Workshop Recap: “Crafting Compelling Copy”
We kicked off the month of March with our first public workshop of the year, “Crafting Compelling Copy”. Conducted by lecturer and award-winning writer Melanie Lee, it was a condensed version of Melanie’s full-day workshop, “The Write Words”.
The event was attended by working professionals from various industries who were keen to learn how to write persuasively to promote their businesses. Read on to find out what Melanie covered during this two-hour workshop.
Satisfied participants flash smiles and their very own “print ads” at the end of “Crafting Compelling Copy”, a copywriting workshop conducted by Melanie Lee (second row, in yellow).
Defining the parameters of copywriting
Copywriting has its genesis in print advertising, so this is the context in which Melanie anchored her topic — learning how to write persuasive copy for a print advertisement you might see at MRT stations, bus stops, or on shopping mall banners. She also highlighted copywriting as a succinct form of content marketing, with the intention to capture the interest and attention of a specific group of people. This led to the second point.
Understanding one’s target audience
Using Ed Sheeran’s Heinz ad as a case study, Melanie guided participants through the exercise of persona profiling, spanning demographics and psychographics. This involved building a character based on someone who might be drawn to the ad. To flesh out the various audience personas, participants needed to be able to ask and address questions like “How old are they?”, “What are their hobbies?”, “What life stage are they at?”, “What sort of needs and goals do they have?” and so on. By putting a name and face to a targeted customer, participants got to practise visualising and understanding who they wanted to appeal to. This process would enable them to foster a genuine connection with and write specifically to their target audience.
Principles of effective copywriting
Next, Melanie explained the elements that comprise a basic print advertisement, which include: the brand’s logo, attractive visuals, a catchy headline and sub-headline, and the body copy. All of these work together to create a message that seeks to inform and stir the audience into action.
With the structure in mind, it was time to move on to the three principles of copywriting.
- Know your audience
- One must identify and get to know who they’re writing for by practising persona profiling as explained above.
- Write clearly and directly
- Words chosen should be based on precision and simplicity. This means eliminating filler words, avoiding unnecessarily lengthy sentences, and using an active voice wherever possible. Revising and editing, though laborious, are an essential stage of the copywriting process — and crucial to determining if one is driving their point across in the most concise way possible.
- Stand out from the crowd
- Be creative
– Unconventional methods are more likely to hook your customer. Staying up-to-date with fresh and unique trends can inform the way you approach your copy. - Appeal to the audience’s emotions
– By reaching the customer’s heart, you establish a connection with them, and foster their desire to find out more about your product and brand. - Use relatable language
– Once you are able to think like your customer, you can understand their motivations and tailor your language in a way that is both accessible and authentic.
- Be creative
Putting theory into practice
Equipped with the basic tenets of copywriting, participants were ready to give copywriting a go themselves. Through a guided exercise, they created their own print ad for the Swiss herbal candy brand Ricola. Thereafter, Melanie gave feedback on the participants’ individual presentations, which ranged from clever to humorous, to moving.
A participant creating an advertisement for Ricola by incorporating elements of Singlish.
Reflections
“Crafting Compelling Copy” was attended by a diverse group of participants, illustrating a demand for copywriting skills on the market. They shared that the methods covered in this workshop helped to address some pain points, such as not knowing how to write in a way that connected with their customers.
Michelle Tan, a Community and Partnerships specialist, shared: “We [previously] struggled to find the right phrases for our marketing content, such as for our social media posts. But thanks to Melanie’s introduction to persona profiling, we know how to tailor our writing for our target audience.”
Another participant, who had been worried that an upskilling-type of workshop on copywriting would be dry, found the session to be lively and visually engaging. Said QJ Magalzo, a Community Manager: “I loved the interactivity; the slides were succinct and beautifully designed. The instructor was very engaging. Overall, it was an enjoyable and insightful experience.”
Before they left, participants were invited to complete a post-workshop survey, and 100% indicated they would highly recommend Melanie’s copywriting workshop to a friend, colleague or client.
