Give It A Supernatural Twist Something that many new and old fans enjoy about the show is that they take something familiar and add their own twist to it. For example, vampires and werewolves; they take the original folklore of these monsters, and then add a difference to them to make them adapt to the world of the Winchester brothers. No matter the story, the writers of Supernatural give it a great flair while also making sure to stay true to what audience’s find familiar. How can this inspire your copywriting? You can simply make sure to keep your content familiar. This will be a great way to make sure your content doesn’t stink, as well as giving people something to engage with. This goes for blogs, web content, and social media. Be familiar to attract people to your posts, but add your own flair to it to make it unique to you. This will help make you more memorable to clients and can help you bring in more clients and revenue. One way that you can make sure to stay familiar is to host a giveaway of one of your products. Giveaways are vastly popular right now, and people love winning things; I know that I love when I win a giveaway! You can make a giveaway purely you very easily, yet it is familiar enough to bring in current customers, as well as new clients. In fact, the giveaway might just be what converts your website visitors to buyers. Cliffhangers and Copywriting: They Keep You Coming Back For More The show is now in its tenth season. That’s right, tenth! How did they get so far when they only recently met success? They made fans desperate to know what happens next. They do this through the classic cliffhangers that end shows for the season, but they also utilize internal cliffhangers throughout the season. Will Sam go dark-side? When will Crowley come in with some crazy, yet genius idea? They make fans ask these questions regularly, which is why the fans keep coming back for more. Guess what, you can use internal cliffhangers too! You can use them in your copywriting to make people desperate to read what is coming next. This is a great way to ensure that your readers will not only read a small portion of your blog, web content, or social post but that they … Read more

