Writing For Retail Advertising

The gap between good and great copywriting is wider than you think. Here are 7 tips on how I craft copy that falls on the greater side: 1. Personality is important It's the "how you say" of the writing world. Bland copy: Buy our comfortable shoes. Personality-driven copy: Slip into comfort. 2. Humor is the best salesman If you make them laugh, they will like you. If they like you, they are more likely to buy from you. Boring copy: Durable socks Copy with a sense of humor: The only hole that'll ever be in our socks is the one you wear them from. 3. Contrarian angles work Go against the norm and you might just create your own cult. Common angle: Join the hustle culture. Contrarian angle: Reject the hustle. Embrace balance with our wellness app. 4. Tap into emotions People buy with emotions but justify with logic.  So lead with what and how they feel. Logical: Save time with our app. Emotional: Get an extra hour daily and reclaim your week. 5. Narratives over facts Stories help people make sense of data. Fact: Our car has a 300-mile range. Story: Imagine driving from New York to Boston on a single charge without spending a dime on petrol. 6. Contrast is memorable Opposites are attractive. We understand better when presented with extremes. No contrast: Our jeans are comfortable. With contrast: Say goodbye to stiff denim. Step into a comfy pair with our jeans. 7. End with a punch More often than not, people remember how things end. So make sure you end it on a memorable note or you might not be read again. Weak ending: Adopt a pet from our shelter. Strong ending: "Open your heart, change a life. Adopt your new best friend today! Which tip do you like the most? Let me know in the comments! Follow #OKCreative for more. #copywriting #writing

Make your customers want it before you sell it. When it comes to marketing, persuasion is often seen as the final push that gets customers to make a purchase. But what if the real magic happens before the pitch even starts? That’s where PRE-SUASION comes in. It starts way before you pitch your product, setting the right mood, expectation, and the context. Take luxury watches, for example. Before you even see the watch, the ad shows you the world of success, power, and elegance. By the time the product is unveiled, you're already sold not just on the watch, but on the lifestyle it represents. Or think about e-commerce sites that highlight “bestsellers” or “limited-time deals.” It creates a sense of urgency and FOMO prompting customers to buy before it’s too late. Even something as simple as an email subject line like “Exclusive Invite for VIP Customers” makes the reader feel special and eager to open the email, all before seeing the content inside. Then, of course, there's Apple—masters of the pre-suasion game with their product launches. The months of silence, the rumors, the teasers, the countdowns. By the time the product is finally revealed, you've been prepped, primed, and you're counting down the seconds until it's available. And let’s not forget Netflix. The "Top 10" lists, the "Because you watched..." recommendations—Netflix gets you hooked before you even start watching something new. Pre-suasion is the art of priming your audience, creating excitement, and laying the groundwork so the final decision feels inevitable. When done right, you’re not just offering a product, you’re offering an experience that your audience can’t resist. What’s the best example of pre-suasion you’ve seen in action? #presuasion #marketing #branding #startups

This nationwide ad campaign will fail. Skin + Me are highlighting that "91% 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘗𝘍". But this won't make consumers more likely to buy Skin + Me. In fact, it'll make Brits use 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧. Why? Because of 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒇. People look to others to determine what’s normal. We follow the herd, and if 91% don't apply enough sunscreen, we won't either. Here's the evidence: 1️⃣ In the 1980s, signs at Arizona's Petrified Forest stated that "14 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳". Rather than reducing theft, these signs more than doubled theft compared to the control: 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 message: "𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭" = 1.7% stole 𝐍𝐞𝐰 message "14 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳" = 7.9% stole¹ 2️⃣ To reduce no-shows, the NHS printed the following message in waiting rooms: “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬, 4,520 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥.” Rather than discouraging lateness, this message promoted it. Seeing high numbers normalises behaviour. A simple change solved the problem. New signs emphasised that “𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦”. No-shows dropped significantly². Skin + Me shouldn't say "91% don't use enough SPF", they should say "more Brits than ever apply the correct amount of SPF, do you?" --- ¹Cialdini, R. B. (1984). Influence: The psychology of persuasion (Rev. ed.). Harper Business. ²Martin, S. J. (2024). Influence at work: Capture attention, connect with others, convince people to act. The Economist Edge.

