“Writing is not necessarily something to
be ashamed of, but do it in private and
wash your hands afterwards.”

- Robert Heinlein

Here’s the double irony about the term “copywriting.”

First, all the best copywriters don’t simply “copy” anyone. Originality and uniqueness are key. Second, does “writing” really have anything to do with it? Or are we just “salesmen in print?”

Still, one thing about the writing aspect of this career path — while hardly high-falootin’ — is that you really do, in the end, spend years polishing and improving your style in copy.

And why?

Here’s another irony… you work hard to write well, as a copywriter or many other kinds of writers these days, not to get recognized for your style… but to disappear completely.

That is, the better the writer you are, the more effortless and invisible it seems. You follow?

This is, of course, only natural.

We write about ideas. In this case, ideas about products. The focus then is not meant to beon us. Most of us never even sign the sales letters we write. It’s the idea… the pitch… the product… that’s intended to get the whole heat of the spotlight.

Funny isn’t it?

When you start out, all you can do is haggle with yourself and your editors over the right word choices. And it’s your stamp of individuality you’re protecting.

Years later, you’ve gone the miles and learned your chops, and you discover the best thing you can do as the copywriter is to fade into the background. And while we’re wallowing about in ironic muck, here’s the worst of it — you fast discover that writing transparently is one heck of a lot harder than showing yourself off.

Well, today, some tips to help make it easier.

They come our way courtesy of copywriter Kelly Robbins, a long time reader and past contributor.

I’ll let Kelly tell you the rest…

DOES YOUR COPY FLOW LIKE A RIVER?
By Kelly Robbins, Copywriter

Don’t you love when everything in your life flows smoothly? Days when everything clicks together without effort…

You arrive at your appointments on time without rushing, projects are running on schedule, you get the first parking spot in the lot; you are NOT out of milk for breakfast…

Days like this are what I dream of.

As entrepreneurs, we strive to create systems and routines so that we and our businesses run smoothly. Creating systems and implementing checklists improves customer service and reduces errors. Just like your life and your business should flow, your copy should read smoothly and flow too.

When you’ve worked on a project for several days and rewritten pages countless times, it’s easy to overlook something as intangible as the smoothness of the copy.

One of the ways we ensure seamlessness in our life and business is to put systems or routines in place. Here are a few things you can do to ensure seamlessness so that your copy flows in a natural manner each and every time:

1) READ YOUR COPY OUT LOUD WHEN YOU ARE DONE.

This is the number one way I’ve found to check for flow. Print out your copy and read it out loud. Notice this is two steps: Print and Vocalize. Reading the content off your computer screen in your head does not have the same effect.

2) HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ YOUR COPY OUT LOUD
TO YOU.

Listen carefully to what they read. If there are areas where the reader unnaturally pauses or gets stuck and backs up to reread a section, you need to go back to work on it.

3) CREATE A POST-WRITING CHECKLIST.

There are many simple mistakes copywriters make repeatedly that have a huge impact on their copy’s response and on their client’s satisfaction.

Developing a checklist to use when you’ve finished a writing project can help
ease your mind. Here’s my checklist, reprinted from a previous article:

___ Does your headline focus on an emotional benefit or a pain? What attention grabbing techniques did you use? Did you ask a question? Make a bold statement (that you prove right away in your copy)?

___ Is there “meat” to your copy or is it filled with fluff? Write with depth vs. breadth. You are more likely to educate and grab reader’s attention value when you go deep on one specific topic rather than discuss more and go wide. Readers find more value in the depth. ?

___ Have you effectively used reputable facts and statistics to either prove a point, grab attention or both?

___ Who did you talk to in your copy? Was it done specific person and not “all” of the people that could be reading it?

___ Can you delete any unnecessary words? Words like that; and; really; like; is; are; will be; were; to name a few.

___ Do all of your sentences end with a strong word? Nothing should end with weak words such as “that”. The end of the sentence is the word you are leaving your reader with. The words you use at the end of your sentences are immediately and automatically emphasized, so as a copywriter it’s important you use them wisely.

___ Have you read your article out loud? How does it sound to your ear? Does it flow smoothly in all areas?? Use your readability menu if you are using Microsoft word. To set this up for yourself go to “Tools” and click on the “Options” button at the bottom. Click on the spelling and grammar tab and then check the box for “show readability statistics”.

___ Check for variability in your sentence length. In general, shorter sentences are better when writing copy. Try not to have many sentences above 15 or 20 words, and check through your copy to see that there are a variety of lengths.

___ Is your call to action clear and specific? Could there be any confusion about what step the reader should take next?

Having a post-writing checklist helps ensure your copy is strong and efficient before you send it off to your clients or your customers, and can reduce both a writer’s anxiety and unnecessary errors.

4) TAKE A BREATHER AND COME BACK TO IT LATER.

Put the finished copy down for a day or two and then do one final read through before turning in the final copy.

If you can get away from your work and do something restful and enjoyable before doing the final read-through, it will help you be more objective. Your copy should flow like a river downstream…seamlessly and without any dams jamming things up.

5) CHECK FOR TRANSITIONS THROUGHOUT.

Transitions are the glue that hold your sentences, paragraphs, and the sections of your sales piece together. A lack of transitions is one of the most common reasons copy doesn’t flow well.

By the way, two other big reasons include running behind and rushing to submit copy without thoroughly proofing, and not having another person read it back to you out loud.

——-

Thanks Kelly.

Great tips and I can say from experience, it all works. Now, if I could just
make sure I budget in the time to make sure I DO all this more often!

But that’s the subject for another issue, I’msure. The short of it is, making the copy flow — both as you write and afterward
– is the mark of really “making” it, in just about any discipline that involves words and a keyboard.

Something worth remembering.

Here’s something else to note, by the way. Kelly has a copywriting site of her own that’s worth checking out. It’s called The Copywriting Institute, and you can find it here: www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com

Kelly regularly writes winning healthcare copy and offers consulting and coaching for marketers. So she knows her stuff. She offers a free report worth checking out on her site. But I just took a look over there, and she’s got a “copywriting test” and some “copywriting tools” you might like to check out too. Be sure to take a look!