This document provides tips for basic copywriting skills. It discusses what copywriting is, the importance of understanding the target audience and key messages. It also covers writing effective headlines that grab attention and convey the message. Persuasive copy aims to inform, persuade and entertain the audience to sell a product or service. Features describe a product while benefits explain how it solves problems and improves lives. Proofreading is important to avoid errors and ensure the copy is clear, concise and persuasive.

1. Basic Copywriting
Skills
Sarah Hitchings, PR & People Person –
Intelligent Ink

2. Basic Copywriting
Skills
All the top tips for success
What is
Copywriting?
Writing great
headlines
Persuasive Copy
Benefits and
Features

4. What is Copywriting?
Copywriting is the act of writing
copy (text) for the purpose of
advertising or marketing a
product, business, person,
opinion or idea.

5. Before you get started
Who is your target audience?
What are your key messages?

6. Who is your target
audience?
Figure out what
perspective you‟re
speaking from first
Research who your
target audience is
Talk to your specific
audience in a
language they
understand

7. What‟s your key message?
Ask questions (of your client/yourself) –
What is the end result that you would like to
obtain?
What call to action are you making?
Do you want to inform or are you trying to get the
reader to do something?
What is the one piece of
information that you would
like the reader to take away
from it?

8. Common Mistakes
Speaking to customers as
you would to those in your
business – assuming that
they have knowledge that
they may not have
Assuming that people will
inherently understand what
the benefits are instead of
explaining how your product
or service will help them

9. Writing Great
Headlines
Purpose of a
headline
How to grab a
reader‟s attention
The Four U‟s of
headlines
Tips for successful
headlines

10. Purpose of a Headline
Your headline is the first, and sometimes only,
impression that you make on a reader. A fantastic
headline can convey your message to its‟
audience, yet also draw the reader into your
body text.
Get attention
Deliver a complete message
Draw the reader into the body copy

11. How to grab a reader‟s
attention
Go after their self-interest
Offer them something new
Try to arouse their curiosity

12. The Four U‟s
Make your headlines USEFUL to the
reader
Provide them with a sense of URGENCY
Show that what you‟re offering is in some
way UNIQUE
Aim all of the above at a target audience
in an ULTRA SPECIFIC way

13. Tips for successful
headlines
Keep it simple and understandable
Make an intriguing promise,
irresistible to its‟ target audience,
that can only be fulfilled by reading
the copy
Target it to a specific audience

14. Persuasive Copy
Goal of Persuasive
Copy
Benefits vs. Features
Must haves
Tips

15. Goal of Persuasive Copy
To persuade, inform and entertain
To grab the attention of a specific audience
To get the first sentence read and from there
keep the reader engaged step by step to the
conclusion
To sell a product, service or idea
To convince the target audience to do something

16. Benefits
sell,
features
support

17. Benefits vs. Features
Features: Characteristics that describe
your product or service. Things that make
your product unique.
Benefits: “Functional Product” – what
your product actually does for your
customer. Describes how the product or
service will improve the consumer‟s life or
solve a problem for them.

18. A Features vs. Benefits
Example
Feature: An mp3
player has 16gb of
storage.
Benefit: The player
can hold 3600 songs,
ensuring that you
can listen to all of
your favourite songs
wherever you are.

19. Must haves!
Know your key message
Know your audience
Create a structure built around a
few key messages (or just one!)
Connect to a need

20. Must haves!
Present and solve a problem – if you start
by reminding people of what problems
they face, they are often more receptive
to the solutions that you offer
Give testimonials – backs up your claims
Show what your benefits are and use
features to back them up

21. TIPS
Don‟t be vague
Cut to the chase, don‟t „warm people
up‟
Keep it clear – a confused reader is
not a persuaded one
Instantly! New!

22. After you‟ve finished
writing…
Profread, prufread, proofred!
Check spelling and grammar – nothing looks more
unprofessional than incorrect grammar!
Check the length – make sure that you haven‟t
needlessly repeated the same ideas over and
over
Check your formatting –make sure that it‟s easy
on the eye!
Get someone else to read it and read it out loud

24. In summary…
Know your audience
Know what your message is
Sell benefits, not features
Make sure that what you have written is accurate
Keep the reader interested and you will persuade
them!