Count the words on your coffee bag. I'll wait. The one in front of me has 247 words. All saying nothing. "Craft." "Artisan." "Handcrafted." "Small-batch." "Carefully curated." These words used to mean something. Now they're white noise. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: McDonald's calls their coffee "artisan." Walmart sells "craft" blends. Gas stations offer "carefully curated" selections. When everyone uses the same words, those words become worthless. But specialty coffee keeps doubling down: "Ultra-craft" "Hyper-artisan" "Micro-lot small-batch" Adding adjectives to dead language won't resurrect it. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝘆: I studied the coffee brands that grew 200%+ last year. None led with "artisan." They led with: → "Tastes like camping in Big Sur" (specific memory) → "Your morning meeting fuel" (specific moment) → "Roasted by Maria, 3rd generation" (specific human) → "Funds music education in Honduras" (specific impact) Specificity sells. Generic language repels. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: Instead of "craft coffee," try: "Roasted in 12-pound batches" "Tuesday roast, Thursday delivery" "Only 300 bags this harvest" Instead of "artisan roasted," try: "Jake roasts every batch" "15 years perfecting this profile" "Mistakes get donated, not sold" Instead of "carefully curated," try: "We only buy from 3 farms" "This farmer's kids go to college because of you" "Rejected 47 samples to find this" 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: We're not connecting. We're categorizing. Customers don't want to buy "craft." They want to buy from craftspeople. They don't care about "artisan." They care about the artisan. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘅: Kill every generic descriptor on your packaging. Replace it with: • A specific story • A specific person • A specific place • A specific promise Because when you say what everyone says, you're saying nothing. But when you say what only you can say? That's when people listen. That's when people buy. That's when people care. Your coffee might be craft. But that word won't sell it. Your story will. ______ ♻️ Repost if this hit home ☕ Follow Darleen Scherer for more coffee industry truth

Ads that sell aren’t born, they’re built. Here’s how top copywriters do it. 💡 Great copywriting isn’t luck—it’s structure. Here are 7 timeless copywriting formulas to transform your ads into conversion machines: 1️⃣ AIDA: Attention → Interest → Desire → Action 🔑 Start strong to grab attention, build curiosity, create emotional desire, and finish with a compelling call-to-action (CTA). 💬 Example: "Struggling with slow mornings? Our coffee gives you 20 minutes back each day. That’s time for your kids, your workout, or just you. Start your day smarter—try it today!" 2️⃣ PAS: Problem → Agitation → Solution 🔑 Spotlight your customer’s pain point, intensify the discomfort, then swoop in with your solution. 💬 Example: "Can’t sleep through the night? Tossing and turning drains your energy and focus. Our mattress is clinically proven to help you sleep better—starting tonight." 3️⃣ 4Cs: Clear → Concise → Compelling → Credible 🔑 Deliver a simple, emotionally engaging, and evidence-backed message. 💬 Example: "Fast delivery. Free next-day shipping. Shop today, get it tomorrow. Rated 5 stars by 1M+ happy customers." 4️⃣ FAB: Features → Advantages → Benefits 🔑 Show what your product does, why it’s superior, and how it changes your customer’s life. 💬 Example: "Noise-canceling headphones → Blocks 95% of background noise → Enjoy focus like never before, even in the busiest spaces." 5️⃣ Before-After-Bridge 🔑 Paint the "before" struggle, highlight the "after" transformation, and position your product as the bridge to success. 💬 Example: "Before: Hours wasted planning social media content. After: Daily posts driving consistent engagement and leads. Bridge: With our AI-powered scheduler, posting is stress-free." 6️⃣ Problem-Solution Formula 🔑 Keep it ultra-simple—present the problem, then solve it. 💬 Example: "Finding healthy snacks is hard. Our organic snack box delivers guilt-free treats right to your door." 7️⃣ The “So What?” Test 🔑 Answer "Why does this matter?" until your copy resonates deeply with your audience. 💬 Example: "Feature: Waterproof jacket. So what? You stay dry. So what? You can enjoy every outdoor adventure without worry." Don’t just write ads. Create impact. Start using these formulas today. 🚀 Take Action Now: 1️⃣ Save this post to master these frameworks whenever you need. 2️⃣ Share it with your team to elevate your marketing game together. 3️⃣ Follow Tom Wanek for more strategies that turn words into results.

