If you can connect emotionally with your ideal reader and write a sentence that builds upon the preceding one as effortlessly as water rolling off a duck’s back you have done your job,
For B2B copywriters and content marketers getting this skill right is even more important. Your copy is meant to persuade people to do something that hopefully ends with a substantial amount of money changing hands.
For this reason I have always believed that studying direct marketing sales letters is one of the best ways to write great B2B copy.
DM copywriters can’t use anything other than words to convert readers. So they pull out all stops and use everything from a catchy headline that grabs readers by the throat, a lead that sucks them in, body copy that makes them nod their head in agreement and a finely crafted close backed by rock solid guarantees that has them whipping out their credit cards.
That’s why when I saw this article from Lorrie-Morgan Ferraro-a pro copywriter who specializes in marketing to women- about words that keep readers hooked I could not pass up the opportunity to repost it here.
Fun fact: Lorrie does not let it on here but she is wickedly hilarious and I have no doubt she can out-cuss Captain Haddock. Around 40 days ago I was reading one of her”wilder” articles where she goes full bore and I came this close to choking to death on a mouthful of rice.
Yes, sometimes I eat at my desk. Don’t look at me like that.
Anyway, take it away, Lorrie.
Want to know one of my secrets to getting my copy très conversational? Bridge phrases! You know. That throw-away language my journalism school professors called “empty and useless.” The connector phrases that keep the pace going – like a bucket brigade! Direct mail copywriter Maxwell Ross used that concept to illustrate how copy should flow.
Let me take you back to when the West in America was young. When men were rugged. And women didn’t have to diet. I’m talking about the time before there were fire departments. Oh, there were still fires. Just no organized way to put them out. So they came up with the bucket brigade system.
When a blaze got going, the townspeople pulled together. They’d line up and pass water – bucket by bucket – from the nearest water source to the fire. Being careful to keep the water moving along briskly. No let up. No slow down. Can you picture it?
Well, that’s what we aim for in copy. It needs to move along briskly. No let up. No slow down. Each sentence pulls the reader into the next. And so on. And so on. Until he’s so deep in your copy he doesn’t want to come out. In fact, once your reader has gotten through 25% of your copy, chances are he’ll read it all, says copywriter Joseph Sugarman (the marketing genius who introduced the Blu Blocker sunglasses among many other successful marketing campaigns). Joe also said, “The sole purpose of the first sentence in an advertisement is to get you to read the second sentence.” There’s your bucket brigade in action.
That’s a little bit about the flow of the copy. Basically, the 1st sentence of your copy is designed to get them to read the next sentence. And then that sentence is to get them to read the sentence after that.
That’s why that visual works really well for me when I think about writing copy that flows. Before this country even had fire departments a long time ago, they would have volunteers that were called “the bucket brigade”. If there were a fire in the village the people in the bucket brigade would line up from the water source to the fire. One person next to the other and they would pass the bucket down full of water quickly, because they had to get it there, and throw it on the water and fill it back up and so on.
So I like that visual of each sentence briskly moving you along to the next sentence over and over again. That’s how your copy should go. It should never let up. As soon as you start letting up, you’re going to lose your reader. And that’s why we have sentences that connect like,
- As if that’s not enough
- Best of all
- But wait there’s more,
- By now
- By the way
- Even better
- Good news!
- Here’s why
- Meanwhile
- Nevertheless
- No wonder
- On the other hand
- What’s more
- You see
- Think about it
- As if that’s not enough
- As it turns out
- But that’s just part of the story…
- Fair enough
- And we don’t stop there
- As it turns out
- But that’s just part of the story…
- Fair enough?
- In my experience
- It’s true
- My experience is
- No doubt about it
- No problem!
- Sadly,
- Simply stated
- These are just a few
- To make a point
- Treat yourself
- What does this mean for you?
Things that your English teacher would say like don’t put that in there. That’s really silly. It doesn’t add any value. But it does add value. It’s a connecting phrase that keeps the copy flowing along the way. Remember that copywriting is interactive. The reader gets to decide when the copywriting is over. The reader gets to decide when they’re done reading. As soon as they’re not feeling your copy, they’re gone.
And that’s also why the headline and the sub headline, those 2 are the most important part of your copy. It doesn’t matter how good your copy is if they’re not going to read it. And they’re not if you don’t get their attention.
If you want to learn more about how to create copy that reaches women, check out my She Factor Copywriting Bootcamp Do It Yourself program at http://bit.ly/redhotdiy. There is no other training in existence that blends good salesmanship with proven copywriting skills designed to sell to women in the 21st Century.
Copywriting Strategist Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero publishes the award-winning Copywriting TNT weekly ezine with 33,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your business, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at http://tinyurl.com/copywriting-TNT
Image source: Just Chaos