Copywriting for the 21st Century

5. Stay Fun and Interesting
The world is full of uninspired copy, so by making your copy lively yet focused, you’ll keep the customer’s attention.

To stay on track with this, don’t let your designer dictate how much is enough or too much. For example, many layouts show the name of a product and the price; nothing else. That’s not very interesting, regardless of how pretty the photograph is. Ignore those who say that nobody’s reading copy anymore — customers do read, they just won’t waste their time reading boring copy.

For inspired, fun and interesting copy, check out Lands’ End, a company that so often manages to provide healthy entertainment as well as complete information for the customer.

6. Don’t Be Coy
Tell readers what you want them to do and how you want them to do it. Encourage a buying decision with signoffs on some copy blocks that are actually calls to action.

7. Lightweight ≠ Tightly Written
What I refer to as “copy lite” is as flavorless as many of those “lite” food bars. Tightly written copy tells the story that needs to be told. If you have many retail locations, your copy doesn’t need to include as much detail. But I always recommend testing to determine when the copy lightens to the point that your catalog is no longer drawing direct sales.

If your catalog sales plummet and catalog-fueled leads to the Web start disintegrating, you’re not telling consumers enough for them to buy direct. While retail traffic is great, it’s always ideal to maintain a good balance of shopping in all channels, since the more channels customers shop and buy, the more likely they are to purchase again and again.

Treat your copy with the integrity that today’s customers demand by boosting it into the 21st century. Then watch as your customers relate to it and buy.