La plupart des publications aujourd’hui sont écrites par une IA.

Entièrement reconnaissables. Identifiables. Calquables.

et c’est exactement pour ça qu’elles ne marchent plus.

Je suis rédactrice depuis 8 ans (et 15 ans avant ça, j’étais commerciale). 

Voici ce que personne ne vous dit sur l’écriture qui convertit vraiment.

Écrire pour remplir ne sert à rien. 

Il faut écrire pour déclencher une émotion. Donner envie de lire. Attirer les clients.

Sans mensonges. Sans bullshit. 

Voici ce que j’ai appris :

Après toutes ces années, j’ai compris une chose :

Écrire et vendre, c’est exactement la même chose.

Recueillir les meilleures informations. Les rendre captivantes, irrésistibles.

Vous voulez échapper aux contenus ennuyeux et répétitifs ? 

Vous voulez vraiment marquer les esprits ? 

Alors au boulot !

10 Urgency Words To Use Now — So Readers Act Immediately

But a caution: Make sure you mean it or you'll lose credibility Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »
https://writingcooperative.com/10-urgency-words-to-use-now-so-readers-act-immediately-10f1c3ac880

#contentwriting #editing #writingtips #copywriting #writersonwriting

Your titles matter more than you think. 🚀

Discover the difference between Title Case and Sentence Case and choose the right style every time.

📖 https://99tools.net/blog/title-case-vs-sentence-case/

#Blogging #Copywriting #WritingTips #ContentMarketing #SEO

50 Copywriting Terms Explained in Plain English

1. Copywriting

Copywriting is the practice of writing words with the goal of persuading someone to take a specific action, such as buying a product, signing up for a service, or clicking a link. In simple words, copywriting is salesmanship in print.

2. Content Writing

Content writing focuses on creating material that informs, educates, or entertains an audience rather than directly selling something. Blog posts, articles, and guides fall into this category, and while they may support marketing goals, their primary aim is to build trust and engagement over time.

3. Marketing

Marketing is the broader system of promoting and selling products or services, which includes research, advertising, branding, and communication strategies. Copywriting is just one part of marketing, specifically focused on the written messages used to persuade customers.

4. Branding

Branding refers to how people perceive a business, product, or person in their minds. It includes visual identity, tone of voice, messaging and overall reputation, all of which shape whether an audience trusts and remembers a company.

5. Target Audience

Target audience is the specific group of people a message is intended for. In copywriting, understanding your audience is essential because different groups have different needs, desires, fears and motivations that influence how they respond to messaging.

6. Swipe File

A swipe file is a personal library of marketing examples that you can study to understand the techniques behind effective persuasion.

7. Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

A Unique Selling Propositon (USP) is the specific feature or benefit that makes a product stand out from competitors. It highlights what is uniquely valuable about the offer in a crowded market.

8. Big Idea

A big idea is the central concept that drives a marketing campaign or piece of copy. It acts as the unifying message that ties everything together in a simple, memorable way. It is the singular, compelling concept that drives your entire message. Your copy should center around this one core theme.

9. Positioning

Positioning is how a product or brand is placed in the mind of the customer relative to competitors. It defines whether you are seen as premium, affordable, specialized, or general.

10. Dimensionalization

Dimensionalization is the process of taking flat statements and transforming them into vivid, emotional or vivid content that readers can connect with. It involves using specific details, sensory language, emotional triggers and real-life examples to give your message more depth since readers struggle to connect with vague or abstract ideas.

11. AIDA

AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. It’s a four-step formula that guides your audience from first glance to final click, purchase, or commitment.

AIDA works because it mirrors the way you naturally process decisions. You notice something (Attention), you get curious (Interest), you start wanting it (Desire), and then you do something about it (Action). It’s alignment with how your brain already works.

12. PAS (Problem-Agitate-Solution)

PAS Framework stands for Problem-Agitate-Solution. It is one of the most effective and widely used copywriting frameworks. which helps copywriters craft compelling and persuasive copy that resonate deeply with their audience.

The PAS copywriting framework is a three-step approach to structuring your copy:

13. Before-After-Bridge

This Before-After-Bridge Framework shows the reader their current situation (before), the improved future state (after), and then explains how to get there (bridge), making the transformation feel clear and achievable.

