Evade the Copywriting Text Trap

By Susan Gunelius of Entrepreneur.com



People are busy -- too busy to read or listen to copious amounts of marketing copy. The key to writing effective copy is to get to the point -- quickly -- using language consumers are likely to respond to. That means every piece of copy used in your advertising and marketing materials should be there for a specific reason. Each word and sentence must work together to create a path for consumers to follow and lead to a way to take action.

Don't risk losing a consumer's attention with copy that drones on with extraneous information. Instead, focus on action-oriented messages that convey the benefits and differentiators of your product, service or brand. Too much text, called the Text Trap, creates visual and audio clutter in consumers' minds, which increases the possibility that they will forget your most important messages.

By writing succinct, actionable copy that speaks to your target audience, you'll boost your marketing response rates, the return on your advertising investments and your profits. Here are five ways to avoid the Text Trap in your copywriting:

Remove filler words. Extraneous words should be deleted from your copy. Words like that, really and very don't enhance a message. Instead, filler words slow down the pace at which your busy audience can read or listen to your copy. A slower pace equates to a lower percentage of consumers who will stick around to read or hear your entire message. Keep them interested and make it easy for them to get to the next key message by omitting filler words.

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