As a copywriter, the most important tool you have are the words you use. Words are what motivate your readers and turn them into customers. Without a good arsenal of words you have no offer to present, no way to reach your audience and no way of closing the sale.
Sometimes words come effortlessly and you breeze through an entire sales letter; sometimes, words just don’t come as easy. That’s why it’s important that you have a good database of words and ideas that you can draw from whenever you need to.
Keep in mind that your most common job will not be to create new information… your job will be to take information and present it in its most appealing manner. When you outfit yourself with a well-chosen inventory of words and ideas, you’ll never be stuck staring at a blank screen for hours ailing from writer’s block.
Here are a few ideas to build your words and ideas reference:
A BIG dictionary. Any 15-pound, unabridged dictionary is a good choice because it will not only give you the definition of the word you’re looking for; it will also display the origin of the word and the most common uses.
A good thesaurus. This is what I consider to be the most crucial tool for a copywriter. It helps you to add instant flare to your writing and lets you find the perfect word in any occasion. A good rule of thumb is to always use your thesaurus to make your writing simpler, not to make it more complex (like most writers do).
An up-to-date almanac. Keeping a current almanac in your desk can be a true life-saver. Almanacs are packed with all sorts of useful information, well-organized statistics, compelling facts and fascinating records about topics like: population, geography and cultures. An almanac also has a summary of the year’s highlights in news and celebrities - which can come in handy in a lot of different situations.
Quotations books. One of the easiest ways to get attention to any writing is to start with a quotation. First of all, because of their structure, they are visually appealing. The reason for this appeal is because in people’s minds, quotations are directly related to dialogue… and dialogue brings text to life. Quotations are also one of the most powerful ways to get your points across - mainly because people are much more prone to listen carefully to figures they consider to be an authority; and finally, they are also a great source of inspiration, a good quote can spark brilliant ideas or help you find a new and interesting angle.
Other reference books. There are countless other books you might want to add to your collection over time. Some of the ones that I’ve found useful to have at hand are: a world atlas, a grammar book, a rhyming dictionary, a dictionary of clichés, a book on similes and a slang dictionary. It’s a good idea, if you’re working for a specific industry, to get yourself involved and grab some of the books and magazines on relevant topics to it.
Your own swipe file. A great way to never run out of ideas is to get yourself a decently sized box to clip and save any piece of advertising in a newspaper, magazine, brochure or even a website that you consider worthy of printing and saving. It can be anything; like an eye-catching headline, a riveting sales letter or a nice thought evoking photograph. Burn this idea into your mind and start today and in virtually no time you’ll have a wholesome database of great ideas and inspiration that you can dig into whenever you need.