The BAB framework is a three-part persuasion structure:

14. Rule of One

The Rule of One revolves around keeping your messaging aligned with one clear idea, targeting one reader, delivering one promise, making one offer, and ending with one clear call to action (CTA). That’s it. no trying to appeal to everyone or sell everything at once.

This approach minimizes confusion and distraction, creating a compelling and persuasive piece of copy that leads the reader toward a single, desired action.

15. Features-Advantages-Benefits

FAB (Features, Advantages, Benefits) is a highly effective copywriting framework that translates a product’s technical specifications into compelling, customer-centric copy. It forces you to stop just “listing specs” and instead show exactly how your product improves the user’s life.

16. Hook

A hook is the opening line or idea in a piece of copy designed to grab attention immediately and make the reader want to continue.

17. 4 Cs Framework

The 4 Cs Framework is a straightforward checklist that you should apply to your sales letters, landing pages, emails, advertisements, product descriptions and even blog posts.

The framework states that your copy should be:

If your copy is difficult to understand, too long, boring or unbelievable, readers are unlikely to continue reading, let alone take action. But when your message checks out these four elements it becomes easy to understand, efficient to read, interesting enough to hold attention and trustworthy enough to inspire confidence.

18. OCPB Framework

The OCPB framework is a four-step process designed to guide your reader from skepticism to action.

By addressing objections, making a claim, proving it, and focusing on benefits, you create a logical and emotionally compelling case that encourages readers to convert.

19. Feature

Features describe what your product is or what it includes, such as its size, color, material, or weight. They are often tangible and measurable aspects of your product.

20. Benefit

Benefits describe what your product does for your customer or how it addresses their needs, desires, or pain points. They are often intangible and subjective, focusing on the value your product offers to your customer.

21. Conversion rate

A conversion happens when a reader takes the desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. It is the primary goal of most copywriting. Conversion rate is the percentage of people who complete a desired action compared to the total number of people who saw the message or page.

22. CTA (Call to Action)

A Call to Action (CTA) is a direct instruction that tells the reader what to do next, such as “Buy Now,” “Sign Up,” or “Learn More.” It is the specific text, link, or button that prompts your audience to take an immediate, desired step. It bridges the gap between reading your message and actively engaging with your brand.

23. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR measures how many people click on a link after seeing it, expressed as a percentage. It helps evaluate how effective a message or ad is at generating interest.

24. Landing Page

A landing page is a standalone web page designed with one goal in mind usually to convert visitors into leads or customers without distractions.

25. Scarcity

Scarcity is a psychological principle where people value something more when it appears limited in quantity or availability.

26. Urgency

Urgency encourages people to act quickly by introducing time pressure, such as deadlines or expiring offers.

27. Social Proof

Social proof uses the behavior or opinions of others, such as testimonials or reviews, to build trust and reduce uncertainty.

28. Authority

Authority refers to the influence experts or credible figures have on decision-making, making people more likely to trust their recommendations.

29. Reciprocity

Reciprocity is the psychological tendency for people to return favors, which is why offering free value can increase conversions later.

30. Headline

A headline is the main title of a piece of copy, designed to capture attention and encourage the reader to continue reading. Its only purpose is to get the reader to read the first sentence of your ad.

Sub-headline

A subheadline supports the headline by adding more detail or context, helping to clarify the main message.

31. Body Copy

Body copy is the main section of text that explains the offer, builds persuasion, and guides the reader toward action.

32. Bullet Points

Bullet points break information into short, easy-to-scan pieces, often highlighting key benefits or features.

33. Storytelling

Storytelling is the use of narrative structure to make copy more engaging, relatable, and emotionally compelling

34. Customer Avatar

A customer avatar is a detailed fictional profile of an ideal customer, including demographics, behaviors, goals, and pain points.

35. Pain Point

A pain point is a specific problem or frustration that a customer is experiencing and wants to solve.

36. Desire

A desire is what the customer wants to achieve, gain, or feel, and it often drives their purchasing decisions.

37. Objection

An objection is any reason a customer might hesitate or refuse to buy, such as price concerns or lack of trust.

