Sometimes people critically write: “Hey, Dan, it is a good thing to analyze typical mistakes in writing copywriting text. But isn’t it easier to show once how to write a copy correctly? From scratch. Or even make a templates. Like in this swipe file. It would be much easier, wouldn’t it?
Well… There is a nuance here. Look. There are exact sciences, for example, physics. It contains algorithms on how to solve problems. Following them, you can get the predicted result.
Copywriting is bit different
When we talk about copywriting text, things are a little different. For two reasons. First, what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. For objective reasons: a competitor released a similar product, the approach became hackneyed in advertising campaigns and turned into a cliché, the reputation of the seller deteriorated, the season ended, the holidays came, etc.
Secondly, for the same person, when selling the same product, the texts can be completely different. Let’s say we sell a super-duper hula hoop via text (this is a hoop to twist around the waist). Let’s assume our audience is women. On the one hand, we can delve into emotionality and imagery, sell the idea of what the audience wants to believe, cause a dopamine surge. On the other hand, we can go from the facts and directly and specifically talk about the benefits of the hoop, show statistics, etc. This approach can also work. Finally, we can generally make a combined version.
As a result, we have three options, but not even a text, but concepts, ideas for presentation. And each such idea can be realized in an infinite number of texts in various styles: neutral, soulful, aggressive, familiar, polite, and many others. And which of them will work better – no one knows. Until the text is launched and tested.
In copywriting, there is no concept of writing correctly
In copywriting there may be a situation that you write the text exactly the opposite of what I’m talking about. And in your particular case, the text may work better than mine. Sometimes it happens. In my lifetime I have seen a lot of terrible (in my opinion) texts that “you can’t write like that!”, but which at the same time gave an excellent result and put me in a deep puddle with my “expert” opinion.
Every copywriter comes from their own experience. For example, as a techie, I first of all make sure that there are no contradictions with common sense in the text. For me, this is the foundation. But another copywriter may ignore common sense and embark on wild adventures and provocations, violating all conceivable and unimaginable principles and norms of logic or morality. And ironically, this approach sometimes may hook the same crazy audience as he is. And this audience can bring a large share of the income that you can never expect from a rational approach. So, everything needs to be tested and verified.
Therefore, in copywriting, unlike the language, there is no concept of “writing texts correctly.” Simply because there is no measure of correctness. There are principles that seem to work. But they are more global. For example, the AIDA model. Or the 4U formula. Or psychological triggers. But not the text itself.
The copy should work and solve the task!
When your text works and exceeds the expected result, then both you and your client (if you work for him) do not care about the opinion of theorists who are ready to prove that the text was written “not according to the canons” to the last breath.
Copywriting is not just text. It is a mindset and approach to problem solving. When you use the text to get the desired result. And it doesn’t matter what type of copy you write. The copy options are endless. Much more important: what effect the text will bring. The same problem can be solved in millions of ways. Someone comes from common sense and consistency. And someone writes how he or she feels. The third simply knows how to adapt other people’s approaches. And the fourth decided to joke and wrote nonsense, and it suddenly worked. Why am I saying all this? Because text is just a tool and needs to be considered more simply utilitarian.
As a legendary actress Faina Ranevskaya once said: “Even the most beautiful peacock’s tail hides an ordinary chicken ass. So … Less pathos, gentlemen!”
One more reason to write copywriting text from scratch
There is another reason why I highly recommend not blindly following the “correct” options, but thinking solely with your own head and solving the problem based on the data that is available. And this reason is neurophysiological.
The fact is that the human brain is the most energy-intensive organ. It consumes up to 20% of all body energy. And since by evolution the brain is accustomed to save energy, it strives to do this at every opportunity. Simply put, where you can avoid thinking and analyzing, the brain will follow the path of least resistance.
Now let’s imagine a situation. The brain needs to solve a difficult task – to write a commercial copy. And it has two options:
- Think, analyze, develop an approach
- Use a ready-made and sort of like the “correct” option
What decision will the brain make? That’s right, in 95% of cases – the second one. It will choose, check the box that the task is closed, and go to watch YouTube with a sense of accomplishment. But this approach may result in a time and money loss. Just because it lacks the analytical data and may not correspond to the reality.
Cases from my practice as a copywriting teacher
In my 10+ years of teaching, I have tried many different approaches, including creating of copy templates for my students. For example, ready-made paragraphs, headings, WHY formulas, benefit descriptions, etc. The students only needed to substitute the names of what we sell and other unique attributes. But very quickly I realized that this is a disastrous path.
Instead of analyzing the source data and determining what is important for people, how a product can close the interests of the audience, the students simply began using blanks and compose a text with them, without thinking about the meaning. The result was a “cardboard facade”: outwardly it seems beautiful, but there is no necessary functionality, the text did not work, because there was no the main thing – the marketing base.
The marketing base of the copywriting text
In copywriting, the main thing is not the text itself, but the interests of the people who read this text. Since the interests of different audiences in different segments are very different, making universal blanks is a bad idea.
And even if the “correct” text on the basis of the template suddenly works, then, as Academician Pavlov said, positive reinforcement appears and a stable dynamic stereotype is formed. And this is dangerous, because the brain gets used not to think for itself, but to fit everything into ready-made solutions. In general, no matter which side you look at, the conclusion is the same.
Valid texts are not any particular set of characters. This is an approach when you consciously draw up a strategy and tactics for solving a specific problem, taking into account all the initial data. Then this solution works (albeit sometimes not the first time), and the brain develops very quickly and creates new neural connections that help you a lot in life.
Best regards, Dan.
P.S. There is a free copywriting course for beginners on this site. Check it out!
