How to write concise advertising copy?

The shorter the article, the more concise it is, and the simpler the language, the more touching it is.

I recommend you read this book.

The "Tao Te Ching" has only 5126 words, but it has been passed down through the ages.

Shakespeare liked to write 14 lines of poetry, but every poem was popular.

However, I don’t know since when, our articles have become longer and longer. In ancient times, because words could only be carved on stones, written on animal leather, or written on bamboo sticks, the ancients cherished words like gold.

Later, with paper, people could write words on paper. However, people at that time were in awe of words, and one word was worth a thousand pieces of gold. Therefore, most of the articles written before the May 4th Movement were as precious as words.

Now, with the rapid development of electronic storage information technology. When we write articles, we don’t seem to care about the word count anymore. Thousands of words appear on the screen at every turn. Anyway, the cost is low, and even writing a thousand-word essay or a book of ten thousand words can be written easily without using your brain. If you want any content, just search it on Baidu and copy and paste it. You won’t even bother to copy it. Your face won’t turn red and your heart won’t beat. Once you get used to it, you’ll feel at ease. Anyway, you can piece together tens of thousands of words in an instant. .

It seems that someone has published a book claiming to teach everyone how to write 100,000 words a day. This has really opened the eyes of many people. One day, 100,000 words, no wonder words are becoming less and less valuable.

However, true creators will still cherish their words like gold. In recent years, with the popularity of new media such as Twitter, Weibo, and WeChat Moments, short articles have become popular again. Everyone has become keen on writing 100-word articles, and some people even offer special courses to teach people to write 30-word self-introductions and 60-word product promotion copywriting.

Because the pace of life today is getting faster and faster, it is becoming more and more important to improve the efficiency of communication and expression. This requires us to be concise and concise in our expressions. Any expression must directly state the key points and poke at the pain points. Therefore, many industries claim: "Important information is often brief, and powerful writing must be concise."

As a result, short articles are becoming more and more popular! However, many people are going crazy because they are used to writing books with thousands of words, and short articles suddenly become popular. But what should they do?

It just so happened that the American writer Roy Peter Clark wrote a book: "Simplified Writing". This book has about 140,000 words. The Chinese version was published by China Overseas Chinese Publishing House in October 2018. It solves two problems: first, how to write short articles, and second, how to write short articles with purpose. It mainly provides 12 skills such as "collecting short articles, finding key points, practicing scanning, learning symmetry, focusing on something, changing rhythm, rewriting routines, effective excerpts, and creating surprises", revealing the golden rules of short article writing and telling readers how to write them. The essay is written concisely, efficiently, and intriguingly.

Roy Peter Clark, the author of the book "Simplified Writing", teaches writing at Point College in Florida, USA. As a writing tutor, he has trained a number of Pulitzer-winning writers. Award-winning writer. Known as a national writing instructor, he has been selected into the Hall of Fame.

1. Make preparations for writing short articles and lay the foundation for concise writing

There are three ways to practice concise writing and build basic skills:

One is Learn by reading. Reading is the basis of writing, and you must learn to write short essays. First of all, you need to read more short articles, and collect the wonderful short articles by excerpting them, cutting them and sticking them in your notebook. Many great writers have this habit. Whenever they see a beautiful sentence or article, they will copy it down in the notebook they carry with them.

The great writer Mr. Li Ao is a famous scholar of modern history and a critic of current affairs. In his opinion, if a book is still clean after reading it, it is equivalent to not having read it and reading it in vain. Therefore, when he is reading, he not only likes to write and draw in the book, but he also likes to cut out the exciting content and collect it. So, for those good books, he simply bought two, read one, and cut one.

Reading in this way, as time goes by, good articles will accumulate day by day. In your spare time, when you are bored, when you are lonely, reading these articles will make you feel happy. Of course, these articles are also a treasure trove of inspiration for our writing. Because good articles always give people power, making people unable to help but think deeply and gain insights.

The second is to learn through imitation. Almost all writing masters have imitated the works of their predecessors. Because writing is the same as practicing drawing and practicing calligraphy. First of all, you have to imitate. The same goes for writing short articles. For novices, they should carry a small notebook with them, copy down the wonderful sentences when they see them, and then imitate them.

For example, the famous host Chai Jing has a famous saying: "It is not terrible to criticize you, but it is terrible to be disappointed with you." When we see this sentence, if you have deep feelings, you should hurry up Imitate and write.

The specific operation method is: copy this sentence on paper, or type it into an electronic document. Then, start imitating at the bottom of the sentence, trying to ensure that your word count is the same as the original sentence, and the word categories are as consistent as possible.

Just follow my example and imitate it.

Original sentence: It’s not scary to criticize you, but it’s scary to be disappointed in you.

