Let me guess…
You’re an honest person.
And when you talk to potential customers on the phone, you sound genuine, helpful, and frank. No fluff. No marketing drivel. No sleazy sales talk. You give honest advice.
But what happens when you write copy for your brochure or your website? Do you sound as sincere as you do on the phone?
Marketing drivel seems hard to avoid. Most websites are full of it.
A dash of sleaziness sneaks into your copy without you noticing it. Creepiness crawls into your brochure just because you couldn’t find the right words.
How can you eradicate the marketing prattle and write honest copy that sells?
Click here to join the 16-Part Snackable Writing Course for busy people (it’s free!)
Let’s look at 11 copywriting tips that give sleazy sales-ness the middle finger. Follow these tips, and your copy instantly becomes more sincere, more enchanting, and more persuasive.
Sound good?
Copywriting Tip #1: Cut crappy phrases
How do you know your copy contains crappy phrases?
Put on your devil’s advocate hat, and ask yourself for each sentence: what does this mean? If you can’t come up with a specific answer immediately, then cut or rephrase until your text is concrete and meaningful.
Our world class widgets help you increase email sign-ups
Much better:
549,333 websites use our widgets to increase email sign-ups
Further reading: How to Write Gobbledygook-Free Content
Copywriting Tip #2: Slaughter marketing claptrap
Words like hundreds or millions may seem specific, but they sound like a marketer exaggerating the truth. Use specific numbers to draw attention and increase credibility.
Hundreds of small businesses use our accounting service to save time
Much better:
254 small businesses use our accounting service to save time
Further reading:
How to Write Credible and Trustworthy Sales Content: A 2-Step Approach
Copywriting Tip #3: Stop pussyfooting around
Subtleties and politeness are great (of course!).
But a subtle call-to-action gives people an excuse not to do as you ask. Starting a call-to-action with if, is the best way to give people an excuse. Be bossy and tell people exactly what you expect them to do.
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Simple and direct:
Add your email address and click join now
Further reading: What to Call Your Call to Action (by Peep Laja)
Copywriting Tip #4: Give people a reason to do as you tell them
Do you want people to listen to you and follow your suggestions? Just give them a reason why. How are you going to make them happier, healthier, or richer? Which problems, complications, and difficulties will you help to avoid?
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Better:
Learn how to create persuasive content. Sign up to receive free updates.
Further reading: A Simple Trick to Turn Features Into Benefits (and Seduce Readers to Buy)
Copywriting Tip #5: Give people a better reason
What do your readers really want?
Try to avoid fake benefits and focus on a benefit your readers are looking for. Most real benefits are related to saving money, making more money, becoming happier, being free from fear and worry, a feeling of belonging etc.
Learn how to become persuasive. Sign up to receive free updates
Even better:
Learn how to become persuasive and win more customers. Sign up to receive free updates
Further reading: 5 Types of True Benefits: How to Connect With Your Customer’s Deepest Desires
Copywriting Tip #6: Cut sugary testimonials
You know the type of testimonials that sound like they’re written by a marketer? The sugar-coated words that tell you how wonderful, amazing, and super-perfect a service or product is?
Do you think anyone believes these fantastic testimonials? Well?
Write story-based testimonials that help you overcome objections.
Henneke is an amazing copywriter. I’d highly recommend her to anyone.
Much better:
I wasn’t sure about hiring Henneke. She seems a little crazy and she’s not even a native English speaker. But the copy she’s written for my business helped me to win more customers. And she was fun to work with.
Note: just like all other examples in this article, the above example is made up.
Further reading:
- How to Write Powerful Testimonials: 4 Simple Tips to Snatch More Clients
- Six Questions to Ask for Powerful Testimonials (by Sean d’Souza)
- This Simple 3-Act Business Story Will Do Your Selling for You
Copywriting Tip #7: Don’t walk away from the difficult stuff
Do you believe in miracles?
In business they don’t exist. I’ve never seen objections magically disappear. You need to address them.
If customers think you’re too expensive, then explain how you help customers save money, how you help them make more money, or explain how much more enjoyment they’ll get from your product or service. Prove your value.
