Copy Life

If you haven’t heard of Second Life, the online virtual world and latest internet phenomenon, by now, I predict that you will hear of it again within the next month and by the end of the year on a weekly basis.

If you’re interested in business and have a need to use PR, then my advice is that you perform a search for Second Life as soon as you finish the article and ‘gem up’. It’s that much of a big thing.

But I’m not writing this article because I want you to use Second Life, that’s up to you. As a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant, I have an interest in the future of the public relations, of brand building and of experiential marketing and I believe that’s what Second Life can offer and that’s why it’s going to be huge.

5 Senses Brand Experience

What your brand gets out of Second Life is what I call a 5 Senses Brand Experience. It’s web browsing in 3-D, something very difficult to create with the copy on a 2-D website, with the strapline on a print ad or an image on the TV pushed in between the show you’re audience is trying to enjoy.

The brand experience in a virtual world is comprehensive. You can totally interact with your audience using sights, sounds, touch, colours, music and messages. It’s interactive, engaging and memorable; the best thing is it’s permissive.

They’re only there, experiencing your brand because they want to be.

PR Opportunities

The PR opportunities are enormous. Here’s a few ideas; Be the first in your industry to open an office in Second Life, you’ll show yourself to be innovative and forward thinking when you use press releases and newsletters to tell the media about it. Invite your customers for a meeting in your Second Life office, take a picture and mail a copy to the media – image led stories are always popular. You could even offer a prize to the first person to complete a quest within your land while they are experiencing your brand. It’s different and interesting, so will get written about.

Just about any copy published with your brand next to Second Life is going to be beneficial. Soon everyone will be doing it, so don’t wait until it becomes ordinary.

So a ‘second life’ for your business will add dimensions to your brand. With PR, you can make it an opportunity to engage with new markets. That must be worth a second thought

In today’s internet business society, one of the more prolific ways to communicate your opinions and ideas of your business dealings with fellow entrepreneurs, potential prospects, and clients is through an effective web copy. The web copy or some may refer to it as sales letters, act powerfully on behalf of the business owner because it basically represents the person himself and the business that the person represents. Therefore, it is imperative that a web copy should be made in the most efficient and effective way. This becomes your tool to motivate and encourage potential clients to buy your idea and eventually your product. So, what steps should one take in order to come up with a perfect web copy letter?

1. Know the recipient’s profile and demography. It is important that you know what type of people the recipients will be based on their demography in the business society. I hate to be discriminatory of some sort but knowing the demographic profile of the people who will receive the web copy can greatly contribute in the decision as to what kind of writing style is to be employed, what sort of wording and verbiages should be used, and how far can the writer go in technical terms of making an explanation.

2. Create a highly clamorous subject line. The subject line will act as the pulling factor of the web copy letter. The subject line, when interesting and captivating enough, can immediately pull the reader and the recipient to open the web copy letter, thus moving the recipient to subscribe to your newsletter or ezine, and creating a potential life-long customer. If the web copy subject line does not air too much of an interest to the recipient, then it may come to a point of being tossed in the spam section.

3. Originate an equally persuasive and strong web copy content. If you are unable to pull the interest of your reader based on the subject line that you have, then you need to develop an equally powerful web copy to keep the interest alive right up to the last sentences of the copy. The key here is to keep the reader’s attention long enough, leaving them no choice at the end of the web copy but to take immediate action.

Following the above steps should equip you with the necessary skills to achieve optimal results with your web copy writing. This skill should not be taken lightly, and since you are representing your company, make every effort to test your web copy in real-time keeping track of traffic statistics, subscribers, etc. If you are unhappy with your results after a period of time, go back in your web copy and change some things around that will make it more appealing to potential clients. The easiest way to do this is to put yourself in the client’s shoes. What will catch your attention? What will motivate you to make a decision the moment you finished reading a web copy letter? Once you answer these questions yourself, making a few changes to your web copy won?t be a problem at all.

Creative copywriting is very similar to a sales process in a business scenario -

You identify a unique need in your niche market; You find a way to fill that need; You differentiate your way of filling that need (make it unique); You set a price for your unique proposition, and promote it in a compelling way to entice your audience; You add a benefit to further compell the buyer to make a buying decision.

When you draft the original copy for a web project, keeping the above scenario in mind, it would behoove you to follow the five P’s of Web Copywriting in mind.

A brief explanatiion for each of the five P’s of Web Copywriting is provided below -

Problem – The task of convincing someone of a need includes helping the buyer realize that there is a dilemma that must be addressed. This dilemma or problem helps create a sense of urgency, necessitating action to resolve the issue at hand. Your copy needs to present this problem, so you can begin the process of convincing the buyer that you can fill their need, or solve their problem. Promise – You promise the buyer that the subject matter of your copy, essentially your sales pitch is going to make it all good for them. For example, if you presented the problem of a leaky faucet, you now promise that your solution will fix the problem. Proof – Demonstrate your unique proposition, so you can put your money where your mouth is. In order words, you will present the features – how your solution works to resolve the issue. And you will differentiate it – why your solution works better than any other. Your objective is to make your solution irresistible to the buyer. Price – Pricing is key to any business proposition. Not only do you have to make your solution shine brighter than that of the competition, but you also have to sell your proposition in a way that the buyer is convinced they are doing themselves a favor by investing in your solution. This is the icing to the cake – conveying that your your solution is worth every penny of its cost, even if the cost appears somewhat higher than other similar, albeit inferior solutions offered by the competition. P.S. – This is where you add a little decoration on the icing – an added benefit that complements your solution. For example, you may note that your product not only fixes a leaky faucet, but will also do a great job on that leaky shower head or that leaky gutter. This is where you nudge the undecided buyer who is on the fence, to go ahead and make that leap.

This intuitive formula has worked in practically any type of business scenario. And if you incorporate it in your copywriting efforts, you just might be pleasantly surprised as you go about creating captivating copy, which, in turn, could create cash for you.

Here’s to your creative copywriting success!

Creative Copy – Creating Your Success Online