4 Brands That Nail Copywriting

June 19, 2024October 2, 2014 by Adam Oakley

There is no shortage of studies attesting the crucial importance brand awareness has in swaying a consumer’s choice towards one product or another. We form the deepest attachments to products that speak to us on a personal level and a brand is supposed to do just that, to spark positive associations in our mind and encourage us to relate to it on a deeply personal level. Even though there are fewer consensuses as to what makes a successful brand, many people in the industry would agree it hinges on nailing copywriting. And the best way to do that is to learn from the best. So, without further ado, let’s have a look at 4 brands that totally nailed copywriting and at the strategies they used in some of their most effective campaigns. 1. Apple: Think Different Apple’s iconic “Think Different” campaign serves to illustrate the importance of finding a strong central concept and building around it. Once you hit upon that core concept that you feel perfectly sums up your company’s identity and values, everything falls into place. The 1997 campaign kicked off with an ad featuring short clips of influential 20th century figures, including the likes of Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, John Lennon or Pablo Picasso. The clips were accompanied by a voice-over commentary, read by Richard Dreyfuss, celebrating these people as rebellious, anti-establishment figures, whose boldness and insubordination brought about revolutionary change in the world. The ad ends with a small Apple logo at the end and the slogan “Think different” – the only clue as to what it is actually about. It was followed by a series of black-and-white posters of the personalities featured in the ad (and other iconic figures), with the same logo and slogan. It is worth noting that neither the ad, nor the posters, gives any clue as to the identity of the people they represent. The viewer is expected to recognize them and, through that recognition, is encouraged to feel a sense of community with them. Through this campaign Apple effectively put across the notion that the company was at the forefront of a paradigm-shifting movement, providing a niche product that only the most discerning consumers would appreciate. Another important lesson we can derive from this is that sharing cultural allusions can enhance the viewer’s sense of community and affinity with a particular brand, while implicitly commending him for being cultured enough to “get it”. 2. Macy’s: Believe While Macy’s has the advantage that comes with a long-standing prestige brand, it’s been doing a great job of playing up the nostalgia factor, most notably through its running “Believe” campaign and its iconic “The Magic of Macy’s: 150 Years” ad. Both were launched in 2008, when Macy’s celebrated its 150 anniversary. The “Believe” is based on the famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial, published by the editor of the New York Sun in response to a letter from an eight-year-old girl who asked if Santa is real. Macy’s declared December 6 National Believe Day and, every year since 2008, it has invited “believers” to drop off their letters to Santa in the vintage-looking Santa Mail letterboxes awaiting them at any Macy’s store. And here is where the “Magic of Macy’s” comes in: the company vowed to donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, for every letter received, to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Not only is this a great way to spread the holiday cheer, but it’s also a surefire way to boost your social responsibility credentials. The ad the company used to promote the “Believe” campaign exploits its association with Miracle on 34th Street, hardly surprising, as what the campaign proposed to do was to bank on Macy’s nostalgia capital. Its “The Magic of Macy’s: 150 Years” ad, featuring mentions of Macy’s in popular culture and evoking its involvement in the life of the community (the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, organized since 1924, and its contribution to the annual 4th of July fireworks display), served a similar purpose, reinforcing its association with solid American values. 3. Target: Around for Good While Target has a consistent history of developing original campaigns, the freshly launched “Around for Good” is its first ever campaign to focus on the company’s commitment to the community and to the environment. Through human interest, documentary-style ads like It Comes from the Heart, Target evokes ways it gives back to the community, through the programs it runs in schools and elsewhere. In the words of vice president Jeff Jones, the campaign is meant to build “brand love” and make buyers feel “they’re part of something bigger than a transaction”. This campaign, which “isn’t trying to sell you anything”, ties in neatly with the marketing strategy practiced through its online magazine, A Bullseye View, which is to focus on “behind the scenes” and lifestyle stories, rather than product pitches. This, in turn, is part of a wider trend in brand building, turning from old-school advertising to an approach that emphasizes the personal and social responsibility dimension. 4. Newcastle Brown Ale: Independence Eve While Apple, Macy’s and Target resorted to high-brow cultural allusion, nostalgia and the human interest element, Newcastle Brown Ale’s distinctive ingredients are humor and self-irony. Its “Independence Eve” and “If We Made It” campaigns are excellent examples of clever, tongue-in-cheek copywriting. The “Independence Eve” campaign, launched this year, promoted the Newcastle Brown Ale brand to an American market by “hijacking” the momentum building around the Fourth of July and inviting people to join them in celebrating the alternative, entirely made-up, Independence Eve, on July 3. Alternatively promoted under the #IfWeWon hashtag, the campaign urges people to “imagine how great it could have been and imagine how much beer we could have sold. If we won.” In a series of hilarious spoof ads, featuring Brits Elizabeth Hurley and Stephen Merchant and American thespian Zachary Quinto, Newcastle Brown Ale revisits American trademarks and celebrates “all things British that Americans gave up when they … Read more