What objections do your customers have to buying from you? How can you address them? Copywriting is about sales. And selling is about taking away customer objections to buying from you.
Further reading: The old-fashioned Aga sales manual, written by the legendary David Ogilvy in 1935, provides examples of how to overcome objections.
Copywriting Tip #8: Kill self-indulgent nonsense
Marketing messages become drivel if they go on and on about a company and its products. The quickest way to turn drivel into sales copy is to address a benefit or a problem your customers have first.
Award-Winning Web Designer with 20 Years’ Experience
Much better:
Websites that Convert Web Visitors into Business
Further reading: Why Most Copywriting Formulas Stink (and How to Really Write for the Web)
Copywriting Tip #9: Don’t use exclamation marks
Exclamation marks are the signs of a lazy writer or a sleazy salesman. Simply remove all exclamation marks from your copy. Period.
Further reading: How Punctuation Influences Your Writing Voice
Copywriting Tip #10: Don’t commit superlative sins
Superlatives like best or easiest are a surefire way to sound insincere. Only use superlatives if you can prove why you’re the best.
We provide the quickest printing service in town.
Much better:
Get your brochures printed in 48 hours or receive a 25% discount.
Further reading: Do You Make These Two Subtle Copywriting Errors?
Copywriting Tip #11: Eradicate adjective mumbo jumbo
If marketers have nothing to say, they add adjective upon adjective to their sentences. It makes your readers think yeah, yeah, what nonsense or it sends them straight to sleep.
This relaxed, romantic collection of beautiful cookware has a look all its own, right up to date yet completely classic with a result that’s perfect for your kitchen.
Mucho better:
The classic look of this cookware collection suits most kitchen styles.
Even better:
Show pictures of your cookware. Or explain who inspired the design. That’s much more interesting than marketers’ hogwash.
Further reading: How to Avoid the Destructive Power of Adjectives in Your Marketing Copy
How to stamp out marketing drivel
You’ve edited your copy to remove the marketing fluff.
Now, imagine talking to your favorite customer on the phone and read your copy aloud.
If your customer slams down the phone, then your copy is still too sleazy. Get back to work.
If she gets a little impatient and interrupts you, then you’re nearly there. Just a little more fluff to remove.
And if you can’t persuade her to buy, then you’ve not addressed her problems or you’ve picked the wrong benefits. Ask her how you can help.
When you write sales copy, you need to think about your customer (of course!).
But you also have to remember who you are. Be yourself. Be honest. Be enchanting.
Enchanting Copywriting course
Learn how to write a persuasive sales page
without selling your soul
“I’m running my refreshed marketing campaign right now and I’m seeing increased open and click-through rates on newly written emails. Better yet, I’m seeing increased sales and less questions from prospective customers, which tells me I answered all their questions and inspired them to buy through my more compelling copywriting. This course is a wise investment that earns itself back quickly.”
~ Karyn Greenstreet
I’m usually not one to complete projects, and writing is tough because it is new to me. However, the course is well put together and the information is complete. There’s no guessing. Reading and doing the exercises taught me how to judge my own work, and Henneke’s copywriting system helped me put my sales page together, step by step. Definitely 5 stars.
~ Jackson Lamar
The clarity and depth in your blog make complex copywriting concepts feel easy to grasp. Your expertise truly shines through.
Thank you, Edward. That’s a lovely compliment.
‘She seems a little crazy’ 😂🥲
Henneke,
You crazy writing girl!!! I know I’m guilty of a few of these bad samples, but especially (I just now realize) is my love of the exclamation point!!!!!!!! You know?
Oh my goodness. Always learning. Thanks for another wake up smack:) lol
Hope all is sunny on your side.
Truly,
Sue-Ann
Me too!!!!!!!! Couldn’t have put it better myself, Sue-Ann. 😉
Hey Henneke.
I discovered your blog last year, and it has helped improve my writing strategy. Thank you so much
That’s lovely feedback. Thank you so much, Keren. Happy writing!
Hi Henneke!
I am enjoying this post + comments and the one concerning In a hurry /No time to waste visitors hungry for concise product info as well. I like this idea of conciseness in order not to write Drivel or Gobbledygook. Terrific Information for the near newbie that I am – thanks!
