The Copywriter’s Roadmap for Moving Story Forward

One of the biggest questions asked by participants in my copywriting course is: How do you structure a piece of writing? It’s only when you apply structure to an entire piece of work from start to finish, and do it at least three times, will you “get structure” to map your way forward.

The Craft of Copywriting and Narrative Logic

copywriting logic

Think of it as a spine. This is more obvious in multi-page documents like brochures and white papers, where each section is a vertebrae in the overall structure (over-arching story). However, the same metaphor can be applied to a one page, long form piece such as articles, web copy and blog posts. And that’s what we will focus on here.

Biological Fact: Copywriting is Music.

copywriting in action course insight

Can you hear the rhythm in your sentences (like the beats in a song)?
Can you hear the tonal attitude that characterizes your expressions (like the spirit of a vocalist or instrumentalist)?
Can you hear the rhetorical patterns that shape your clauses and phrases into memorable sound bytes (like the catchy riff of a melody)?
Can you feel the tension, the climax and the denouement build-up, then resolve as each sentence moves story forward?

Hey let’s Wordeate (Verb: To Create New Words).

Copywriting & Wordeating

William Shakespeare was such a prolific innovator of the written word, he created somewhere between 1,700 and 2,200 words — even more according to a New York data scientist who counted 5,170. Whatever the number, Shakey wordeated by changing nouns into verbs; changing verbs into adjectives; connecting words never before used together; adding prefixes and suffixes; as well as inventing completely original words…

Art direction: The flip side of copywriting.

Art Direction Course

Pictures and words (art and copy) go hand-in-hand. Both the copywriter and the art director are idea makers. Sometimes ideas manifest in the form of words. Other times, they manifest in the mind’s eye as a visual. It’s only natural that this “seeing” comes easier to an art director than a copywriter, simply because they […]

Fire your copywriter and hire a journalist instead

How do you turn typical marketese-speak like this: Be inspired to travel on a journey with APT to a destination that will excite, thrill and leave you longing for more. India, so spectacularly diverse … Into story like this: For George Harrison it was spiritual. For E.M. Forster it was mystical. For Steve Waugh it […]

Data > Information > Knowledge > Insight > Ah-Ha!!

Copywriting Course Light Bulb Moment

Now in case you blinked and missed it, we’ve zoomed passed the Information Age (digital revolution) into what is now referred to as the Knowledge Age (or Knowledge Economy). But most of us are still shovelling out information in the lazy hope that some of it might stick …

Copywriting and The Rhythm of Three.

copywriting rhythm

What gives the rhythm of three such magic, charm, allure or in a word, mojo*?

Composing words and ideas in a group of three adds rhythm and cadence to the sound of the words and emotion to the carry of the message. My personal favourite three-peat is Benjamin Franklin’s, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn” (which also elegantly sums up the CWiA School’s teaching code).

Copywriting Strategies Toward a Strong Conclusion

Copywriting The End

Just as the opening line needs to hook the reader in with the promise of a compelling story, the closing line needs to reward the reader with a lasting gift for taking time out to read all of the text. In short, the introduction and the conclusion frame your story and provides a bridge for your reader to enter and exit.