Ad copy (headlines are ad copy, as far as I’m concerned) is such a big subject. I’m still learning new things. Sometimes it’s because we must adapt/expand for new mediums, advertising styles/trends, stylebook and semantic changes, new dictionary entries, yadda yadda. Other times because the more I do, the more I push, the more I try, the more I innovate.
These tips have always worked for me. Every tip might not apply to every job, but most are general and apply across the spectrum. Some aren’t new. My students have been carried most forward by teaching students of their own. Some will be put in context as this course progresses. Others may appear only here, this once. At the end, I may share a few “assignments” I’ve given to my classes. Consider them exercises in Kamikaze Thinking, Writing, Doing. Do them/use them or not, up to you. If you do, I’d love to hear how it works for you.
Tip #1: Write Short. This applies to headlines, subheads, body copy. Even when you write long copy, even when a long headline is appropriate, it must read short. Here are a few things to help you turn too long lines into something more actionable.
· Read it out loud. Develop your ear, you’ll soon start to “hear” the edits
· Change word order. Play with it many different ways. Should point to the easy edits
· Get rid of prepositions. Xing out all the “ofs” “tos” “bys” etc. will show you how it can be made shorter. Sometimes it’s an easy fix, sometimes you have to operate on your structure. Either way, axing prepositions point the way to short/shorter
· Get rid of modifiers. Find one word/word picture (think writing visually) for the whole lot of them. Easier than you think
· Ing-ing. Using ing on your verbs is an easy way to get rid of passive voice, prepositions and a host of other Copy Sins. It can also help you clarify structure
· Keep it active. Active voice is the most word-thrifty you can use. It’s also the most compelling. Unless you’re talking about something that happened in the past, keep it active. Even if you are talking about results that happened in the past – play with it until you find a way to make that active, too
· Write advertising Haiku. Not limericks – they’re too easy. Haiku are not only short, they’re visual and active, even without verbs. Next job, try putting it in Haiku. You may not keep it there, but you’ll be amazed where it takes you
Tip #2: Think punctuation. Don’t let your AD/GD/CD/whomever stick a period at the end of your headline because it’s the end of your headline. Periods are stops (one of the few things David Ogilvy and I agree on). If you want to make a strong statement, end the thought at the end of your headline, use one. Period. If you want the line to lead into your visual/body copy/et. al., want its idea to linger in the prospect's mind, don’t. Don’t be afraid of question marks (or questions) in headlines. Just don’t get in the habit. Don’t think every question takes a ? Some - rhetorical or not - are beter with periods. Honest.
Commas are stops (pauses, really), too. Try using structure to eliminate them. If you can’t, use headline line breaks in your headline to fake them (see how eliminating that preposition shortened that line/sped it up? Just to keep you thinking).
Tip #3: Line breaks have to do with meaning and flow, never graphics. Never let your AD/GD break up a longer headline for you. He/she may think it looks better, but it can change/confuse the meaning of your headline. EX:
1) The small brown dog leapt over the hairy red fox.
2) The small
brown dog leapt
over the hairy
red fox. (Not only did those breaks confuse things, that kind of over-stacked headline cuts down readability/readership.)
3) The small brown
dog leapt over the
red hairy dog. (Not much better, is it.)
4) The small brown dog leapt
over the hairy red fox. (The best so far.)
5) The small dog leapt over
the hairy red fox. (Best of the bunch, although I could go either way in a pinch)
Tip #4: Write short paragraphs. Even if they add up to more space, people read them as shorter overall. Long paragraphs also look more confusing – read that way, too. That sold block of type is so uninviting, most readers become exhausted just looking at them. Don’t read that paragraph – or any after. EX: Same number of words. Same number of sentences. Which do you want to read?
A:
Yadda yadda yadda yadda. Yadda
yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda
yadda yadda yadda yadda. Yadda
yadda. Yadda yadda yadda yadda
yadda yadda. Yadda yadda yadda yadda
yadda. Yadda yadda yadda yadda.
Yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda
yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda. Yadda
yadda. Yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda.
Yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda.
B:
Yadda yadda yadda yadda.
Yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda
yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda.
Yadda yadda.
Yadda yadda yadda yadda
yadda yadda. Yadda yadda
yadda yadda yadda. Yadda yadda
yadda yadda.
Yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda
yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda.
Yadda yadda. Yadda yadda
yadda yadda yadda yadda.
Yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda.
Tip #5: KISS. A cliché, but Keep It Simple Stupid. The more simple the line. The more simple the way it’s treated graphically. The easier it is to remember, the more it’ll get read.
Tip #6: Innovate. All rules are made to be broken, even mine. The trick: you have to be an expert at using the rules to intuit what you can get away with without losing your reader. The CD, client, AE, etc. are another story (how you present, how well you broke the rules come into big play here, along with politics, who’s wife was an English major, agency creative perspective, brand voice/stylebook, etc.). Since we’re doing Prospect Centered work, really, the prospect is the only one who matters. Do it right, do it in the right language of concept, with the right message – the prospect, at least, probably won’t even notice.
Hope these help. Wow. Two posts in two days. What am I gonna do for an encore?
All rules are made to be broken, even mine. The trick: you have to be an expert at using the rules to intuit what you can get away with without losing your reader ASICSGel-320TR
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