What is copywriting?

It’s a form of writing, which purpose has marketing and advertising characteristics. The outcome of this action called “copy” takes the form of a written text which is used to increase brand awareness and persuade the reader to take action. This form of writing is considered important among huge brands such as Amazon which teaches their employees how to copywrite properly.
Here are 9 tips on how to write like an Amazon employee:

Use shorter sentences

Keep sentences short. According to Amazon, the ideal length is 30, but they keep them under 15. This will keep them clear and concise and informs your potential reader in a short period of time. As we know the longer a human brain tries to concentrate on a certain activity, its ability to focus decreases gradually as time passes. By keeping your sentences short, you will keep the reader’s attention. Another benefit of using shorter sentences is easier comprehension. The shorter the sentence is, the easier it is to understand the narrative.

Stop using common phrases

Limit the overused common phrases that are seen everywhere. Instead, prioritize clarity. Don’t waste the reader’s time. Because concise copy leads to concise decision making. Another disadvantage of constant usage of common phrases is that you may look limited in your own vocabulary which leads to readers questioning your professionalism.

In order to stop this habit, you have to identify overused phrases and words used in your writing. After you identify them, simply cut them out of your vocabulary and try to substitute them with something more precise.

Replace adjectives with dates

Numbers are pleasing to the human eye and organize information into a logical order.

Eliminate “weasel” words

What are weasel words?

These words are frequently used as a way to make your answer seem clear, but in reality, your answer was inconclusive and vague.

Weasel words make sentences look boring and weak, so they tend to evoke weak emotions and weak emotions don’t lead to action.

Examples of weasel words:

• “Well”
• “Often”
• “Research shows” or, “Experts say..”
• “I would say that”

Use the “So what” test

Reread your writing and ask yourself: “So what ?”. This can help you realize whether a potential reader will understand your sentence, paragraph, or the whole page.

Here are some questions you should be asking yourself:

• Is the knowledge relevant to understanding the whole writing?
• Does this sentence bring any value? Check the information in your sentences, paragraphs, etc. Look for information that might educate, inform and bring overall value to your readers. Some sentences may bring value, but they might be used in the wrong paragraph from time to time. You should definitely avoid writing about off-topic points, which can mislead your reader, and definitely cut out information that is not necessary for understanding your whole point.
• Stay away from adverbs that sound obvious. For example: “scream loudly”, the adjective loudly is clearly an extra word there and doesn’t stop you from understanding the text, since screaming is an action that is done loudly no matter what.
• Is this adverb the best choice? When you manage to find an adverb in your writing, ask yourself a question? Is this the best choice here?

Give preference to objectivity

Objectivity is a very important aspect of writing. Being subjective lacks facts and figures and is rather supported by your own thoughts, opinions, and subjective view. Try to make your writing look as objective as possible because it exudes confidence and is backed by facts.

Limit abbreviations and jargon

Avoid using abbreviations as much as possible. It’s quite misleading to think that abbreviations save time, while in fact, they increase the time for a person to understand a sentence. Another reason why using abbreviations is a bad thing is that many acronyms can have different meanings depending on the context. This might lead to confusion.

Use a subject-verb-object sentence structure

Use this sentence pattern to make your sentence clearer. It is essential to know who/what you are writing about, what they did, and what happened.

Example of subject-verb-object: The boy (subject)  threw (verb) an apple (object).

Have someone read your work aloud to you

Having a friend reading your copy for you might be a useful idea to help you understand whether your written work as a whole makes sense. Sometimes the idea you tried to put into your text doesn’t have to match what is actually written in the text.

Finalize the format

Make sure you know what the guidelines and format of your work should be. That means you respect your publisher’s requirements and make a decent first impression. Present your work as a finished one so the content is the one to get a spotlight, not incorrect formatting errors.

Run it through a professional editor

Last but not least, have a professional editor run through your work to catch some mistakes you might have missed as the final nail in the coffin. Keep in mind that if there is no editor you might ask to check your work, but there is always software to help you out.

Recommendations for editing tools that might come in handy

• Copy AI – Copy AI allows you to generate human-like written text within a few seconds.
• Hemingway App – Helps you with recognizing complex sentences and common errors, it also tells you whether your sentence should be shortened. The software warns you about these errors by highlighting your sentence in yellow colour. On the other hand, if your sentence is red, it means that your sentence is so complicated that your reader might get lost trying to comprehend its meaning. The highlights vanish once you edit your text correctly.
• Text Blaze – This is useful when it comes to saving smaller text snippets and inserting them anywhere on the web using keyboard shortcuts.
• Write Sonic – Can be compared to Canva in the world of writing. It helps you to write and publish the text by simplifying the process of creating, editing, correcting, and publishing articles.
• Coschedule Headline Analyzer – Its purpose is pretty evident from the name. This software elevates your headline skills and helps you to create better and more captivating headlines, which result in better social shares, increased traffic, and overall SEO value.