Avoid Drowning in Crap: 25 Ideas For Fresh Content

January 9, 2024September 26, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Some people are afraid of spiders, some people are afraid of clowns (that’s understandable), while others are afraid of buttons (weird, but true—I knew one such person). I have a more rational fear: crazy rollercoasters, and drowning. Luckily, both are easy to deal with. I can choose what rollercoasters to ride on (unless my husband tries to trick me into one, which he did quite successfully Christmas 2013). For the latter, I know how to swim, but I avoid going far out at sea. What I can’t avoid, however, is the sea of content that’s all around us. Are we in danger of drowning in a sea of blandness? Content is more important than ever. People love to read things on the Internet, and that’s why businesses devote so much of their time to publishing fresh content on their website, blogs, and social media profiles. The problem is that the majority of this copy isn’t very good. In fact, there’s only one word to describe most of the content on the web. Actually, there are more, but let’s keep this PG-13. A majority of the content on the Internet today is crappy. There’s nothing I hate more than crappy content, and Google isn’t a big fan of it either. The Quality Content Days Are In The days when you could stuff meaningless content with keywords, and wait for it to be stumbled upon by unlucky consumers, are long gone. Google is looking for content that’s original, high quality, and informative. If your business is still relying on generic or, to use our adage, crappy content, then you’re wasting your time. So there’s the problem. You know that you need fresh, exciting content, but how do you create it when there are so many words already out there? It’s not easy, but then when has anything worth doing ever been easy? Take my hand. I’m going to show you 25 ways to come up with fresh and engaging content. 1. Become The Customer Today, we’re going to be looking at creating content from a commercial point of view, but it can help you with everything from writing a love letter, to creating a resume, or penning your life story. There’s nothing wrong with commercial writing. If that’s what you do for a living, embrace it and be proud of it. Your words can help someone discover and then buy a fantastic product or service that can change their life. Who needs a Pulitzer Prize? To become a successful copywriter, you have to see things from the customer’s point of view. Let’s imagine your writing about a new bed. Don’t see it from the bed maker’s point of view (our beds cost from $899, and the mattresses come with extra deep rust resistant springs, and stain resistant fabrics – boring!), but from the customer’s point of view. Today, there’s nothing you want more than a new bed. What are you looking for? What will excite you about a bed? How about ‘our beds come with 20% added fun, our super spring technology means you can bounce up and down on it for the rest of your life, and it won’t let you down’? 2. Write From The Heart To create good content, you have to believe in what you’re writing. I’m talking ethics here, so watch out. A copywriter has to be honest to be believable. Never try to push something that you wouldn’t use yourself. If you don’t smoke, how can you write compellingly about a cigarette brand? If you’re not married, how can you write about the joy of getting an hour’s peace on your own? You get the idea. Modern consumers are intelligent and sophisticated, despite what you may think after watching ‘Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?’, and they can smell falseness a mile away. Before you start writing, immerse yourself in the brand. Get to know what’s truly great about it. Have you convinced yourself of its merits so much, that you want to rush to the store and buy one? The store can wait, it’s time to pick up the pen. 3. Question Everything Children question everything. Why is the sun round? Why can’t frogs speak? Why is water wet? Why do I have to go to bed? Why was mom shouting at you? It’s one of their most annoying, er, I mean endearing attributes. You were once that way too, but as we get older we tend to go with the flow and accept things more. It’s time to rediscover your inner child. I’m not talking about climbing back into your shorts and smearing jam across your face. Leave that for later. What you need to do is question everything. Why is this car dealership so great? Why do I need a new car? What difference will a new set of wheels make to my life? Once you find the right questions, you’ll be able to create high quality copy by coming up with the answers. 4. Learn From The Great Writers It’s often said that there are only seven basic plots, and they make up all of the books ever written. That’s nonsense, of course, or else all books would be the same. Do you see the similarities between ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘Gone Girl’. If you said ‘no, there aren’t any’, then go to the top of the class. If you said ‘yes, they’re both about a woman’, then put the dunce’s cap on. Great writers know that there are an infinite number of stories waiting to be written. Every year, fantastic new books come out, that put a completely new twist on a perhaps familiar theme. As it is for novels, so it is for Internet content. Just because you’re writing about a subject that’s already been covered, doesn’t mean that your piece can’t be unique. Never plagiarize, that’s writing poison. You’re an individual with your own personal take on things that’s different to that of anybody else. Now get typing, … Read more

