Effective copywriting is constantly evolving out of necessity. What was once an effective message may now be seen as trite and overdone, causing your audience to tune it out before you can even mention the business/product/service itself. Because of this constant evolution, it can be difficult when you first sit down to create new copy to know where to begin. Fortunately, regardless of what people respond to today or 50 years from now, there are some constants which will never go out of style and will always amplify your copy if tapped properly. Here are 5 copywriting rules which are here to stay.

Copywriting Rules

Credibility Goes a Long Way

Building a trusting relationship early on with your reader is necessary for them to take you seriously. Not only will this maintain their attention, it makes every word of yours sink deeper into their subconscious and increases the chances that they’ll act on your call to action.

Tangibility

Being able to convey something tangible like results will always be extremely effective. Remember the Jared Subway ads when they first came out? Everyone knew who Jared was practically overnight, and that picture of him as a thin man holding his former giant pants was the best endorsement possible for Subway. That ad played a substantial role in turning Subway into the powerhouse it is today globally, and it all started with something blatantly tangible people could grasp onto. That guy was huge, he ate Subway, and now he’s not. That’s about as tangible or palpable as a message gets.

Personability Is a Must

This one is a no brainer, but you should always keep your message personal. Write with one person in mind, and craft your message in a way in which it seems like you’re speaking to just that one person. If your message comes across like you’re speaking to a crowd, it will turn most everyone off, but if you can direct your message to just one person in that crowd, everyone will listen.

Simplicity Reigns Supreme

Whether you’re writing a sales page or just a slogan, cutting it down to the essentials and eliminating all of the fat is paramount. With longer copy, read it back and remove any sentences or words which don’t need to be there. With shorter copy, like a slogan, do the same thing but get it down to a couple of sentences, then down to one, then down to just the words which matter.

Look at McDonald’s. Their message is as simple as “I’m lovin’ it”. They got rid of all of the excess verbosity and came out with a clever implied all encompassing quote which acts as a thumbs up for McDonald’s ever time you hear it.

Personality

Not to be confused with personability, your personality and voice should ring through your message. It should be consistent and reach through to whatever you are writing about regardless of the medium or the message itself. This will help to develop a relationship with your visitors/readers/customers which will keep them coming back and listening to you time and time again.

Thirsty for more? Check out my post on 7 copywriting skills to employ to further step up your copy today.