Copy

What conveys your brand messaging is copy.Copy is one of the most essential elements

of marketing.

The art and science of copywriting involves strategically writing words with a call to

action.

not a single word over three letters long.

Keep it simple.

Good copy is written in clear, concise, simple words that get your point across. It’s conversational.

To be or not to be

While most times copy is read by the consumer, in the healthcare setting, copy is also the script read out by the detail men to the customers.

So not only should the copy be customer friendly it has to be detail friendly as well.

Healthcare perspective

to get the first sentence read.

And the purpose of the first sentence?

To get the second sentence read

And so on, till you get to the call for actionThe process is Step by step.

“What is the purpose of a headline?”

1. a strong, compelling headline is critical

2. immediately focusing on the benefit

3. make a promise to the reader/customer that you later fulfill; and

4. back up everything you’ve said with very specific proof.

What are the steps?

Direct Headlines

go straight to the heart of the matter, without any attempt at cleverness. “The most affordable Cefotaxime in India”

“We’ve dropped prices by 60%”

“Now in 4 flavours”

Headlines

An Indirect Headline

takes a more subtle approach. It uses curiosity to raise a question in the reader’s mind, which the body copy answers.

“When small means big”The body copy then elaborates the big benefits of having a very small size iron caplet

Headlines

A News Headline

“Introducing the first antifibrotic for IPF”“ Launching complete pediatric range of antidiarrhoeals”

Headlines

The “How to” Headline

“How to make the Calcium work more”The body copy then talks about how attaching the calcium to orotic acid which then serves as a mineral transporter.

Headlines

A Question Headline must do more than simply ask a question, it must be a question that the reader can empathize with or would like to see answered.

The headline for a cough and cold formula that contains a decongestant, cough reliever and paracetamol“ Do you have to give three different medications for cough, cold and fever?”

The headline for an antidepressant to be used in the elderly“ Do your patients complain of body itch when there is no apparent reason?”For a high percentage of cases of itch in the elderly no satisfactory explanation can be given. Loneliness and boredom can give rise to an increased awareness of itchiness, while depression and anxiety often lead to compulsive scratching. Antidepressants can help

Headlines

the Reason Why Headline.

Your body text consists of a numbered list of product features or tips, which you then incorporate into the headline, such as

“52 reasons why this is good for the liver”

Odoxil No.1 Cefadroxil in India“ Just one reason why we are the number one Cefadroxil brand in India” you

Headlines

The 50/50 Rule of Headlines

According to some of the best copywriters of all time, you should spend half of the entire time it takes to write a piece of persuasive content on the headline.

Advertising legend David Ogilvy knew the power of headlines, and how the headline literally determined whether the advertisement would get read. He rewrote this famous headline for an automobile advertisement 104 times:“At 60 miles an hour, the only thing you hear in the new Rolls Royce is the ticking of the dashboard clock …”

Pursuit of grammatically correct language is every copy writers genius. Albeit, authors and copywriters have been sanctioned a linguistic license to fracture the not very colossal appearing but a relatively harmless and occasional rule of grammar, without of course making it irreparably defunct. Sentence fragments, not the crushed powdery kinds, beginning with conjunctions and ending in prepositions are by no means to be condemned as a novice attempt. The use of bullets unless they are not the wounding kind achieves the much herculean task of deciphering of the content. Don’t rate the audience a 10 on the complexity of content they understand. A simplistic copy may get rated as a child’s play, is a demon of a fear you would want to abolish.

Occasionally you can bend a rule or two of grammar, if it helps to make your writing more memorable.

Fragment Sentences into simple understandable sentences

And don’t forget to use plenty of bullets and numbered lists.

What the earlier slide really means is:

Complex writing is simpleStaying simple very complex indeed!

Remember

So if it comes to a choice between clear communication and “correct” communication, always choose clarity – even if you have to break a grammar rule now and then.

Sample this:to be grammatically correct, you should never insert a word between the to and the verb after it.

Gene Roddenberry wasn’t convinced. His Star Trek series immortalized the most famous split infinitive of all:

“To boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Remember

grammar and style should always fit the occasion. Classical grammar for more serious tone. You can jazz it up for a cough and cold. Go with the overall personality of your brand.

Remember

subheadings should capture the essence of the supporting

Works better even in acidic conditionsCalcium orotate being a complex is not dissociated in the acidic environment of the stomach. It therefore reaches the intestines intact.

Ceftriaxone best in its class on S.typhi

What can the subheading be if you were promoting Amikacin?

subheadings should capture the essence of the supporting

Keep referencing

Keep a collection of award winning ads, concepts across categories.

The Right Words, in the Right Context

Copy

What Copy Experts Say:

Often copy trainers will highlight The Four U’s approach to writing headlines:Headlines, subheads and bullets should:Be USEFUL to the reader,Provide him with a sense of URGENCY,Convey the idea that the main benefit is somehow UNIQUE; andDo all of the above in an ULTRA-SPECIFIC way.

