Keep It Simple
The most effective ad copywriting gets right to the point.
Czech novelist Bohumil Hrabal would have made an awful
advertising copywriter. He's purported to have penned the
longest sentence ever strung out on paper: 128 pages!
Copywriters, on the other hand, must aim for the shortest
possible sentences--ideally, no more than 17 words, according to
the late writing expert Rudolf Flesch in The Art of Plain Talk. The sales message
should include a good sprinkling of five- to 10-word sentences as
well. This makes reading a breeze.
It's also important not to use so-called $10 words when $5
and $1 words work just as well. This sounds almost quaint in our
techno-babble world, but even sophisticated people appreciate
simple language.
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Moreover, ad copy shouldn't call attention to itself.
You're not selling the copy, but rather the product or service
it describes. While puns, double meanings and other random acts of
cleverness can spice up the sales pitch, witty phraseology can
distract.
I like the way the late Gene Schwartz, one of the iconic
copywriters of yester-year, put it: "You want the person to
look through the copy like they're looking through the glass in
[a] showcase." In other words, the advertising message should
make a prospect savor the product, not the description of it.
Jerry
Fisher is a freelance advertising copywriter and author of
Creating Successful Small Business Advertising.