How to Repurpose Every Piece of Content You Write

June 19, 2024September 5, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Let’s face it; we all work on limited time. If we could selfishly dedicate even 50 percent of our time to only our online content, we’d all have a website, blog, and social media outreach to be proud of; one we’d smile about, do that chin nod at, and say, “Yeah, I did that!” But in reality, we don’t have the time. Running a business is a marathon that always results in the same conclusion, “There just aren’t enough hours in a day.” There’s got to be a solution, right? The Solution to Limited Time: Repurposing Content You’ve heard about repurposing content. If you haven’t done it, though, you probably don’t know what the big deal is. Content repurposing is the ultimate way of getting the most mileage out of your content. It’s a process that can, if done right, save you time and make populating your online presence with relevant and engaging content a bit easier. Did you know that, with a little preparation and planning, you can repurpose every piece of content you write? Actually, even if you haven’t done any planning, you can repurpose straight from your blog archive. Revamping vs. Repurposing Before we dive into just how to repurpose your content, let’s get something straight. There is a difference between revamping and repurposing content. These terms are not interchangeable. In one of our guest blogs on SiteProNews.com, we briefly touched on the differences. Content revamping occurs when you: Upgrade formatting and structure. Return to your best ideas and reinvent them. Re-introduce a previous idea by giving it new meaning. Create content that serves the same purpose but responds to new needs or demands from your audience. Content repurposing occurs when you: Use your already written material to attract an entirely new type of reader. According to Kevan Lee of Buffer Social, content repurposing is packed with benefits. It can boost your SEO, reach a new audience, reinforce your message, and even gain extra authority. Resuscitate Your Content All you need to resuscitate your content is to find what Lee calls your “evergreen content.” Evergreen content is timeless and high quality. It’s those blogs and articles that are always relevant no matter the date and have driven traffic to your website. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide for shocking life back into your content: Step 1: Review your blog archive. Check your site analytics. See which posts, and even pages, are the most popular. Of these, choose the posts and pages that have timeless content. Step 2: Review the topics. Once you’ve nailed down those head turning topics, re-read them. Can you expand on the topic further? Has something changed in the news since you published the piece? Is there some cutting edge innovation you could update your audience about? Have you learned something new that you can share? Step 3: Brainstorm a fresh approach. Use your popular content to brainstorm a fresh approach. It can involve anything from publishing an update to putting a new spin on the content. Be creative, and think about how you can reach a new or broader audience. How to Repurpose Every Piece of Content You Write The key to tapping into your own content is to revisit your website, blog, or social media presence with a fresh perspective coupled with creativity. You have to think outside of the box, and here’s how you do it: Try a new media type: You’ve already published this topic as a blog or webpage. You have some additional material, experience, or even a new perspective to write a fresher piece. But who says you have to write another blog or webpage? Nobody! One great way to repurpose content is to try a new media type. Instead of writing yet another blog, why not create a presentation, video, infographic, white paper, or some other type of media? Reach every member of your audience: Who reads blogs and webpages? Usually it’s the audience who are either researching or have time to read. How effective has your content been at reaching the super active audience member who only has about five to fifteen minutes of commute time on the subway to revel in your content? Probably not very. Consider catering to these audience members by means of a podcast. It’s something they can listen to on the go, and it’s likely they’ll fall in love with you because they just don’t have time to sit and read. The lesson is to think about your audience and find ways to reach each member. Reach a new audience: Expansion is the pulse of business. In order to continually generate leads, we simply must expand to new audiences. You can easily repurpose every piece of content you write simply by brainstorming ways to make is more appealing to that new audience or target consumer group you are attempting to reach. Repost via social media: Knows the value of evergreen content. It’s like finding the sweet spot of content creation because you can always repost and re-promote your evergreen content via social media. It’s timeless and high quality. All it needs is a fresh repost here and there. The trick is to not overdue it. Recirculation works once or twice when spaced out, but it won’t work forever. You will still need to repurpose the original piece with a new spin in order to keep your content fresh and relevant. Use Canva: This free image tool can do wonders with plain text content by transforming it into highly-appealing, engaging visual content such as inspirational quotes, Infographics, posters, flyers and so much more. This is a great way to create visuals out of re-purposed content. Repurposing is a fantastic way to populate content without draining your time. Reworking a piece of content usually takes half the time when compared to the original creation process. And if you hire out repurposing a blog into an infographic or presentation, you’re making a wise investment. There are tons of repurposing tools at your disposal today. Additional … Read more

Great Copywriting In Action: Bioware (For The Nerds)