I am wondering though about the feasibility of having a Search Box on an Affiliate Marketing website particularly given that most, at first ignorant, visitors won’t know what to key in this search box!
I am sending you soon an email about the above with what I am proposing to do instead for these In a hurry visitors and hopefully get your take on this proposition.
Keep up the good job and hard work.
Thank you & Regards,
Harvey
Web visitors search for information that’s useful to them: They have a problem they want to solve or a question they want answered, or they look for a product.
If they use the search box on your site to look for things that your site doesn’t offer, then perhaps you’re not attracting the right traffic to your website?
Thank you so much for the priceless info up there. Who knew about that superlative sin and mumbo jumbo? Haha😄🤗. I didn’t. I’m soo implementing these tips. Thanks.
I’m glad you enjoyed this. Happy writing!
Love your simplicity. Can you give me some ideas how to write Instagram post 10 words to describe hand painted abstract silk scarf
Hi Mila, I’m glad you enjoyed this. It’s hard to give advice without knowing anything about abstract silk scarves. If you’d like help for something so specific, I’d recommend working with a copywriter or coach to create a few “templates” that you can then apply for more Insta posts.
Thanks for these tips, updating my website at the moment. Also, I don’t know if you did it on purpose but the ‘Mucho better’ made me laugh. Muchas gracias 😉
It’s a long time ago that I wrote this but I might have written it for you. It’s possible! And it’s great that it made you laugh. Laughing is good for us 🙂
Great blog. I love the straight-talking. There is far too much fluff on the web, but, as a copywriter, it just gives me more stuff to correct.
Agreed. There’s far too much fluff (and gobbledygook!).
Tips 1 and 2. How do we quote believable numbers when we are a startup? Thank you.
When you don’t have users yet, you obviously can’t quote user numbers so focus instead on the features and benefits of the product, and get some beta users to provide good reviews. Sometimes it’s possible to get numbers in those reviews if people can express the improvement you help them get into a percentage, e.g., percentage of time saved. You may also be able to do some research to get some solid numbers on performance. See here for more ideas on using numbers in writing: https://www.enchantingmarketing.com/numbers-in-writing/
Love the actionable tips. I immediately went to one of my sales pages and replace “hundreds of businesses…” with a specific number.
Great!
Your point about superlative sin spun my head. Thanks for sharing a great point of view.
I hope you didn’t get dizzy from spinning your head! Thank you for stopping by.
I really need help with writing copies as an accountant. I own a bookkeeping firm and have no idea what to put out there.
Writing good copy always starts with thinking about your favorite client (real or imaginary). Why do they want to hire you? What hassle do you take away? What questions do they have about your bookkeeping?
Just what I am looking for.
I just started my copywriting career and I think your guide will take my journey to the next level.
Be sure to join my snackable course for more copywriting tips! 🙂
One of the best simple plain article i ever read on copy writing. It cleared 80% of my queries and I’m looking forward to read further relevant articles on your site.
Thank You Henneke
Welcome, Jasmit. I hope you’ll enjoy many more article on my site 🙂
This is so rich, i love the simple way you made it.
Thanks for these tips
Thank you, Emaido. Happy copywriting!
Great article. I love how you always give simple examples. I have learned from another institution that teaches what you teach, but in a different way. What you are repeatedly telling people is to avoid proclamation, and instead give information. You cant beat people over the head with your marketing message. The goal is to present information in a way that they form the conclusion you want to convey in their minds. That way it is their assumption, not your assertion. The difference between the two approaches is everything.
I love how you summarize it: Avoid proclamation, give information, and let them form their own conclusion. That’s it! 🙂
I love the tip about reading your copy aloud to your customer on the phone.
I always use exclamation marks. I’m not sure if I really agree with that statement.
If your copy is real, fun, and helpful, and the exclamations are placed properly, I think it’s doable! 🙂
Thanks, Henneke for another great piece of work.
Regards,
Becky
It’s up to the writer to break the rules. 🙂
There may also be a difference in experience between Europeans and North-Americans. I am happy to use exclamation (and emojis) in social media, but would rarely use them in my blog posts or in sales copy (unless it’s really an exclamation).
