A Copywriter, COPYWRITING &types of copywriting

COPYWRITING

 In advertising, Copy refers to the text, or words, used in an advertisement. 

The Body copy is the actual paragraphs of supporting text adding additional facts and benefits to the headline and greater concept.

Copywriting, in the first instance, is the creative process of conceptualizing advertisements and marketing devices such as events and other platforms promoting brands or services.

Copywriting basically means, taking powerful, emotion evoking word pictures and showing the reader that his or her life would be more complete - better, easier, more productive, more profitable, happier, whatever - if that reader owned what it is that owner are selling.

Who Is A Copywriter?

The best copywriters in the world are those who are curious about life, read a great deal, have many hobbies, like to travel, have a variety of interests, often master many skills, get bored and then look for other skills to master. They hunger for experience and knowledge and find other people interesting. They are very good listeners 

Edward de Bono, one of the great creative thinkers of our time, came up with the term "lateral thinking" to describe the process of coming up with ideas by not focusing or thinking of just the problem. Often, by relating the problem to something that has nothing to do with the problem, a new idea emerges

Probably one of the most important keys in copywriting and conceptualizing is the ability to relate totally divergent concepts to create a new concept. Once again, the more data you have to work with from your life experiences and the more your mind can relate this data to a problem, the better you are going to be at coming up with that really great idea.

the definition of good copywriting

Copywriting is a mental process the successful execution of which reflects the sum total of all your experiences, your specific knowledge and your ability to mentally process that information and transfer it onto a sheet of paper for the purpose of selling a product or service.

Copywriting is simply a written form of communicating facts and emotions. It is a mental process.Copywriting is the key to any successful direct marketing venture.

copywriting is primarily the mental process of first getting your thoughts organrzed in your mind and then eventually transferring them onto paper.

Don'l Worry about lhe First Draft 

Another fact to reahze about writing copy is that the first draft of an ad is often terrible and the real skill in copywriting is taking that rough draft and polishing it. You might add words, delete entire sentences, change the order of sentences or even paragraph.

Copy is never too long if the reader takes the action you request. Therefore, it can't be dull, it must be compelling, it must relate to the reader and, finally, it's got to be about something the reader is interested in. What we're talking about here is the

Long Enough but Shorf Enough 

The copy should cover the amount of time you need to create the selling environment, develop interest in the product, relate to the prospect's needs and make the sale. The copy has to be long enough to tell the entire story or make the entire sales pitch. No longer and no shorter.  Copy should be long enough to cause the reader to take the action you request.

Flowing in Logical Sequence

The ideas presented in your copy should flow in a logical fashion, anticipating your prospect's questions and answering them as if the questions were asked face-to-face. 

Try Patterning Your Ad 

Another approach is called "patterning." Simply pick an ad written by somebody you admire and whose product or service is similar to yours and use their ad as a pattern or style from which to write. If they use a long headline, make your headline long. If they use a lot of captions, then you create a number of captions. Capture the feel of the ad, but be careful. Do not copy the person's layout too closely so that people reading the ad might think at first glance it was from the company you were copying. This exercise is only to give you a format or guide from which to write. If you copy the layout too closely, you are violating the rights of the person who wrote the ad.

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FUNCTIONS OF THE HEADLINE

  Headline can perform four different tasks:

1. Get attention.

2. Select the audience.

3. Deliver a complete message.

 4. Draw the reader into the body copy. 

 

1.GETTING ATTENTION

We’ve already seen how headlines get attention by appealing to the reader’s self-interest.

Here are a few more examples of this type of headline:

1.      Headlines that give news often use words such as new, discover, introducing, announcing, now, it’s here, at last, and just arrived

2.      If you can legitimately use the word free in your headline, do so. Free is the most powerful word in the copywriter’s vocabulary. Everybody wants to get something for free.

