The Copy Dock

Have you ever read Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce? Well, this is how it starts...

"Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo."

Er... what? Not exactly high literature is it? Not great spelling either. And the grammar's pretty suspect too. So what the hell has it got to do with the difference between good and bad copywriting?

Well, it's not boring, is it? And that's the key.

In fact, odd though it may be, Joyce's opening line is incredibly engaging right from the off. Because it's full of colour (misspellings and all). Because it's surprising (being as it is, about a moo cow). And most importantly... because you want to know what happens next.

Dull copy is bad copy. Why? Because switched-off customers buy from the other guy.

Copy that gets bogged down in features, and statistics and (snooze) technicalities is bad copy. Copy that engages your customers in a story they want to hear (a-ha!)... that's good copy. Sometimes even great copy.

Great copy is never dull.

Great copy paints a picture of your product using all the colours. It tells your brand's story in page-turning style. It makes your pitch in engaging and surprising ways. Great copy stirs your customer's emotions, makes them want what you're selling, and then... makes them act on that desire.

Release your inner moocow along down the road... that, in a nutshell, is the secret to writing great copy.