5 Effective Copywriting Templates

You can't write effective copy unless you know the destination you're taking your audience to.

When you sit down to write a piece of copy, you should have a good idea who you're speaking to and what you want them to do as a result of reading the copy.

A copywriting template can serve as a road map to help you get from a blank page to copy that leads your audience to take a desired action. 

Technical Note: If you want a larger view of these quick videos, in the lower right hand corner of each video are icons for "Theater mode (t)" and "Full screen (f)" ... click either of those to enlarge the video.

While the first four templates are relatively clear and easy to put into use.
The fifth requires more explanation which you can find at 
https://www.stefanpaulgeorgi.com/the-rmbc-method-for-better-copy/

Take some time with these formulas. Google 'em if you want more details.

My advice, however, is to use them as guide rails and not think of them as edicts, etched in stone, all details to be precisely followed. Effective writing is not a color-by-numbers exercise.

Learning a new approach to your craft -- or being reminded of an approach you may not have used in a while -- can ultimately help you bring more value to your client and their target audience. 

The Most Interesting Man in the World

Beer ads typically appeal to regular folks. Guys mostly. Often getting the target market to, aided by the proper brand choice of course, imagine themselves:

• being more attractive to attractive women
• being more athletic in the company of athletic men
• having more fun at spectacular parties from beachfront bonfires to slick, big city apartments
• enjoying camaraderie with cool friends
• hanging out with professional athletes

In 2006, Dos Equis went against type, positioning their brand as the beer for the sophisticated drinker.

These ads were innovative, funny, and effective. And they all ended with The Most Interesting Man reminding you, “I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis” to bring the message home.

The campaign featured the debonair (and older than the target demographic) Jonathan Goldsmith acting as the The Most Interesting Man in the World until 2016. The final ad with Goldsmith featured the Most Interesting Man taking off in a spaceship on a one-way trip to Mars.

Goldsmith was replaced by a younger actor, Augustin Legrand. When sales slumped, the character and the campaign were retired in 2018.

Why is he The Most Interesting Man in The World?

The talented copywriters on the campaign included claims to this auspicious recognition, including:

• If opportunity knocks, and he’s not at home, opportunity waits.
• In museums, he is allowed to touch the art.
• Once he ran a marathon because it was ‘on the way’.
• He has inside jokes with people he’s never met.
• Presidents take his birthday off.
• His 10-gallon hat holds 20 gallons.
• He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels.
• Bigfoot tries to get pictures of him.
• His tears can cure cancer; too bad he never cries.
• Bear hugs are what he gives bears.
• He is considered a national treasure in countries he’s never visited.
• His signature won a Pulitzer.
• When he goes to Spain, he chases the bulls.
• He is the life of parties that he has never attended.
• He lives vicariously through himself.

Stay Thirsty My Friends.

 

________________________

If you have about 20 minutes to spare, you might enjoy this reel of every "most interesting man in the world" commercial.

Best Practices

If everybody is following best advertising/marketing practices, are they still best practices?

If everybody is doing the same thing, how do you get attention and interest from your prospect?

Don’t do the right thing.

God knows, you’ll be tempted.
The right thing sounds so good in meetings.
It looks fantastic in charts.
The right thing soothes racing pulses,
and settles churning stomachs.
Everybody can get on board with the right thing.

The right thing is “good enough.”

But good enough is not enough.
Don’t do it.
Don’t do the right thing.
Avoid it like the plague.

So, what are you supposed to do?
The wrong thing?
Of course not.
Do the brave thing.
The thing that troubles your sleep.
The thing with a million unknowns.
That seems ridiculous one moment,
and genius the next.
That’s the thing you should do.

Chase it down.
Don’t let it go.

Do the thing that disrupts.
That upends.
That doesn’t just defy the status quo,
but reshapes it,
forever.

You can do that.
You have that in you.
To do the right thing or not, is a choice.
To disrupt or not, is a choice.

Let’s do the brave thing.

- Lee Clow

= = = =

After letting that sink in, I thought you might be interested to hear Clow talking about @leeclowsbeard:

You can get the book here (amazon).

Customer Input, Henry Ford, Listening Skills, & Innovation

 

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” 

So, supposedly, said Henry Ford.  

On the surface this quote has a lot of appeal, and it's often used to justify the idea that innovation doesn't need customer input. 

That's a mistake.

Below the surface, lies the truth.

If I'd been alive and hanging out with Ford in the 1890's, I would've said, "Henry, my good man, we need faster horses."

But, sticking with the legend of the quote, Ford's genius was listening to what I said, plus understanding what I meant: "Henry, old chap, we need faster transportation."

And, with that in mind, Ford went on to fame and fortune, changing the world as a manufacturer of automobiles.

In short, don't use this quote to ignore customer feedback, use it as a reminder to understand customer feedback.

You customers know what they need

Your customers know they need: a solution to a problem. But they don't necessarily have the experience in or understanding of your business to detail what form they want the solution in. They can tell you what outcome they want/need, but don't have the tools to articulate the best path for how to get from here to there.

That's your job as a marketer.

Get them to detail their problems. Ask specific questions. Not about features, but about what they are trying to achieve.

If Henry Ford had done that, and maybe he did, he would've found that people wanted faster transportation that they could afford. He most likely wouldn't have spent much time asking questions about saddle design and how horses were bred, fed and housed.

In this telling of history, he understood the need and responded with innovation: mass produced, inexpensive automobiles.

Applying this to your business

I'm not suggesting that you innovate at the world-changing level of Henry Ford. I'm suggesting that you can understand your client's needs and offer them innovation for their business using your knowledge of tools they don't have (or perhaps may not know about) and/or the ability to operate at a level of expertise they haven't imagined.

Takeaway

 Ask your customers specific questions. Listen to what they say. Understand what they mean. Use that information to deliver what they need.