3.      Other powerful attention getting words include how to, why, sale, quick, easy, bargain, last chance, guarantee, results, proven, and save. Do not avoid these words because other copywriters use them with such frequency. Other copywriters use these words because they work

2. SELECTING THE AUDIENCE:

The headline can select the right audience for advertisement and screen out those readers who are not potential customers. A headline that does a good job of selecting the right audience for the product:

3.DELIVERING A COMPLETE MESSAGE

According to David Ogilvy, four out of five readers will read the headline and skip the rest of the ad. If this is the case, it pays to make a complete statement in your headline. That way, the ad can do some selling to those 80 percent of readers who read headlines only.

4.DRAWING THE READER INTO THE BODY COPY

Many products—automobiles, computers, books, records, home study programs, life insurance, and investments —require that the reader be given a lot of information. That information appears in the body copy, and for the ad to be effective, the headline must   compel the reader to read this copy. To draw the reader into the body copy, you must arouse his or her curiosity. You can do this with humour, or intrigue, or mystery. You can ask a question or make a provocative statement. You can promise a reward, news, or useful information.

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The First Impression Of Advertising

 

In all forms of advertising, the “first impression” is very essential for the success of an advertisement. The first impression will win the reader’s attention and attract the audience prospect.

 “FIRST IMPRESSION”

1.      In a print advertisement, it is the headline and the visual.

2.      In a brochure, it’s the cover.

3.      In a radio or TV commercial, it’s the first few seconds of the commercial.

4.      In a direct-mail package, it’s the copy on the outer envelope or the first few sentences in the letter.

5.      In a press release, it’s the lead paragraph.

6.      In a sales brochure or catalog, it’s the front cover.

7.      In a sales presentation, it’s the first few slides or flip charts.

8.      On a Web site, it’s the first screen of the home page.

9.      In an e-mail marketing message, it’s the Fromline and the Subject line.

 

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TYPES / FORMS OF MEDIA ADVERTISING

Advertising is the promotion of a company’s products and services though different mediums to increase the sales of the product and services. It works by making the customer aware of the product and by focusing on customer’s need to buy the product.

Globally, advertising has become an essential part of the corporate world. Therefore, companies allot a huge part of their revenues to the advertising budget. Advertising also serves to build a brand of the product which goes a long way to make effective sales.

There are several branches or types of advertising which can be used by the companies. Let us discuss them in detail.

DIRECT MAIL

This is one of the oldest types of advertising media. Under this method message is sent to the prospective buyers by post. A mailing list is prepared for this purpose. Circular letters, folders, calendars, booklets and catalogues are sent under this type of advertising. In the sales letter an appeal is made to the buyers separately.

 PRINT ADVERTISING –

The print media has been used for advertising since long. The newspapers and magazines are quite popular modes of advertising for different companies all over the world. Using the print media, the companies can also promote their products through brochures and fliers.

The newspaper and magazines sell the advertising space and the cost depends on several factors. The quantity of space, the page of the publication, and the type of paper decide the cost of the advertisement. So, an ad on the front page would be costlier than on inside pages.

Similarly, an ad in the glossy supplement of the paper would be more expensive than in a mediocre quality paper.

NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES ADVERTISING

These are the important forms of press advertising; newspapers are the most effective and powerful medium of advertising. Newspapers contain valuable information with regard to different current events. It may be referred to as ‘a store house of information’. There are daily, bi-weekly and weekly newspapers. Newspapers have widest circulation and read by many people. The newspapers may be local, provincial or national.

 

MAGAZINES ADVERTISING

Magazines or periodicals are other important media of communication. Magazines may be released weekly, monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual. These are read with more interest by the readers as compared to newspapers. Advertisements given in magazines are more descriptive and attractive. They are usually in coloured form which depicts the product nicely and gives lasting impression to the reader. There are magazines or journals meant for general public and special class of people. The magazines have longer life and are very suitable for advertising specific goods.

 

BROADCAST ADVERTISING 

This type of advertising is very popular all around the world. It consists of television, radio, or Internet advertising. The ads on the television have a large Advertising and Sales Promotion. The cost of the advertisement depends on the length of the ad and the time at which the ad would be appearing.