Thank you for your comment, Becky. I appreciate it.
Loved this post. I’ve been working on improving my writing, in particular for my business, and your tips here are pure evergreen (given some of the comments go back to 2013 and it’s still getting more).
Thank you for writing this 🙂
Great advice, Henneke. I agree that it’s best to avoid using any unnecessary adjectives. When I’m writing about a mediocre topic, I’m often tempted to add a bit more emotive vocabulary to make things sound ‘interesting’. However, as you say, what’s really important in copywriting is knowing what readers want, and making sure they understand how they will benefit from whatever you’re writing about.
Yes, even when writing about a boring topic, it’s still useful to consider why your reader cares about it and which pain points your topic addresses. When you look at it this way, then even boring topics become interesting.
Thank you for stopping by, James.
Thanks Henneke for the article. A lot of useful information here. Have to learn for myself to be more specific about things (tip #2).
I am a starting blogger so basically all the tips are very welcome (just deleted the exclamation mark. Already making progress :-).
Yep, being specific makes a big difference to writing—no matter whether it’s sales copy or blog content.
Thank you for stopping by, André. Happy blogging! 🙂
Thanks for this post! Great that you provide examples and links for further reading. This makes your post way more helpful and serves as an example of good copywriting.
Spot on Henneke!!! Straightforward and sensical.The side bar that says “FREE Snackable Writing Course” is a proof to your awesomeness.
Thank you, Jill. Happy writing! 🙂
These are some helpful tips. I’m just starting to get serious with copywriting and trying to navigate free and paid courses and trainings. It is such a crucial skill to have! (Haha. Oops. Exclamation points are my weakness.)
You can find both here – free and paid training 🙂
Hi Henneke,
What is your inspiration behind copywriting?
Why do you sell what you sell? Is it just to pay bills or because you like it.
I am working on writing some content and will be doing this for the next couple of months.
I’d really like to know more.
Thank you
Shishir
It’s both. I love writing, but I also need to make a living. I’m lucky that I’ve found something I love doing but that also generates an income.
Hahaha! I like the “don’t pussyfooting around,” I think that it’s helpful to be aggressive sometimes, especially in writing your call-to-action. Great tips Henneke! 🙂
Thank you, Pam. Yes, being direct and straightforward with calls to action definitely helps. 🙂
Thank you, for stopping by.
I have been using exclamation points in my copy for the longest time! Thanks for the tips on writing better marketing copy, I will be sure to try them out. 🙂
Yes, most of us use or have used exclamation marks, but they lose their impact when overused, plus they can come across as overly sales-y.
I completely re-wrote marketing copy for a client recently. The original copy was full of exclamation marks. The new version had no exclamation marks at all and it sounds so much friendlier and more persuasive.
Thank you for stopping by, Richard.
Yes, you are right. Tope is indeed my first name. Its pronunciation goes like this…
“To” is pronounced as “Tour”; Pe is pronounced as “Pair”. Anyway, the p sound in my language (Yoruba) does not exist in English and vice versa.
However Tour-Pair would do just fine. Maybe over time, we would know each other better and I would be able to send you a voice note of how my name is pronounced.
What about yours? How is it pronounced?
It’s FantaFab being here again.
The stress is on the first syllable and it sounds like “hair” without the “r”. The two other e’s are unstressed and sound more like the “e” in “listen”.
It almost rhymes with Seneca.
Hmmm… Beautiful name there. FantaFab meeting such an Enchanting person. *Smiling*
I really find your post “enchanting” (I know that is your way of saying Wonderful. On my blog, I use “FantaFab”). The tips are so helpful and revealing. The idea of imagining yourself calling a potential buyer and she slamming down the phone is quite hilarious. I love the overall touch of humor around here. Great to be here.
Yes, we all have our favorite words – mine are enchanting and seductive. Favorite words help to define your voice.
Is Tope your first name? How do you pronounce it?
Thank you for stopping by!
