Copywriting–Doing a 180

November 23^rd 2010 Sally Ormond Adverts, copywriter, copywriting tips, freelance copywriter

Writing your own copy constantly can lead to a problem—how long is it before you run out of things to say?

Before you know it all your marketing materials look and sound the same. Customers start getting fed up seeing the same old messages again and again.

So how do you overcome this?

What can you do to freshen up your approach and offer something more innovative, eye-catching and exciting?

Doing a 180

Keeping your marketing collateral fresh and exciting is vital if you want to remain at the forefront of your industry.

When things start to get a bit stale it’s time for a 180 degree rethink by looking at your products and offers from a different angle.

Let’s look at an example to see how this can work.

Bob has a company that makes washing powder. His normal marketing ploy is to show a glamorous model walking along the street, smiling in a brilliant white trouser suit. This shows the product not only cleans superbly but it will also enhance your confidence and attractiveness (at least that is the underlying suggestion).

But Bob’s clients are getting tired of seeing superwoman with her unnaturally clean clothes, so he had to come up with a new angle. This time, rather than showing the whiteness of the finished article, he took a step back.

His new advert shows a shabbily dressed woman in stained clothes. Her hair is a mess and she seems invisible to everyone else and quite introvert. The message this time is that drab whites lead to a drab life. This time viewers see an image they don’t want to be associated with and buy his product to ensure they don’t end up that way.

A rather cheesy example but I think it makes my point.