January 1, 2021September 3, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image source: gametrailers.com Bioware sure is a force to be reckoned with in the gaming world. If you aren’t a gamer, you might not know about this company, but they are known for bringing us incredible games like Baulder’s Gate, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age. This company became a strong name recently because of their incredible copywriting and content marketing skills. Let’s take a look at how Bioware utilizes certain skills to create a gaming company many have come to trust. (A quick side note, some of the resources used for this article quite possibly carry spoilers for Bioware games.) Listening To The Crowds The one thing Bioware does with their copywriting and content marketing is they listen to their customers, which is vital to having great copywriting. Of course, sometimes they fall flat when it comes to responding adequately, as is evident by the odd change made to the end of Mass Effect 3. They do have a pretty decent record of listening to their clients outside of the ending of ME3, and even asked for fan input for the upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition. Actually, the Dragon Age request for fan input was a great move for Bioware to learn just what their clients wanted because there were obviously tensions over Mass Effect as well as their Star Wars RPG (roleplaying game), The Old Republic. How can this inspire your copywriting? Simply that it is imperative you listen to your clients! Did you have a few posts that fell flat or that created some unhappy discussion within your client base? Then address it and ask clients what you should do differently. A great way to learn what your clientele wants is to use surveys and polls to hear what they have to say. Consider implementing at least a portion of the suggestions and addressing why you couldn’t make other changes. You can take a leaf out of Bioware’s book with Dragon Age: Inquisition by letting clients know that you will listen to their input, and to expect that not every suggestion will be implemented. People still gave their input, regardless of whether or not Bioware would make the changes. This helped Bioware to come up with some great ideas that we will all see soon in the new Dragon Age. Creating Lasting Stories Regardless of the trouble Bioware has seen with Mass Effect and The Old Republic, the one thing the majority of people can agree on is their ability to craft lasting stories. Bioware’s developers did a great job by immersing you in the world of Mass Effect and Commander Shepard; you felt the death of each team member, the awesomeness of being a renegade, or the thrill of fear at seeing the Reapers. They make this happen by turning their games into some powerful RPGs, making you decide what happens and knowing that your choices will hold lasting, and strong, effects in the rest of the game. It is quite cool to see just how the story progresses when you make different choices. While they are, obviously, attempting to tell a story with their games, Bioware shows just how important it is to tell a story. It really brings a sense of community amongst other fans and prompts some incredible conversations. While you can’t really take your copywriting to the level of an RPG, telling a story might be one of the best ways for you to connect with your client base. Consider telling a story about how your company came into being or a story surrounding your products; it will help keep people engaged with your work. Viral Marketing Skills, They Have Them! Something else that Bioware gets is the importance of viral marketing. Anyone who is signed up for Bioware’s game newsletter got a recent teaser of an intriguing game and were told, “You are chosen.” They coupled it with a few interesting, short sentences, and punctuated the email with a teaser trailer called You’ve Been Chosen: Nightmare. Creepily, exciting! They’ve continued the campaign with several more mysterious trailers, one with a woman saying “It’s not my fault” repeatedly. Fast-forward to the recent Gamescon and everyone was waiting on the edge of his or her seat just to know what in the world this new game was. How’s that for intense and awesome viral marketing? Viral marketing can help anyone, including a big company like Bioware. You should consider doing a few viral marketing campaigns in your copywriting to promote your website further. It can bring in quite the amount of new clients and it will certainly be entertaining for your existing ones! A few ways this can benefit your copywriting is that it can create more awareness about your site, get attention quickly, and give you the ability to see just what your client base will react to the most. Try it out! In Closing Bioware really does have some great ideas when it comes to writing copy and you should take this opportunity to research the various other ways Bioware can influence you. Try a few of the ideas listed above to help you come up with some powerful and incredible copy soon!

