Say goodbye to "original inheritance, transference", and make good use of four logics to write eye-catching product copy
⛳️ This article was originally published on the “Marketers” website
In recent years, I have often taught about copywriting or [content Marketing] (https://www.contenthacker.today/p/content-marketing.html) course, whenever I ask the students in the audience what bottlenecks or problems they have in writing, they always hesitate to speak, and even look helpless. According to my informal surveys in the past few years, I found that the main reason why many people are afraid of writing is because they don’t know how to write? Or, you may worry that your writing is not good or you have no inspiration, resulting in the articles you write being mediocre… Therefore, it is inevitable that everyone will feel a little at a loss.
What’s interesting is that whenever I teach, many people are particularly interested in writing skills or framework-related issues. They even ask me, is there any ready-made formula that can be applied? However, when it comes to the structure of writing, most people only remember “start, inherit, turn and combine”… Well, are there no other tricks that can be used besides “start, inherit, turn and combine”?
The so-called “initiation, inheritance, transfer, and integration” is actually a process and structure for article writing. To put it simply, “starting, inheritance, transition, and closing” represent a kind of laying out process and sequence: starting refers to the matters that need to be explained at the beginning of the article. Inheritance refers to the continuation of the above, that is, the content in the middle of the article. Turning is the most special, unexpected and wonderful process in the article. The combination is the end of the article and summarizes the previous content.
In fact, although the “initiation, inheritance, transformation, and integration” framework has been around for many years, it is still used in writing teaching. Generally speaking, it is still a great framework. However, I also agree with “[Six Things America’s Literacy Education Reform Taught Us](https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/vista/products/0010796657?utm_source=vista& The author of the book “utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-201909)” has been said many times, “The first lesson in writing is not to start and transfer, but to understand the readers and express opinions to the readers.”
I believe that whether we are writing product copy, design briefings or production plans, the first thing we have to do is neither to think about the logic of “starting, inheriting and merging”, nor to turn on the computer and start hurriedly searching for available reference materials, but to think clearly about the purpose of content production and set a clear [target audience] (https://www.content.tw/writing/copywriting-skills).
In other words, the reason why you started writing product copy must be to sell a certain product or service, right?那么，您希望把这个产品或服务推销给哪个族群呢？ What do you want your target audience to do? Also, will they know what to do? And why do this? Are there any benefits to be gained?
For example, take Shopee (https://www.contenthacker.today/search?q=%E8%9D%A6%E7%9A%AE%E8%B3%BC%E7%89%A9), which has often led the topic in recent years. Every time they write social posts or product copy, they will firmly grab the attention of the target audience and offer three major appeals: trendy, wild and happy. The so-called trendy means to create different marketing copywriting; the arrogant means to put aside the existing baggage of the company and interact strongly with young social fans; as for happiness, it conveys the value of “shopping is a pleasure” to the target audience through a large number of pictures and texts.
Whether it is Shopee shopping, Quanlian or [Forbidden City Boutique](https://www.contenthacker.today/2 018/01/npmshops-content-marketing.html), although the fields of these manufacturers are different, the reason why their social posts or product copywriting often attract attention is because the content production personnel have already thought clearly about the above issues before they start writing!
(Think clearly about the purpose of content production and set a clear target audience / Picture: pixabay )
Closer to home, when we talk about the writing process, it is nothing more than the traditional process of reviewing the topic, conceiving the idea, selecting materials, arranging paragraphs, and organizing the text. However, when you see these complicated things, you may feel that your brain is not clear, right? Therefore, in my copywriting class, I will help you simplify these seemingly cumbersome processes into the following four useful writing logics:
The first logic is observation.
The well-known writer Wu Nianzhen once said: “Maybe you are not good at words, but you must open up your observation and empathy, and you will be able to resonate.” In fact, any creation starts from observation, and writing is of course no exception. We can also often visit department stores, hypermarkets or convenience stores to observe what tricks those fast-paced businesses use to attract the attention and wallets of the consumer public.
I often think that instead of paying special attention to the study of writing skills, it is better to start by observing the changes in people, places and objects, and the needs and feelings of the target audience. In fact, observation is not a simple science. Only with in-depth insight and a certain degree of knowledge and understanding of the true context of things can we use diverse content such as pictures, text, audio and video to express our views clearly to the outside world. Therefore, when writing, please do not rush to write or search for information online. You may wish to observe the surrounding environment and scenes first. In addition to clearly conceiving the writing topic, you can also understand the target audience from different angles.
The second logic is description.
In recent years, due to teaching, I have not only read many articles written by people, but also helped some students correct their homework. I suddenly found that some friends tend to lose track of notes when writing. %80%90%E5%88%9D%E9%9A%8E%E4%BD%9C%E6%96%87%E7%8F%AD%E3%80%91%E4%BD%95%E8%AC%82%E6%B5%81%E6%B0%B4%E5%B8%B3%EF%BC%9F). When describing the same thing, a powerful writer can always write new ideas or convey a different charm.
In fact, the most important thing when writing is not to describe the scene or explain the details, but to spend more time on the description and express your inner feelings to the reader in detail. For example, it should be clear why you want to write about this topic? And why do readers need to read your article now? When you convey the importance of this article to your target audience, in addition to using visual elements to assist explanation, you can also make good use of data or expert testimony to enhance the power of persuasion.
The third logic is speculation.
I also find that when many people write, they often only stop at the observation and description stage, but fail to further help readers find the real meaning and information worth reference between the lines. It is actually a pity to say that. It is true that writing itself is closely related to the depth and breadth of personal experience. Therefore, in addition to observing and reflecting on daily life and work, we must also have a deep insight into current events, public opinions and trends. Only in this way can we express the meaning concretely and refine unique perspectives.
(In addition to observing and reflecting on our daily life and workplace, we must also always have in-depth insights into current affairs, public opinions and trends. / Picture: pixabay)
The fourth step is action.
Call to action is to inspire the target audience to actually A model of taking action, the purpose of which is to inspire the public to actually take specific actions after reading articles, images, videos, etc. - for example, hoping that consumers will purchase goods, make donations, participate in activities, etc., and this is also the feedback that content marketers want most. If you want to put an effective call to action into your article, ask yourself what do you expect your target audience to do? Next, how do you ensure your target audience knows what they should do? And why do they do this? What benefits and promises can be gained from it?
In fact, it is not difficult to create a powerful call to action. First, you need to grab the attention of the target audience. When writing copy, it is recommended that you write content that is easy to understand and provide clear benefits and instructions in the text, so that readers will take action. In terms of graphic design, we often see that some operators place buttons (such as add to shopping cart) in conspicuous places, and even deliberately change fonts or use special colors to highlight the key points. These intentions are nothing more than hoping to arouse people’s attention.
Overall, when you are writing product copy, please do not rush to sell products or services, but first think carefully: What is the purpose of writing this product copy? What specific target audiences do you want to target? What specific problems do you want to help them solve or bring specific benefits? Then, is your product or service relevant to a specific time, place, or scene?
If you can refer to the four writing logics of observation, description, speculation and action introduced in this article to produce content, I believe you will be able to overcome many problems related to writing, and it will also help you write good and impressive copy! Of course, if you have any questions about writing, please feel free to contact me!
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