 

TELEVISION ADVERTISING

This is the latest and the fast-developing medium of advertising and is getting increased popularity these days. It is more effective as compared to radio as it has the advantages of sound and sight. On account of pictorial presentation, it is more effective and impressive and leaves ever lasting impression on the mind of the viewer. It is a very costly medium which can be employed by big concerns only; it has a shorter life span and limited coverage. Back reference to the advertisement cannot be made after its presentation. The duration of the advertisement is very limited.

For example, the prime-time ads would be more costly than the regular ones.

 

RADIO ADVERTISING

Radio advertising is very popular these days. The advertisements are broadcasted from different stations of All India Radio. Radio advertising can be explained as “word of mouth advertising on a wholesale scale”. The advertising messages can be in different regional Advertising and 23 languages.

 The most important advantage derived from radio advertising is that it covers every type of listener whether illiterate or educated. It is a very effective medium for popularizing on mass scale various consumer articles. The coverage of this medium is wider extending to a large number of listeners.

It ensures quicker repetition. Radio advertising is not what it used to be after the advent of television and Internet, but still there is specific audience for the radio ads too. The radio jingles are quite popular in sections of society and help to sell the products.

FILM ADVERTISING

 This is also known as cinema advertising. This also provides sight and hearing facilities like television. Short advertisement films are not prepared by big business houses which are sent to different cinema houses to be shown to the audience before the regular shows or during the intermission. It has more repetitive value but not to the same viewers. Its coverage is limited which benefits the local population only It is a very costly medium involving higher distribution and film making costs. Only big organizations can afford to produce advertisement films. It ensures more flexibility at larger costs. Its effectiveness cannot be measured properly. Film making is a time-consuming process.

  

This is a unique way of advertising in which the product or the message is subtly included in a movie or TV serial. There is no actual ad, just the mention of the product in the movie. For example, Tom Cruise used the Nokia phone in the movie Minority Report.

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

This type of advertising includes different media like posters, placards, electric displays or neon signs, sandwich men, sky writing, bus, train and tram advertising. This is also known as ‘Mural advertising’. The main aim of outdoor advertising is to catch the attention of passerby within twinkling of an eye. This is the most effective medium of advertising. This is very suitable in the case of consumable and household articles like soaps, medicines, fans, shoes and pens etc.

 

PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISING –

As evident from the title itself, such advertising is for the public causes. There are a host of important matters such as AIDS, political integrity, energy conservation, illiteracy, poverty and so on all of which need more awareness as far as general public is concerned.

 

WINDOW DISPLAY-

It is a common method which is usually undertaken by retailers who display their products in the shop windows in order to attract the customers. This is also known as exterior display. It is the most effective and direct method of influencing the people. Window display has direct appeal to the onlookers. It is instrumental in arousing the desire to purchase in the prospective customers. It acts as a silent salesman. This type of advertising has gained much importance in recent times and is an effective tool to convey the message.

FAIRS AND EXHIBITION

A trade exhibition or a fair is organized on extensive scale which is attended by different manufacturers and traders along with their products to be sold to the large number of people who visit the exhibition. The exhibition may be either organized on local, provincial or international basis. The manufacturers also distribute the sales literature and sometimes free samples of goods to the people. Facilities of practical demonstration are also provided to the customers. The customers clearly understand the method of operation and use of the product.

 

SPECIALLY ADVERTISING

 Most of the business houses in order to increase their sales, advertise their products, give free gifts like diaries, purses, paper weights and calendars to the customers. The name of the firm or the dealer is inscribed on the articles presented.

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Advertising - 4 U’s” FOR WRITING EFFECTIVE HEADLINES and HEADLINE TYPES

  

When see an advertisement, people make a quick decision, usually in a couple of seconds, to read it or turn the page, based largely on the subject line. But given the flood of commercial messages today, how a busy prospect—in just a few words can you convince that ad is worthy of attention.

