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Writing Ad Copy with Style takes practice, patience and preparation.
I can't give you the practice or the patience, but I can help you to prepare!
Product Vocabulary List:
Start by building a "Product Vocabulary List". You may be asking
yourself, "What the heck is a Product Vocabulary List?" Well, a Product
Vocabulary, are actually the building blocks of your ad copy. When you are preparing
to write new advertising copy, begin by creating a list, actually 4 separate
lists.
Broken down, you should be compiling the following information that describes
or relates to your product:
1. Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Synonyms.
2. Slang, Familiar Phrases, Cliches and Puns.
3. New Ideas and Ways to approach your product.
4. Product Facts (positive and negative).
Write down everything you can think of. Much of this material you will compile
while creating, devising and defining your Advertising Strategies. Once you
start using these lists in this manner on a regular basis, you'll wonder how
you ever got by without them.
Themes
What's a theme? A theme is the "Punch Line" of your ad copy. Your
theme could be conveyed by written, visual or oral means. It's how and where
you want to go with your copy. You will most commonly notice Themes in banner
advertising, but they are used in almost every form of Advertising. Most successful
advertising campaigns have great themes. An advertising theme should focus on
one point and be "catchy" or easy to remember. The theme will help
you decide how you will get their attention and what thought they will leave
with. The key is to leave a thought embedded with them. Whether it's one word
or a slogan, don't let them leave without planting that one thought in their
mind.
When deciding upon the theme for your ad, start with one theme. Now examine
it and re-examine it. Find as many different ways to use this theme as possible.
Turn it inside out and upside down. Play with each new idea or variation of
the original theme that you come up with. Enjoy it, have fun with it, but get
it all down on paper. Do yourself a favor, write down everything!
Got Rhythm?
Rhythm, cadence or flow; It's all the same and you have to have it! Great ad
copy is always simple. Use short simple sentences, "active" verbs,
rhyme, puns or wordplay and positive attitude. Normally you should use only
active verbs. Pay heed when using "passive" verbs in your ad copy.
Rhymes, puns, double meanings and wordplays make for most memorable of ad copy,
but remember, keep it simple. If they don't get it, you don't get it. Get it?
Another example of good rhythm is "parallel sentence construction".
Here is an old, but good use of parallel construction in a headline: The Quality
Goes In, Before The Name Goes On! (Sound familiar?). It doesn't matter which
approach you take, as long as the copy has rhythm and flows from one point to
the next. Don't jump from point to point, move smoothly from one leading into
the next.
I hope that this will help you write better ad copy and remember "Do it
with Style"!
About the Author:
Wild Bill Montgomery
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