Thank you for the ideas in copywriting. I could implement it in my primary language 🙂
Yes, I assume these suggestions work in most languages 🙂
Thanks for sharing this, Henneke. We’ve been making a big push lately to cut out the “fluff” in our copy, and the results have been outstanding. Will have to give some more of these tips a try — especially with our testimonials! I think most folks are hard-wired to give you the glowing testimonial, because they think it’s what will help you the most, and the linked story about asking the right questions is awesome.
Yes, I love those blog posts by Sean d’Souza, too. Well done on cutting out the fluff! Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Brilliant, helpful article – thank you.
I would like to point out, however, that you used an exclamation mark in the last paragraph of your article tut tut – point 9 😉
Damn. How did that happen? 😉
It’s funny how the best copywriting tips are sometimes just a lesson in communication.
Yep, you’re right. Many tips are also applicable when having a face-to-face conversation or talking on the phone or presenting in a big meeting, too.
Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
Enjoy your work. It is often timely. I like the succinctness.
I have to say, though, sometimes adjectives provide a necessary padding. Might be useful to distinguish when.
I’d love to share the cute dog photo and quote on my FB page with a reference to your work.
Yes, that’s absolutely right. Adjectives can add meaning to text – especially if they’re specific, sensory, or emotional words. If you’re looking for more information on using adjectives, then check out this post about how to avoid the destructive power of adjectives.
And thank you for sharing 🙂
Great post Henneke! 🙂 I lot of business writing is done this way, and many consider it normal. But because it’s normal, it doesn’t impact the reader anymore. I really like way you’ve showed the tips with the ‘much better’ version!
Thank you. I agree with you – marketing fluff seems normal, but I don’t believe it truly connects and engages readers. It encourage people to scan rather than to read because too much text is irrelevant or even nonsensical.
Good to see you here again 🙂
I’m guilty of doing all of the above at one point or another. I think a lot of the time it’s the pressure to get up to a certain word count, whether for SEO purposes or because the employer has the idea that more content = better content. I think a lot of this fluff comes about from the quotas that are set. I know I run out of things to say when it comes to pots and pans.
Yes, that’s an excellent point. Word count can be a big problem. When there’s nothing left to say, you can only add more drivel. And often people think that if you write more words, they should pay you more, but it’s often harder to be concise.
A great number of my notebooks are finding their pages filling fast everytime I read a blog update from Henneke!
Great! That’s what I love to hear. Thank you, Marie 😀
Good post, helpful advice.
Thank you.
You’re welcome 🙂
Yikes, I think I may have written a sentence way to similar to the mumbo jumbo example for the cookware. Couldn’t I just make life easy and use “Buy this, damn it!” for every product on my site? Oh, but no exclamation mark. As always, this was a fun piece to read with lots of great advice. Thanks Henneke.
Yep, you can write Buy it, damn it! You might get a few crazy people like me to buy 😉
Most product descriptions on e-commerce websites are full of mumbo jumbo. You’re already doing better than most if not each description is mumbo jumbo. 🙂 Most of us get tired of writing product descriptions after some time, and that’s when the mumbo jumbo sneaks in, because we can’t think of anything else to say anymore. Try not to write one category in one go, but jump around from category to category. That usually helps to keep it fresh. 🙂
Thank you for stopping by, Carole.
Great, down-to-earth advice as ever. What I like about your suggestions is that they’re easily applicable, a real toolkit for getting marketing copy right. And it’s nice to build a gradual picture of the person behind the blog ;-).
Haha, yes, my craziness is slowly revealing itself 😉
Thank you for stopping by, Caroline. I appreciate it!
Chock full of great examples and helpful links. Direct, pithy, and candid. Superbly helpful (maybe that one’s OK)?
Happy cycling/muttering and of course writing.
Yep, your adverb plus adjective is fine with me, especially if it’s a compliment 😉
Good to see you again, Janine 🙂
You can do better than that!
‘She seems a little crazy, if you catch her unawares she is mumbling in a weird guttural tongue and she seems married to her bicycle which she rides at dangerous speed over highly unsuitable terrain. I sometimes wonder if…’
😉
Ah, yes. And occasionally her language is less than enchanting, especially when she complains about dangerous motorists who overtake her on her bike… 😉
‘Less than enchanting’?
Can we stop pussyfooting around? 😉
Us Dutchwomen, we like to use a good swearword every now and then!