Great Copywriting in Action: Star Wars Isn’t Just For Geeks

February 3, 2024August 22, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image source: scifinow.co.uk According to Filmsite.com, Star Wars (specifically The Empire Strikes Back film) is ranked #1 in the 100 Greatest Films of All Time list. The series really is iconic. Regardless of whether you’re a sci-fi geek, a science fiction nerd, or a not-so-big fan of intergalactic fiction, you know exactly what we’re talking about when you see the title Star Wars. Immediately, you think of Luke Skywalker and the never to be forgotten line, “Luke, I am your father!” But Star Wars isn’t just for geeks. It can teach us a few equally memorable lessons about great copywriting in action. Script Writing in the World of Copywriting We don’t often chat about script writing in the copywriting world, and I’ve often wondered why. Script writing is one of the biggest and fastest growing niches of content marketing, but people in need of scripts don’t initially think of hiring a copywriter for the job. In today’s fast-paced world, people don’t always have time to read. Let’s be honest, just between us writers, even we run out of time to read to replenish our creativity. There is a huge market for copywriters who can write short video and podcast scripts. And the lessons gleaned from The Empire Strikes Back movie script can serve as a compass for script and general copywriting: Taglines are important. The little things mean the most. The Empire Strikes Back drives this point home with the simple fact that everybody and their Uncle knows one epic line from the movie, “Luke, I am your father!” Even if you’ve never seen the film, you know that line. You know it’s famous. It’s impressionable. It’s sharable. It’s the definition of jaw dropping. When it comes to copywriting, even the little things—like taglines and social media shout outs—are important. These seemingly tiny aspects of copy can pack a punch, generating an impression and connotation that can span any distance of time or space. People aren’t dumb. I remember watching an interview conducted with Richard Dean Anderson, back when he was actively portraying Colonel Jack O’Neill on the insanely popular Stargate SG-1 television series. He made a comment that stuck with me as a writer, and applies to our Star Wars discussion. To paraphrase, he thought that to “dumb it down” for the audience was absurd and insulting; people are smarter than they’re given credit for. According to FilmSite, The Empire Strikes Back had one of the most complex plotlines of the entire Star Wars saga. This proves an important point that we can carry over to copywriting: people aren’t dumb. They can’t handle complex. In fact, they’ll likely eat it up. Audiences crave sophisticated, meaty material. Don’t be afraid to create it! Shock and awe are powerful tools. It’s easy for copy to grow dry. When we set off to write creative fiction, we weave a plot with calculated shock and awe factors because that’s fiction. But this same approach is viable in the copy and script writing venue. Storytelling that shocks and awes the audience demands attention. It’s also the stuff shares and re-shares are made of. Don’t feel like the tools of shock and awe are limited to video, films, and television. On the contrary, we can build these aspects of writing into every piece of copy. The result will be a gripping sensation, a “must read more” tug that will keep the reader firmly planted on the landing page, blog, press release, or video display. Cliffhangers aren’t just for the big screen. One of the most appealing aspects of The Empire Strikes Back was the unresolved cliffhanger ending. Han Solo has been captured by a bounty hunter, and the uncertain nature of Luke Skywalker’s heritage left unanswered and ominous questions. By the end of the film, the audience sat on the edge of their seats, hungrily waiting to see what happened next. When the film ended on a cliffhanger, the immediate thought was, “When is the next episode?” Cliffhangers are viable in the copywriting world, but they’re slightly different. The idea of a cliffhanger is to make the audience hunger, even crave, what comes next. Copy, whether it be in script or website copy form, can leverage a cliffhanger ending to keep the audience poised on your website, waiting for that next “installment.” Try ending on a question or hinting at what might be coming next. Give the audience something juicy to anticipate and look forward to—this is the stuff bookmarks and subscriptions are made of! One of the most commonly made copywriting mistakes is the neglecting of audience appeal. If there’s one thing we can take away from the Star Wars saga, it’s that audience appeal is very real and rather simple to tackle IF we focus on what the audience wants.