Clayton Makepeace says to ask yourself six questions before you start to write your headline:Does your headline offer the reader a reward for reading?What specifics could you add to make your headline more intriguing and believable?Does your headline trigger a strong, actionable emotion the reader already has about the subject at hand?Does your headline present a proposition that will instantly get your prospect nodding his or her head?Could your headline benefit from the inclusion of a proposed transaction?Could you add an element of intrigue to drive the prospect into your opening copy?

Find the true benefitThe idea of highlighting benefits over features seems simple. But it’s often tough to do in practice.

Balance your blood sugar

Nobody really wants to balance their blood sugar levels. But anyone in his or her right mind DOES want to avoid the misery of blindness … cold, numb, painful limbs … amputation … and premature death that go along with diabetes.

How to Extract True BenefitsSo, how do you successfully extract true benefits from features? Here’s a four-step process that works:1. First, make a list of every feature of your product or service.2. Second, ask yourself why each feature is included in the first place.3. Third, take the “why” and ask “how” does this connect with the prospect’s

desires?4. Fourth, get to the absolute root of what’s in it for the prospect at an emotional

level.

When Features WorkWhen selling to technical people, features alone can sometimes do the trick. Pandering to emotions will only annoy them. Besides, unlike consumers (who mostly “want” things rather than “need” them), business and tech buyers often truly need a solution to a problem or a tool to complete a task. When a feature is fairly well known and expected from your audience, you don’t need to sell it.

However, with innovative features, you still need to move the prospect down the four-step path. The What’s in it for me? aspect remains crucial.For business buyers, you’re stressing “bottom line” benefits from innovative features. If you can demonstrate that the prospect will be a hero because your CRM product will save her company $120,000 a year compared to the current choice, you’ve got a good shot.

Sell With Benefits, Support With FeaturesWe’re not as logical as we’d like to think we are. Most of our decisions are based on deep-rooted emotional motivations, which we then justify with logical processes. So, first help the right brain create desire, then satisfy the left brain with features and hard data so that the wallet actually emerges.

Offers raining

Primary Offers: Federal ExpressWhen it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.About the only thing this offer doesn’t communicate is price. If the price wasn’t right, FedEx would not have blasted off; but in the early days, price wasn’t the first question you asked if it really, absolutely, positively had to be there the next morning.

Offers raining

Promotional Offers: Domino’s PizzaWhile trying to expand the business, Monaghan faced near bankruptcy and franchise disputes that almost buried Domino’s. But one single promotional idea changed everything and put Domino’s in an overwhelmingly dominant position in this ultra-competitive field:

30 minutes or less… or it’s free.

Each day, more than 1 million people in more than 50 countries eat Domino’s..

Offers raining

Make an Offeran offer is a call to action.

Start making offers if you want some action.

No Power without Proof

Every promise you make to a prospect should be both fulfilled and guaranteed. When you sell something in exchange for someone’s hard-earned money, the promise is that the product or service will meet, or exceed, expectations.

No Power without ProofThe word guarantee is extremely powerful, but only coupled with evidence of substance. The proof behind the guarantee accomplishes two things – it demonstrates confidence in your offering, and relieves the risk to the buyer.

The gains always outweigh returnsBut you’ve spotted the essence of the technique – you’re taking the buyer’s risk and shifting it over to yourself. Assuming the faith in your offering is there, here’s why you shouldn’t be concerned:First of all, you will get some returns, no matter how much value you deliver. The reason is that your guarantee will generate a much higher number of sales. By taking the risk away from the buyer, invariably you’ll sell to someone who the product wasn’t suited for. That’s OK; the numbers are working for you.Your returns will be lower than you think, even among those who experience buyer’s remorse. We like to remain consistent on a psychological basis, and our brains work hard to validate our earlier decisions. Couple that with the ambivalence people experience when faced with initiating the return process (especially for physical products), and the sale remains in place.When it comes to information products, some people will rip you off. They’ll happily consume the knowledge you offer, and still demand a refund. If your product is digital, some will share your hard work with other people, and you won’t make a dime. Don’t worry about it. Believe it or not, most people are honest. Don’t lose sleep over those that are not. Your sales (and profits) are up, perhaps dramatically, because of your guarantee. That was the goal, right?

Long or short copy, which works best?

Whatever works.

Sholay was a hit so was Dil wale Dulhaniya le jayenge!

3 idiots was a hit Andaz apna apna was cult!

Long Copy vs. Short Copy

Experts say that the length of your copy will depend on three things:

The Product: the more features and benefits a product has, the longer the copy.

The Audience: Technical people need more information than general consumers.

The Purpose: What’s the goal? Generating a lead for a service business requires less detail, but an ad that aims to make a sale must overcome every objection the potential buyer may have

Long Copy vs. Short Copy

Copy experts say two factors increase the need for more copy:

Price point: The higher the price, the more copy required to justify or create the need.Unusual Item: The more unusual the product, the more you need to relate that product to the user by clearly demonstrating the benefits.

Keep referencing

Keep a collection of award winning ads, concepts across categories.