Imitate sentence 1: I can still be saved by scolding you, but I can’t be saved by being speechless to you. (Completely symmetrical to the original sentence)

The third is to develop the habit of writing short essays. In order to ensure that readers develop this habit, "Simplified Writing" provides readers with some methods and suggestions.

First, every time you finish reading a book or every article, you must use the shortest text to summarize it. For example, force yourself to use 30-60 words to summarize the core idea of ??an article; Summarize the essence of a book in 100 words. Every time I see an article, I try to delete it. Of course, deletion does not mean that we roughly compress the content of the article, but only delete unnecessary words. For example, adjectives, adverbs, some unnecessary rhetoric, repeated expressions...etc. Generally speaking, it has no value in expressing meaning, but will give people a sense of red tape. We can delete these contents.

Second, in any scene, no matter what you see, try to describe it in the shortest and most exciting words. For example, if you attend a banquet, you can use beautiful and simple words to describe the scene you saw and your mood at that time. You can also pretend that you are the protagonist or host of the banquet. It is your turn to speak. What should you say? How do you ensure that your speech is witty and makes a lasting impression on everyone present?

Third, develop the habit of writing notes. When you are happy or unhappy, record it in the form of notes and put it in a fixed bag. Because it's just a note, you can't make a long speech, so when you write the note, you will definitely use the most concise language to describe the scene and mood at that time. Of course, when we read, when we see exciting content, we must write our thoughts or comments in the blank space of the page. Because the blank space on the page is very limited, it also prompts us to take the initiative to write in concise language.

2. Master the common skills of writing short articles and write articles that make people feel comfortable.

Binary structure: Binary structure is the most basic method of writing short articles. When writing with a binary structure, a "compare/contrast" technique is usually used to create.

For example: Yin/Yang, open/closed, concave/convex.

The sentence form is: the first sentence is correct, and the next sentence is negative.

For example, "...this little guy, when she is asleep, she is an angel, so cute. When she is awake, she is a devil, so annoying..."

Ternary structure: If we talk about binary structure, it uses two elements to divide the world into two using contrast/comparison techniques. Then, the ternary structure is the use of three elements to combine the world into one and form a whole.

For example, the American theologian Niebuhr wrote a famous prayer using the ternary structure:

O God,

Please grant me peace, go Accept what I cannot change;

Please give me the courage to change what I can;

Please give me the wisdom to tell the difference between the two.

Obviously, the effect displayed by the ternary structure is more complete than that of the binary structure. At the same time, because the literal meaning displayed by the ternary structure is usually progressive, its unique linguistic power is very powerful.

Five-seven-five syllable arrangement structure: This structure is a form of three-dimensional structure writing. In the first sentence, write 5 words, describing the place or time; in the second sentence, write 7 words, describing specific things or actions; in the third sentence, write 5 words, sublimating the entire expression and showing a profound philosophy or meaning.

For example, a poem written by the famous writer Eric Ammann:

At a winter funeral (time and place)

The statue of an angel points (Specific things/people and actions)

Empty sky. (Thinking meaning)

Of course, the five-seven-five structure is not so rigid. We can also change the number of words in each line to write, such as: five-five-seven, Seven-five-five is also okay.

A three-line poem by the writer Jack Kerouac:

In my medicine cabinet

Winter flies

Of course, there are many techniques for writing good essays. For example, imitate poetry writing and write articles with four or six sentences (each sentence contains 4 or 6 words). By writing these sentences, we can cultivate the habit of deliberately writing symmetrical sentences in our writing. Generally speaking, if the sentences in an article are short and symmetrical, they can be beautiful, powerful, or both.

We provide two advertising copy pieces created by Ogilvy & Mather. The titles are very concise but indispensable. They may inspire you.

In February 2018, Dubai Volkswagen released 5 advertisements, creatively created by Ogilvy Dubai.

The five advertising patterns are consistent.

Just look at one of them here.

Let’s take a look at the version without the title:

You might think this is a mobile ad.

Or an advertisement for a Volkswagen APP.

But neither.

Let’s look at the original version:

The title of this ad is:

App-Connect. Keep your focus on the road.

Although the APP is good, you still have to focus on the road.

The mobile phone in the center of this advertisement and the numerous apps displayed on the screen are not the subject of the advertisement.

Without the title, this ad has no way of conveying its meaning.

In June 2018, FirstJobs (recruitment website) released 3 advertisements, creatively created by Ogilvy Chile.

The three advertising models are consistent.

Let’s only look at one of them.

Let’s look at the version with the title deleted:

Although the name FirstJobs is still in the ad.

But what does the scene shown in the advertisement have to do with FirstJobs?

I don’t know who can understand.

