RULES FOR BETTER WRITING
Writing articles is quite a tedious task, and if you’re not one to write lengthy texts, then it’d definitely be a chore. But knowing the right rules to abide by when writing your article will surely help you gain the strength to overcome that writer’s block. Have a look at our short list below!
Rule #1 Draw them in!
Most people will find it quite intimidating to read an article if the first part of it is a one-page single paragraph. No matter how interesting and informative your article is, once intimidation kick in, you’ll have a hard time gaining that attention back.
Keep it short and full of punch. What’s also important to remember is that you can use your first paragraph to explain briefly what you’ll be talking about. Essentially, this is your hook. Make use of it wisely!
Rule #2 Everything is concise!
Lengthy texts can really bore a reader. What you don’t want to do is to write your paragraph in the most boring way possible by looping everything and repeating the same point. Just as you can lure your readers in with a single glance, you can also lose them in a second so be careful. Keep it concise and straight to the point.
When you’re concise, your words aren’t meaningless. They’re potent. Cut the unnecessary comments.
Rule #3 Content is king
Write content that conveys your message. Answer their questions and explain, Don’t just blabber or put random things in your paragraph to make it more lengthy. Write content that teaches.
Rule #4 A compelling story
What will really get you the attention you want is by giving your readers authentic stories. Authenticity is one great way to capture your audience. They love a good story and being able to share stories to them will really make them feel like you care for them and that they matter to you.
What’s more is that these stories that you present to your audience are great ways to present your message and to get a point across. It could be presented in the most creative way you can, in the most understandable approach possible. Nobody’s going to read something bland so it’d be best to write something worth the time.
Rule #5 Write about why it matters
Quite an obvious thing to tell writers but again, the internet is over-saturated with content and more often than not, those pieces of information are fed online without even being given any thought. In the end, the web space is just being taken over by irrelevant information. Create content that matters. Let your readers know why it matters.
For a business, it’s difficult to actually create content that would suit your business. We’ve given you a list of tips about how you can write better content for your business.
Now, to put it on a more personal note, in a marketing and advertising agency, taglines play a big role for clients especially for clients who are looking for new branding. These tips that we’re sharing aren’t just for those in the industry. If you’re a business owner looking for ways to improve your taglines, here are some of our straight-from-the-industry tips.
Top Tips For A Better Tagline
One of the most challenging yet fulfilling parts of being a copywriter is thinking of content. Taglines, slogans, copies, etc, you name it, we create it! It’s fun and yet, it could make or break a brand. When people ask me about what I do, I often have to explain the nature of my work. You see, I’m a Copywriter for Artzap Studio. Usually, the question that follows is “what do you do?” and so I have to explain that it’s my job to create quality content not only for our clients, but also for Artzap Studio itself, and one of the most challenging things I’ve ever had to do is create a tagline. You would think that I’d be done and over with taglines quickly, but it takes a lot of thought and research before I get to a point where I can say I’ve created a plausible tagline.
If there’s anything I can share with you from my past experiences, it’s actually to just try. Taglines often compose of witty phrases filled with double takes, wordplay, and stability. You can read through some of the tips I’ve encountered online with some of my own that really helped me create some of the content I’ve created.
From what I’ve seen online, there have been a lot of tips that have just been laid out. I tried to put all that I’ve read and researched in a 10-point blog and tried to write it in a condensed nutshell. Just a disclaimer, you can use all these tips for any content-related trouble you might be experiencing, and not just for tagline. Not everything may work for you since we all have different processes of how we create content, so just keep that in mind.
TIPS ON STRUCTURE
- Short and simple
One of the most common tips is to keep things short and simple. It’s easy to say, but ultimately, hard to achieve since you’re basically trying to convey the whole message of the brand in less than 10 words. The main takeaway here is to always try and be straight to the point and write things in a way that the average person can understand.
McDonald’s Philippines “Love ko ‘to!” (I’m lovin’ it) wouldn’t be half as catchy if it was written like “Love ko ‘to kasi ang sarap ng burger!” (I’m lovin’ it because the burger tastes amazing!) Agree?
- Target your market
Targeting your market just translates to making sure you target and address your market instead of making the tagline about you. Examples of these would be Burger King’s “Have it your way!” or SM’s (Mall chain in the Philippines) “We’ve got it all for you!”
- Play with structure/rhythm/wordplay
One of the best ways to make sure that a tagline sticks to the minds of your consumers is through rhythm. With rhythm/wordplay, a tagline becomes much easier to remember. The easier it is for a consumer to remember your taglines, the more likely that your brand will be remembered too! Witty puns are considered wordplay and the better you are at it, the more advantage you have in creating witty and unforgettable taglines. Consider these taglines as reference:
- Example of a rhythmic tagline: Melts in your mouth, not in your hands (M&Ms)
- Example of a wordplay tagline: “Wii would like to play.” (Nintendo Wii)
- Is it sound?
One of the top things to consider in creating a tagline is if it’s catchy. Take note of the delivery and make sure to always say it out loud before calling it final. Sometimes it doesn’t sit well on the ears, and more often than not, if it doesn’t sit well the first time, it’s gonna take a while to catch on.
- Make it active!
One of the things I’ve read that I found very helpful was having your taglines in active tenses. Check out these examples:
- “Delighting you always” (Canon)
- “I’m lovin’ it” (McDonald’s)
- “Connecting people” (Nokia)
TIPS ON CONTENT
- Have consistency with your branding
Make sure that your content will be consistent with your branding. Imagine UPS’ slogan of “We love logistics” but having their brand colors change to green (from the original brown to represent a parcel). You get the point. Taglines complement the brand and are not supposed to create a whole new different take on the brand.
- Showcase the uniqueness of your brand
With taglines, showcasing what your brand can do uniquely plays a big part in what you’re selling to your consumers. Ensuring that your consumers get the message just from your tagline is a successful tagline!
An example of a brand with a memorable tagline is… every brand at the top of your head with a tagline you remember.
- How will it give value to your brand?
More than complementing your brand, a tagline should also add value to your brand. It should uplift and upsell your brand. Much like how all service/products should define your brand, so should all branding, tagline included.
- It should explain what you offer
Just like how your tagline should give value to your brand, having your tagline speak for what your business offers, is a big plus to any business. Going back to UPS and their tagline “We love logistics.”, it’s a simple yet compelling example because it speaks directly of what the company offers. Some brands will not utilize this, but more often than not, those who do, do well. Another example is Walmart’s “Save Money, Live Better”, or Budweiser’s “The King of Beers”. These examples are straight to the point, directly marketing their service/products.
- Make it about your customer
Last but not the least, probably one of the more familiar tips you can find on the internet is “making it about your customer”. Why? Simple. Why do you have a business in the first place? Taglines are meant to be a part of a company’s branding, and so making your tagline click and stick to your customers by relating it to them, on any level, is an important step to ensure you build a connection with them.
There you have it. These are some of the tips I’ve collected from my time in the deep dark web. Just to recap, a tagline isn’t used only simply because there’s a need for one. It is needed because it complements a brand and it’s connected to a company’s branding. In any and at all cost, branding is one of the most important factors in a business and having a firmly established branding is key to attaining a relevant and reliable business in any industry.
The internet is now filled with billions—trillions of data and it’d be hard to stay relevant especially if your content isn’t something that would be relevant to your readers. The tips we’ve enumerated are aimed to help you create better content by having better planning what to write and the approach to use.
We hope that you found this blog informative and useful. We have a lot more blogs on our website. We cover everything from branding to web design and development. Do head on over to www.artzapstudio.com/blogs for more!