The “4 U’s” copywriting formula— which stands for

1.      urgent,

2.      unique,

3.      ultra-specific, and

4.      useful

 The 4 U’s formula states that strong headlines are:

 1. Urgent. There is no urgency or sense of timeliness. Urgency gives the reader a reason to act now instead of later. advertiser can create a sense of urgency in their headline by incorporating a time element. For instance, A sense of urgency can also be created with a time-limited special offer, such as a discount or premium if customer order by a certain date.

 2. Unique. The powerful headline either says something new, or if it says something the reader has heard before, says it in a new and fresh way. This is different than the typical. Not every marketer offers a free special report, but a lot of them do. So “Free Special Report” rates only a 2 in terms of uniqueness

3. Ultra-specific. The ultra-specific bullets, known as “fascinations,” that tease the reader into reading further and ordering the product. Examples:

4. Useful. The strong subject line appeals to the reader’s self-interest by offering a benefit.. When you have written your headline, ask yourself how strong it is in each of the 4 U’s

EIGHT BASIC HEADLINE TYPES

1.      Direct Headlines: Direct headlines state the selling proposition directly, with no wordplay, hidden meanings, or puns. Most retailers use newspaper advertisemets with direct headlines to announce sales and bring customers into their stores.

2.      Indirect Headlines: The indirect headline makes its point in a roundabout way. It arouses curiosity, and the questions it raises are answered in the body copy. The headline has a double meaning, and you have to read the copy to get the real message.

3.      News Headlines: This news can be the introduction of a new product, an improvement of an existing product.

4.      How-to Headlines: The words how to are pure magic in advertising headlines, magazine articles, and book titles. How-to headlines offer the promise of solid information, sound advice, and solutions to problems.

 5.      Question Headlines: To be effective, the question headline must ask a question that the reader can empathize with or would like to see answered.

6.      Command Headlines: Command headlines generate sales by telling your prospects what to do. Here are a few command headlines that the first word in the command headline is a strong verb demanding action on the part of the reader.

7.      Reason-Why Headlines: One easy and effective way of writing body copy is to list the sales features of product in simple If write an  ad this way, can use a reason-why headline to introduce the list.

 8.      Testimonial Headlines: In a testimonial advertisement, your customers do your selling for you. An example of a testimonial is the Publishers Clearinghouse commercial in which past winners tell us how they won big prize money in the sweepstakes. Testimonials work because they offer proof that a business satisfies its customers. In print ad testimonials, the copy is written as if spoken by the customer, who is usually pictured in the ad. Quotation marks around the headline and the body copy signal the reader that the ad is a testimonial. When writing testimonial copy, use the customer’s own words as much as possible. Don’t polish his statements; a natural, conversational tone adds believability to the testimonial.

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Soviet Montage

Soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein is credited as the godfather of the montage and innovator of the Soviet montage theory. He developed his famous “methods of montage” across his career, predominantly featured in his landmark achievement Battleship Potemkin. 

Montage is a filmmaking technique that uses a series of short images, collected together to tell a story or part of a story.

 

Montage being a French word means for “assemble” or “edit”. This is usually used to advance the plot , without using any words and  without showing all the detail of what’s going on. There are an infinite number of different types of montages

 

 These five basic methods of montage. are as follows:

·         Metric montage

·         Rhythmic montage

·         Tonal montage

·         Over tonal/Associational montage

·         Intellectual montage

 

1.     METRIC MONTAGE

 

This first method of montage example is perhaps the simplest method technically achieved. The metric montage method edits together different shots by following to an exact measurement or number of frames. These measurements of frames aren’t picked based on any feeling or emotional connection. Instead, the creator goes by a strict measurement and sticks to it.

The overall effect is a bit the effects of this method can be frustrating as well as cinematically shaking.