Then we look at the original version:

The title of the advertisement is in the lower right corner, saying:

Only 1 out of 10 startups succeed. Get a job.

Only 1 in 10 startups succeed. Find a job quickly.

The person wearing a pillow in the advertisement should be the entrepreneur mentioned in the copy.

He was promoting his products, and the audience was sparse and depressed.

It seems that he was not very successful.

The success rate of starting a business is very low, so it is better to find a job at FirstJobs.

The key to this advertisement is the title.

If only this title is written, the meaning of the advertisement is also established.

Welcome to ask questions and discuss

Advertising can be seen everywhere in life, whether it is the APP you order takeout, the billboard next to the bus when traveling, or the daily necessities in life, they are all inseparable from advertising. However, consumers perceive a brand through good copywriting. A good advertising copywriting is a powerful tool for brand control. You might as well take a look at these three creative rules.

1. From the perspective of copywriting, the ceiling of good copywriting is quite high. Many people think that copywriting is just writing words. In fact, a good copywriting needs to have a strategy for the market, comply with the rules of copywriting circulation, and be prepared to express The value of a brand is a psychological hit on users. Case: On April 30, 2009, T-mobile, one of the world's largest telecommunications operators, launched a flash mob event in the famous Pigeon Square in London. Elephant figures activated tens of millions of microphones and sang together. Hey Joe, the original song of the British National Band, was attended by nearly ten thousand people. After it was uploaded to YouTube, it caused a global uproar and was infected by their emotions.

T mobile tells everyone that life is for sharing represents product attributes and core values, and brand connotation is the image of global consumers. Therefore, the text not only helps consumers understand the brand, but also the brand is seamlessly integrated into consumption. or life. This also precisely explains why the ceiling for good copywriting is quite high. This also precisely explains why the ceiling for good copywriting is quite high.

2. Why is it said that scenes are the entrance to consumers? Brand marketing is to construct its own typical scenes through text, associate the scenes with its own products and consumer needs, and stimulate consumers to purchase through scene interpretation. want. For example, in 2007 Green Arrow chewing gum advertised that Green Arrow brings us closer. In 2014, Green Arrow changed it to Fresh Tone to bring you and me closer. The advertising screen showed families, couples, and colleagues loving each other.

In fact, Green Arrow chewing gum has always been shaping a social scene, stimulating consumers' demand for fresh breath, thereby generating purchases. How to find the scene is to meet the needs of customers according to their needs.

3. Labeled products are a powerful tool to capture customers. In this era of a large amount of information, there are more and more social tools. Only by attaching a label will it not be forgotten by the hot topics, so as to perceive and recognize the label on the product, and then judge whether it is necessary to buy it or not. Labels influence consumer perception from the following three points.

The first point is the uniqueness of the product. In order to increase the degree of recognition, for example, the Dahong Bottle Fairy Water extracts the typical characteristics of the product and makes it highly identifiable. Only in this way can consumers remember it and thus distinguish consumption from the product. .

The second point is to describe the product functions and highlight the use points. For example, silk mask, caviar essence eye cream, and fairy water highlight practicality. You will know the benefits and uses as soon as you hear them, highlighting product value and practicality. The third point is that innovative features are easily remembered by consumers. Identity labels are like giving products a new name and turning them into easy-to-understand and easy-to-remember nicknames, allowing consumers to establish an emotional connection.

This question is a bit general, because different copywriting lines require different copywriting designs.

However, you can design short and concise advertising copy according to the needs of the scene.

1. Be good at writing advertising copy in the form of short jokes

We not only need to simplify the text, but also need to have eye-catching laugh points. This not only requires you to observe life in detail, but also It needs inspiration from what you see, read, or inadvertently trigger in your life.

2. Design different advertising copywriting according to different types of readers.

The purpose of advertising is to market products, and the role of copywriting is to attract the attention or buzz of consumers or potential consumers.

For copywriting between well-known companies, we may need to highlight the brand structure and strength. For copywriting between companies and mass consumers, we emphasize simplicity and easy-to-understand "human language".

The nature of different types may seem to be simplistic, but in fact, they far affect the simplification of advertising copy.

If our target is mass consumers, and the copy we are good at writing is a lot of "noble" words, and then we get to the theme, this may not achieve a streamlined advertising copy.

For example, the editor-in-chief will further optimize some of the tutorial-style soft articles I wrote on Meitu Xiuxiu and briefly list them in step by step.

The patterns designed with beautiful pictures are gradually integrated into the form of total, divided and total.

3. Streamlined advertising copy can be transformed in the form of short videos and pictures.

As times change, people’s patience is getting lower and lower. A long copy may be impatient to read.

Therefore, we need to use pictures and videos to provide auxiliary expressions. The role of pictures and videos can reduce the cumbersomeness of text.