A Tribute to Robin Williams, A Copywriting Inspiration

January 1, 2021August 19, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image source: AOL.com “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world,” said Robin Williams. No one knows this better than artists do. From musicians to actors and writers, we all know that one idea combined with passion and the right words can invoke change. In some cases, it can even change the world—whether that world is literal or figurative. What a shining of example of this we see from the late, great Robin Williams. His idea of comedy and acting combined with the words he chose changed the lives for so many of us, from the children at St. Jude’s he chose to represent to those of us who watched his performances from our home television sets. The actor, who so many of us know from childhood, died at the age of 63 on August 11, 2014 in Paradise Cay, CA. He had been quoted as saying he wanted a “quick death” while in rehab. Despite battling a dark life chapter, he tried to stay positive and upbeat. The news of his untimely death struck a chord in nearly every person on the planet. It stopped many of us dead in our tracks, and it made us realize that even the most humorous sometimes battle the most difficult. In many ways, his death struck harder than others did. For a man who brought us so much joy to die in such a tragic way is difficult to wrap our heads around. It pains us. We will all mourn the passing of such a unique and gifted individual, but in the face of such loss, we can also learn a great deal from this one of a kind man. Copywriting Inspiration: Variety Really Is Spicy “Variety is the spice of life.” It’s one of the oldest sayings around. Williams is a stunning example of just how variety really is spicy. His roles ranged from the hilarious to the tender. He possessed the unique ability to make us laugh while also making us stop and think—sometimes about incredibly controversial and relevant topics. As copywriters, our audience is composed of people who love the relevant. They love to solve problems, sometimes in unique and exciting ways. They are addicted to the things that make us human: love, compassion, humor, and even sadness. We thrive on variety; it’s why we can’t (and don’t) eat the same thing every day! Why should our content be any different? Keep On Keeping It Fresh When you hear the name ‘Robin Williams,’ what comes to mind? No doubt, a laundry list of characters and an instant thought of comedy. Every character the talented actor took on brought about a fresh look at life and comedy. It’s one of the many reasons why Williams is such a recognized and beloved icon. Keeping content fresh is something every copywriter struggles against. It’s no secret that just about every idea in the book has been tried. That being said, it’s easy to get stuck in the same old shade of whatever we are doing. And this is a dangerous trap because it sucks the freshness right out of our writing, leaving our audience hungering for succulent copy! What’s the solution? Reinvention! With every character or act that Williams graced the stage with, he attacked his subject matter with a fresh perspective. New isn’t always better, but how we choose to look at something is. Don’t be afraid to introduce writers to a different angle of the same subject matter. It expands their knowledge and keeps the material fresh. Make It Lively ABC News ran a fantastic tribute to Robin Williams. In it, they highlighted some of his most epic work: The lesson we can take away from this tribute as a whole is that audiences love lively. Williams held a frantic pace. He was off the hinge and totally off the wall, and people loved it! They loved how he seemed to embody life and pass it on. Can copy do the same thing? Yes! The style we choose to write in can liven up for dull down our copy. The illustrations, word puns, and even the visual cues we choose all contribute to the pulse of our content. People don’t want words that are dead on arrival and dreary to read. They don’t want to feel like they’re falling asleep in college again, listening to a dull professor drone on about a boring topic. But wait, is it the topic that is dull or the presentation? How we choose to present a topic in writing will determine whether or not it is well received. Our words can pack a punch. They can grip interest and sink deep into the very souls of our readers. The best way you can keep your copy crisp and lively is simply to always fire your passion. The moment you get bored, you better start to worry about (and check) the pulse of your content. Surprise Your Audience What made Williams so addictive? Wouldn’t you say it was his unparalleled ability to surprise? From his outlandish performance as Mork from Mork and Mindy to his unbelievable transformation into the unrivaled Mrs. Doubtfire, Williams never failed to surprise us at every turn. What a lesson for the astute copywriter! What makes content shareworthy? We talk about how important it is to connect with our audience and write compelling, engaging material. But sometimes we forget about how powerful and welcome a little surprise can be! Never be afraid to tastefully shock your audience. It’s the thrill of the surprise that helps keep our readers coming back again and again. They know that there will never be a dull moment. Know When to Be Serious Although primarily known for his humor and comedy roles, Williams knew that there was just as much a time and place for seriousness as there was for funny. The “all my love to you poppet” scene from Mrs. Doubtfire demonstrates this beautifully. At the end of this … Read more