Copy Critique

A copy critique works at finding the things you’re doing well, and making all your copy stronger. It’s use is specific to promotional copy.   

Four basic points necessary to making every promotion successful are having: 

• Pictures that captivate your reader  
• Promises that encourage   
• Proofs that support every claim  
• A Push that gets readers to take action  

Each critique I complete for you will review these points and guide you toward improving your writing. I do not, however, re-write or edit the copy for you. Clients who use the copy critique service do so because they are motivated to improve their writing skills. 

Particular focus is given to the headline and lead of every piece submitted. 

Although the headline and lead are only about 20% of any promotion, they account for 80% - or more – of its success. You can understand why 36 of the 63 points I check are specific to the headline and lead. 

After the headline and lead comes the order device. Interestingly, the order device is the second most read element of a promotion. 

You now how it is…You open a letter, or go to a landing page, and read the headline. Maybe you read a couple of paragraphs of the copy. Then you flip to the back – or scroll to the bottom – to see how much it costs and what you’re really going to get. 

It’s sort of like reading the end of a book to decide whether you really want to read it. 

Everybody does it, so it’s a wise marketer who pays attention to that and spends effort in the right places. 

The body of your promotional piece is where the rational part of a promotion resides. It’s in the body that you paint your most vivid pictures and present your proofs. This is where your customer finds the justification for the purchase they have made.