Your copy might be correct, but is it boring?

It’s easy to get obsessed with marketing principles when writing copy – there are lots of rules to follow, and all kinds of advice to cloud your thinking. So it’s easy to forget that you also need to be interesting.

It’s worth re-reading your copy to make sure it isn’t so mind-numbingly dull that it sends you to sleep before you can finish the first sentence. Yes, your customers need information, but there are ways of presenting information that will keep people awake, if not entertained.

Here are three quick tips for keeping your readers awake:

1. Surprise them. Say something in a weird way. It might stick in their head, like a persistent headache.
2. Edit. If you waffle, you will definitely bore people.
3. Avoid clichés. If your writing is full of clichés, people will get the feeling they’ve already read your copy. And they might not want to read it again.

Check back next week for another quick copywriting tip, or plug in to my RSS feed and never miss a post!

Bored Gorilla picture courtesy of Fabricio Braga

Is your copy full of “we”?

If you find lots of “we”, “us” or “our” in your copy, it’s a sure sign that it’s self-centred, and not focussed on your customer.

You should have copy littered with “you” and “yours”. These words generally indicate that your copy is aimed in the right direction (your customer’s!).

Click here for a more in-depth look at this subject.