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Home::Copywriting
Use Grammar as a Marketing Weapon
Author : Neil Sagebiel
If you're like me, you're not writing that ad, Web page, or
radio script to make your English teacher proud. You're writing
to sell.
If you get an "A" while you're at it, great. But don't count on
it. To get prospects to click, call, or buy, you'll need to take
some liberties with the English language.
As direct-response legend Herschell Gordon Lewis so aptly said,
"Grammar is our weapon, not our god."
Although copywriting requires a different approach than Strunk
and White would advocate, don't burn your grammar books just
yet. It's important to know the rules before you break them.
Following are some rules to keep and some rules to bend or
break. But first an important principle.
Clarity
Next time you face a grammar grappler, ask yourself this
question: Which word construction will be clearer to the
prospect or customer?
Clarity comes first because it's the prescription for fast
comprehension. Copywriting that blurs meaning (which sometimes
includes grammatically perfect writing) slows reading and
jeopardizes interest -- and sales.
WARNING: This isn't license to play havoc with the English
language. Literacy must prevail. Following are some rules to
keep.
Rules to Keep
Subject and verb agreement. Whether you're writing an
infomercial or War and Peace, singular subjects take
singular verbs and plural subjects take plural verbs. Always. A
simple rule, execution is sometimes problematic. The key is to
clearly identify the subject of the sentence.
The active voice. If you want your copywriting to have
maximum punch, use the active voice at every opportunity. Active
voice: I wrote the sentence. Passive voice: The sentence was
written by me.
Use of Modifiers. Modifiers can cause a variety of
problems. There are the questions of which and how many
modifiers to use. Again, let clarity be your guide. Also, poor
placement of modifiers results in confusion, your enemy. To make
comprehension easy, put modifiers near the words they're
modifying.
Rules to Bend or Break
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain ushered
in a new era in American literature. One of the main reasons was
Twain's use of vernacular. He wrote the way people talked, a
departure from the stiff, formal English common during the
Victorian period.
For copywriters, writing the way people talk is absolutely
essential.
Why? Because copy that is friendly, informal and conversational
stands a better chance of getting prospects to click, call or
buy. Which is exactly why sacrificing the following conventions
can be in the copywriter's best interest.
Ending sentences with a preposition. To some a no-no,
ending a sentence with a preposition can warm up your
copywriting. Which sounds friendlier to you: "Here is the
information you requested" or "Here is the information you asked
for"?
Beginning sentences with a conjunction. Beginning
sentences with conjunctions (and, or, but, nor) is more common,
even in journalism. Not only is it the way people talk, it can
shorten sentence length, a plus in delivering sales messages.
Other informal devices. Use contractions to warm up your
message. Also, use sentence fragments. Not only do they shorten
average sentence length, they add rhythm. And drama.
Punctuation. Use punctuation to your selling advantage.
I'm inclined to use more dashes and an occasional exclamation
point and ellipsis to add drama and excitement to the sales
message. Commas can be pretty subjective, so I have a tendency
to use the minimum amount to keep readers moving through the
copy as quickly as possible.
Parting Reminder
Keep that grammar book, stylebook, dictionary and other writer's
references nearby. You're still going to need them.
But don't let grammar be your god, or your next marketing
communication could be a giant sales flop.
(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel
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