 

2. RHYTHMIC MONTAGE

This “rhythmic” method is defined by editing shots together according to the context of each shot.  Many scenes and sequences employ this rhythmic montage technique by making compositional decisions as to how long each shot plays before the next one intercuts.( To intercut is to contrast one shot or scene with another contrasting one. When a film sequence jumps backward and forward between the two scenes, we call it an intercut. For example, a car chase scene .)

 

3. TONAL MONTAGE

Another example from Eisenstein’s editing  the “tonal” method of montage.

It’s defined by how it edits based on the emotional meanings—or tone—of each shot. This tonal style has helped inform filmmakers’ editing decisions across decades of cinema classics.

 

4. OVERTONAL/ASSOCIATIONAL MONTAGE

This method further combines all the elements of metric, rhythmic, and tonal montage methods together to create montages that have an even greater effect on how audiences can perceive a film’s “tones” or “overtones.”

In  over tonal montage ,  filmmakers can further use all elements of filmmaking—composition, soundtrack, and editing—to create abstract themes and rich tapestries of meaning. 

 

 5. INTELLECTUAL THE MONTAGE MONTAGE

 By the late 1920s, his approach to this aim was the related goal of understanding how images could be combined so as to provide the viewer with an awareness of abstract concepts. On a superficial level, such brainwashing by images would seem to arise by the ideas and values conveyed in the films. But in trying to arrive at a means of producing abstract concepts.  

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MUSICAL MONTAGE

a.  In a musical montage, the shots are accompanied by a song that somehow fits with the theme of what’s being shown.

B. NARRATED MONTAGE

If the montage is not set to music, there might be a character narrating what’s going on. As we tell the story, the viewer would see a montage of the officer stepping over the line with suspects in various situations.

c. PHOTO MONTAGE

Instead of filmed shots, a montage can also be formed out of still images. This technique is also frequently set to music, creating a “musical photo montage.

 

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FEATURES OF ADVERTISING

 
1. Communication : Advertising is means of mass communication reaching the masses. It is a non-personal communication because it is addressed to masses.

2. Information : Advertising informs the buyers about the benefits they would get when they purchase a particular product. However, the information given should be complete and true.

3. Persuasion : The advertiser expects to create a favourable attitude which will lead to favourable actions. Any advertising process attempts at converting the prospects into customers. It is thus an indirect salesmanship and essentially a persuasion technique.

4. Profit Maximisation : True advertising does not attempt at maximising profits by increasing the cost but by promoting the sales. This way It won‟t lead to increase the price of the product. Thus, it has a higher sales approach rather than the higher-cost approach.

5. Non-Personal Presentation : Salesmanship is personal selling whereas advertising is non-personal in character. Advertising is not meant for anyone individual but for all. There is absence of personal appeal in advertising.

6. Identified Sponsor : A sponsor may be an individual or a firm who pays for the advertisement. The name of reputed company may increase sale or products. The product gets good market because of its identity with the reputed corporate body.

7. Consumer Choice : Advertising facilitates consumer choice. It enables consumers to purchase goods as per their budget requirement and choice. Right choice makes consumer happy and satisfied.

8. Art, Science and Profession : Advertising is an art because it represents a field of creativity. Advertising is a science because it has a body of organised knowledge. Advertising is profession is now treated as a profession with its professional bodies and code of conduct for members.

9. Element of Marking Mix : Advertising is an important element of promotion mix. Advertising has proved to be of great utility to sell goods and services. Large manufactures spend crores of rupees on advertising.

10. Element of Creativity : A good advertising campaign involves lot of creativity and imagination. When the message of the advertiser matches the expectations of consumers, such creativity makes way for successful campaign.

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IMPORTANCE, CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERTISING

 Advertising has become an essential marketing activity in the modern era of large-scale production and serve competition in the market.

 It performs the following functions:

1. Promotion of Sales: It promotes the sale of goods and services by informing and persuading the people to buy them. A good advertising campaign helps in winning new customers both in the national as wet as in the international markets.

