In a previous post I included a video clip from copywriting giant John Carlton. Although this wasn’t the main point from the video, something he mentioned is highly relevant to copywriters.
That is, the need to have a large vocabulary at your disposal. And it has to be made up of the right kind of words.
Allow me to expand a little on this point.
When you’re writing copy, you will often have to say the same thing (usually the key benefit of your product) many times. But of course, using exactly the same words again and again will get boring for the reader very quickly.
So, it’s important to have different ways to say the same thing! Problem is that you have to avoid certain types of words like jargon and “fancy” words.So what’s a copywriter to do? Well, fortunately there are some resources at hand. First stop will be the dictionary and the thesaurus. There are free online versions available (for example at “Thesaurus.com”).
There are also a number of specialist books ideal for the copywriter such as “Words That Sell”, “More Words That Sell” and “Phrases That Sell”.Each of these books contains variations on words or phrases that you’re likely to use in copywriting. For example, in “Words That Sell” there’s an entire page of alternative ways to say “honest”.
It’s well worth having one or more of these books in your library. They are a great stimulus to your thinking even if you’re already a pretty good wordsmith. We all need a little inspiration now and again!