Great copy isn’t about sounding clever. It’s about making decisions easy. Most copy fails not because the product is bad - but because the message creates friction, confusion, or comparison anxiety. Here are 4 copywriting hacks you can start using today to make your message clearer, more persuasive, and more human 👇 1️⃣ Use comparisons (people are already comparing you anyway) Your audience is silently asking one question: “Why should I choose you instead of the alternatives?” If you don’t answer it, they’ll do it themselves - usually unfairly. Smart copy places you in context: • faster than X • simpler than Y • more flexible than Z This isn’t about trashing competitors. It’s about helping buyers decide with confidence. Clarity beats cleverness every time. 2️⃣ Reframe your price (context changes perception) Price doesn’t feel expensive or cheap in isolation - it feels that way in comparison. “$99/month” feels heavy. “Less than $3 a day” feels manageable. Good copy doesn’t hide the price. It anchors it to value, outcomes, or familiar reference points. People don’t fear cost. They fear regret. Your job is to reduce that fear. 3️⃣ Use visuals to reduce cognitive load Big blocks of text overwhelm the brain. Visual cues - icons, spacing, bolding, short bullets - help readers scan before they commit to reading. This isn’t about making things pretty. It’s about making information easier to process. If your message can’t be understood in 5-10 seconds, you’ve already lost attention. 4️⃣ Leverage competitors’ weaknesses (without being messy) Your market is already telling you what it wants - just look at 1-3 star reviews on competing products. You’ll find patterns like: • slow support • confusing onboarding • missing features • poor reliability Great copy flips pain into promise: “Support replies in under 1 hour.” “Setup in 10 minutes.” “No hidden fees.” You don’t need to name competitors. Just solve what they failed to. Copywriting isn’t persuasion through pressure. It’s persuasion through clarity, empathy, and context.

Standard DM templates just don’t cut it for nonprofits. They make you sound like every other group in the inbox. Here’s the rule I teach nonprofits: A great opener feels like it was only meant for 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺, And could’ve only been written by 𝘆𝗼𝘂. That’s what earns the reply. Not fancy decks. Not generic pitches. But 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹. So how do you do it? You find a believable bridge: • Something they said in an post or comment • A cause they support that overlaps with yours • A campaign they launched that you genuinely admire • A shared belief that’s not just “corporate social responsibility” fluff Then you write it like a human. Not like a sponsorship prospectus generator. Here are 5 DM openers that actually work for nonprofits: 1️⃣ Reputation + Calibration “You came up twice this week, first in a chat about employee engagement campaigns, then again in that LinkedIn thread about measuring real impact. Figured that was the algorithm’s way of saying I should reach out. You seem like someone who gets the bigger picture.” 2️⃣ Shared Mission + Personality Read “Saw your post on sustainability, I’ve been deep in that space too, mainly because I can’t stand how most people treat it like a PR checkbox. Your tone felt different, like you actually care about real outcomes, not just metrics. Thought I’d say hi.” 3️⃣ Geo Layer + Emotional Signal “Noticed you’re in Chicago, me too. Random but your post about local volunteer programs hit me. It felt like you’re trying to weave real community work into everything you do, not just sprinkle it on top.” 4️⃣ Specific Observation + Respect “Had to say, your recent piece on how to turn cause marketing into long-term brand trust was the first time I’ve seen someone nail the nuance of impact storytelling. It felt like you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty and figure out what actually works.” 5️⃣ Niche Insight + Mirror Layer “This might be overly specific, but I noticed you’re blending employee-led campaigns with community work in a way that doesn’t feel forced. Almost no one does that well. It’s a rare balance, had to mention it.” No pitch. No “just following up.” No copy-paste templates. Just genuine connection because your DM actually made sense to send. Want to see how this can work for your nonprofit? Write me a DM and I’ll send you a custom video of how you can approach different corporate partners to maximize your opportunities. With purpose and impact, Mario

