In Part 1 of Lessons in Copywriting, you learned the first tenet of marketing, which is essential for you to understand before you can begin to craft effective marketing messages. In Part 2, you learn the seven steps of advertising success, which you need to understand in order to determine the types of messages that will help you deliver the required results for a business.
Think of it this way — each marketing piece that a business develops has a purpose. Whether the goal is to raise awareness of a new product or encourage repeat purchases, there is a goal in mind before any marketing messages are crafted to motivate an audience to take specific actions.
For example, imagine that Disneyland is trying to entice prior guests to return for another trip. Advertising copy could say, “Time to make more memories.” However, if Disneyland is trying to entice people who have not stayed in a Disney hotel before to visit for the first time, that copy wouldn’t work at all. Instead, advertising copy should say something like, “See for yourself why so many people come back again and again.”
It’s clear from that example that copywriting is dependent on where in the seven steps of advertising success a business’ audience can be found.
The 7 steps of advertising success are:
1. Awareness
Consumers move from being completely unaware of a product, brand or business to having a small level of awareness of it.
2. Recognition
Consumers can remember a product, brand or business and associate it with a previous experience, which could be something as simple as a previously viewed ad.
3. Interest
Consumers move beyond the recognition phase and actually become curious about a product, brand or business, which leads them to seek out more information about it.
4. Purchase
Consumers understand enough about the product, brand or business to actually buy it or buy from that business.
5. Repurchase
Consumers are satisfied with the product, brand or business after their first purchase and are motivated to buy it again (or buy from that business again).
6. Loyalty
Consumers are so satisfied with the product, brand or business that they purchase it again and again. They choose it above all other options and go to great lengths to find it if it’s not readily available. There is no substitute in their minds.
7. Influencer
Loyal consumers talk about the products, brands and businesses they love and generate a powerful form of word-of-mouth marketing. This is the ultimate goal of marketers and businesses.
Before you can begin working on a copywriting project for a client, you need to understand what stage in the seven steps of advertising success the target audience is in. Work with the client to make sure you fully understand the goals for the marketing piece, so you can craft copy that delivers the best messages depending on a person’s position in the 7 steps of advertising success. If you don’t, your messages have little chance of moving consumers to action and delivering the return on investment the business needs from that ad or marketing piece.
Of course, there are many more elements that go into writing effective copy, so stay tuned for upcoming Lessons in Copywriting here on Freelance Writing Jobs or pick up a copy of Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps if you can’t wait.
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