 2. Introduction of New Product: It helps the introduction of new products in the market. A business enterprise can introduce itself and its product to the public through advertising. A new enterprise can't make an impact on the prospective customers without the help of advertising. Advertising enables quick publicity in the market.

3. Creation of Good Public Image: It builds up the reputation of the advertiser. Advertising enables a business firm to communicate its achievements in an effort to satisfy the customers' needs. This increases the goodwill and reputation of the firm which is necessary to fight against competition in the market.

4. Mass Production: Advertising facilitates large-scale production. Advertising encourages production of goods in large-scale because the business firm knows that it will be able to sell on large-scale with the help of advertising. Mass production reduces the cost of production per unit by the economical use of various factors of production.

 5. Research: Advertising stimulates research and development activities. Advertising has become a competitive marketing activity. Every firm tries to differentiate its product from the substitutes available in the market through advertising. This compels every 5 business firm to do more and more research to find new products and their new uses. If a firm does not engage in research and development activities, it will be out of the market in the near future.

6. Education of People: Advertising educate the people about new products and their uses. Advertising message about the utility of a product enables the people to widen their knowledge. It is advertising which has helped people in adopting new ways of life and giving-up old habits. It has contributed a lot towards the betterment of the standard of living of the society.

7. Support to Press: Advertising provides an important source of revenue to the publishers and magazines. It enables to increase the circulation of their publication by selling them at lower rates. People are also benefited because they get publications at cheaper rates. Advertising is also a source of revenue for TV network. For instance, Doordarshan and ZeeTV insert ads before, in between and after various programmes and earn millions of rupees through ads. Such income could be used for increasing the quality of programmes and extending coverage.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERTISING

  · Paid Form: Advertising requires the advertiser (also called sponsor) to pay to create an advertising message, to buy advertising media slot, and to monitor advertising efforts.

 · Tool for Promotion: Advertising is an element of promotion mix of an organization. Advertising and Sales Promotion Page 6

· One Way Communication: Advertising is a one way communication where a brands communicate to the customers through different mediums.

· Personal Or Non-Personal: Advertising can be non-personal as in the case of TV, radio, or newspaper advertisements, or highly personal as in the case of social media and other cookie based advertisements.

FEATURES OF ADVERTISING

1. Communication : Advertising is means of mass communication reaching the masses. It is a non-personal communication because it is addressed to masses.

2. Information : Advertising informs the buyers about the benefits they would get when they purchase a particular product. However, the information given should be complete and true.

3. Persuasion : The advertiser expects to create a favourable attitude which will lead to favourable actions. Any advertising process attempts at converting the prospects into customers. It is thus an indirect salesmanship and essentially a persuasion technique.

4. Profit Maximisation : True advertising does not attempt at maximising profits by increasing the cost but by promoting the sales. This way It won‟t lead to increase the price of the product. Thus, it has a higher sales approach rather than the higher-cost approach.

5. Non-Personal Presentation : Salesmanship is personal selling whereas advertising is non-personal in character. Advertising is not meant for anyone individual but for all. There is absence of personal appeal in advertising.

6. Identified Sponsor : A sponsor may be an individual or a firm who pays for the advertisement. The name of reputed company may increase sale or products. The product gets good market because of its identity with the reputed corporate body.

7. Consumer Choice : Advertising facilitates consumer choice. It enables consumers to purchase goods as per their budget requirement and choice. Right choice makes consumer happy and satisfied.

8. Art, Science and Profession : Advertising is an art because it represents a field of creativity. Advertising is a science because it has a body of organised knowledge. Advertising is profession is now treated as a profession with its professional bodies and code of conduct for members.

9. Element of Marking Mix : Advertising is an important element of promotion mix. Advertising has proved to be of great utility to sell goods and services. Large manufactures spend crores of rupees on advertising.

10. Element of Creativity : A good advertising campaign involves lot of creativity and imagination. When the message of the advertiser matches the expectations of consumers, such creativity makes way for successful campaign.

 

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