90% of sales are driven by emotion. I’ve seen this play out again and again as a copywriter. When copy really hits, it’s rarely because it had the fanciest feature list. It’s because it made someone feel something first. Where most people get stuck… Most advice stops at “use emotion” What’s worked for me is keeping it simple: 1️⃣ Decide what you want your audience to feel. 2️⃣ Write a line that sparks that feeling — then bring in the logic. Here are 6 emotions I keep coming back to in my own work (Starting with ones that grab attention at the top of the funnel, and moving toward ones that help close the deal at the bottom) 1. Frustration — Show you get their pain so change feels urgent. 2. Fear — Point out the cost of inaction so the risk is real. 3. Hope — Make a better future feel possible. 4. Empowerment — Give them control over fixing the problem. 5. Belonging — Signal this is built for people like them. 6. Safety — Remove the risk so “yes” feels easy. The best copy I’ve written starts with emotion Then layers in the proof. I broke down real examples of all six in the carousel — swipe through if you want to steal a few.

The best salespeople never mention what they're selling. The best brands never explain why they're better. Watch a Coca-Cola ad. Count the product claims. Zero. Now watch a mattress commercial. They're screaming about coil counts while Coke just shows up at your happiest moments. One owns Christmas. The other owns nothing. We keep making ads for the person we pretend to be: rational, analytical, convinced by facts. But we buy like the person we actually are: tired, emotional, reaching for whatever feels familiar. Your customer isn't studying your product comparison chart. She's standing in an aisle for three seconds, letting her hand find what feels right. The brands that win don't win arguments. Marketing's biggest lie is that persuasion requires permission. That people need to pay attention, process your message, believe your claims. They don't. They just need to feel something, repeatedly. The most powerful influence is the kind that doesn't feel like influence at all.

I once rewrote Valley's homepage 24 times before publishing it. I thought I was being obsessive. Then I read this: 5x more people read your headline than your body copy. So by the time you've written the headline, you've already spent 80 cents of every dollar. ( Ogilvy ) I wasn't being obsessive. I was underspending. Here are the copywriting rules I keep coming back to, mostly from Harry Dry & the greats he channels: + Run every sentence through 3 tests: Can I visualize it? Can I falsify it? Can nobody else say this? Three yeses = keep. Three nos = rubbish. + "Don't just get a job. Change an entire industry." Fails all 3. "Worn by supermodels in London and dads in Ohio." Passes all 3. That's the whole game. + Concrete beats abstract. Your brain remembers pictures. "Couch to 5K" beats "regain fitness." "1,000 songs in your pocket" beats "5GB MP3 player." + The zoom-in trick: write the abstract word, then rewrite it until you've got something you could drop on your foot. + Falsifiable beats safe. "Galileo got house-arrested for saying the Earth spins around the Sun. If he'd said the Earth had a harmonious connection with celestial objects, they'd have sent him to the pub." + Volvo line: "Your car has 5 numbers on the speedometer. Volvo has 6." Visual. Falsifiable. Only Volvo can say it. + If a competitor could have written your sentence, cut it. Hinge owns "Designed to be deleted." Nobody else can say it now. Find your version. + Write the way you talk. Contractions. Starting sentences with And. But. So. Read it aloud. If your partner cringes, rewrite. + Kill landing-page words: unlock, unleash, empower, supercharge, seamless. Real people don't talk like that. + Kill adverbs and adjectives. "Incredibly delicious meal" loses to "the steak fell off the bone." + More periods. Fewer commas. + The burrito test: paragraphs should fit in 2 lines, and pulling any sentence should make the whole thing fall apart. + Slippery slide: the only job of the headline is to get the first sentence read. Same for every sentence after. + Bold claim up top. Then spend the rest backing it up with an absurd amount of proof. + Call-to-Value beats Call-to-Action. "Create Your Website" beats "Sign up now." + Write for one reader. Not a thousand. One. + Your customers wrote your copy already. Ask them what's frustrating, steal the exact phrase from the email. + Blair Warren's 27 words: people will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies. Hit one, you punch above your weight. + AI can't write copy. AI has no taste, no conviction, no lived experience. It rearranges words humans already laid down. Great copy is laid down in an order nobody has used. + Great copy isn't written. It's rewritten. 20 drafts, minimum. The bar: if a competitor could have written it, cut it. If a 9 out of 10 isn't your floor, don't ship. If not, rewrite.