38. Offer

An offer is the complete package being sold, including the product, price, bonuses, and guarantees.

39. Bonus

A bonus is extra value added to an offer to make it more attractive and increase perceived value.

40. Guarantee

A guarantee is a promise that reduces risk for the buyer by ensuring they can get their money back or a result.

41. Pricing Strategy

Pricing strategy is how a price is presented and structured to influence perception and maximize sales.

42. Upsell

An upsell is an additional offer presented after an initial purchase, usually of higher value or price.

43. A/B Testing

A/B testing is a method for comparing content variations. You create two versions, A and B, with a single difference between them. You then show these versions to similar audiences at the same time.

Split testing is another term for A/B testing, where two variations are tested against each other to determine effectiveness.

44. Optimization

Optimization is the ongoing process of improving copy or campaigns based on data and performance results.

45. Analytics

Analytics refers to data collected about user behavior, helping marketers understand performance and make informed decisions.

46. Emotional Trigger

An emotional trigger is anything in copy that provokes emotion, such as fear, excitement, or curiosity, to influence decisions.

47. Cognitive Bias

A cognitive bias is a mental shortcut people use when making decisions, often leading to predictable patterns in behavior.

48. Framing

Framing is how information is presented, which can significantly influence how it is interpreted and perceived.

49. Narrative Arc

A narrative arc is the structure of a story, typically involving a beginning, conflict, and resolution, used in storytelling.

50. Tone of Voice

Tone of voice is the personality expressed in writing, which can be formal, casual, authoritative, friendly, or any consistent style a brand uses.

Imagine reading this headline and synopsis in, say, 1998.

#ThisTimeline #AI #Copywriting #Tushy

a primeval, almost embarrassing beauty

I found this full-page ad with long-form copy for the State of Minnesota Department of Economic Development Tourism Division in the March 27, 1972, issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. Minimalist design and words instead of images to paint the picture. It’s beautiful.

https://adtothebone.com/a-primeval-almost-embarrassing-beauty

#minnesota #travel #tourism #destination #copywriting #advertising #marketing #branding #writing

5 Steps to Build a Swipe File: A Beginner Copywriter’s Guide

A quote I am fond of is by Austin Kleon, who says: “Nobody is born with a style or a voice. We don’t come out of the womb knowing who we are. In the beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes. We learn by copying.”

Great artists throughout history have learned by studying and imitating the masters who came before them. During the Renaissance, artists such as Raphael developed their skills by carefully studying and copying the works of earlier masters.

This practice wasn’t considered plagiarism; it was a method of learning. By recreating great works, artists learned important principles such as composition, perspective, color, proportion and technique.

Copying was a way to understand why a masterpiece worked so that they could eventually develop their own style. The same principle applies to copywriting through the use of a swipe file.

Swipe File

For those who don’t know what a swipe file is; it is just a personal library of marketing examples that you can study to understand the techniques behind effective persuasion.

It can contain examples of headlines, advertisements, sales letters, emails, product descriptions, landing pages, calls to action and any other piece of copy that effectively persuades people.

For a beginner copywriter, building a swipe file is one of the most valuable habits you can develop and sure is one of the fastest ways to improve as a copywriter.

Just as an artist studies the masters to improve their craft, a copywriter studies great copy to develop their own ability to write persuasive and effective messages.

1. Collect good copy examples

The first thing you need to do in order to build a library of good copy examples is to first learn how to recognize good copy.

This should also not be a difficult task because the world today is filled with great copywriters, both alive and from the past. Infact it won’t be an overstatement to say that great copy is everywhere. Purge the mentality of thinking that you need access to expensive advertising libraries to find examples. You can find great examples anywhere but you must put in the work to identify them.

You can find examples in:

• Email newsletters
• Websites (Home Pages, About Us Pages, Service Pages)
• Social media advertisements
• Product pages
• Magazine advertisements
• Sales pages
• Direct mail pieces
• Video advertisements
• Brochures
• Packaging

From now on, you need to be aggressive and keen enough that whenever you see copy that grabs your attention, makes you curious, creates desire, or convinces you to take action, save it. Keep it for later reference, study it to see why it made you react that way.

For example, you might see an email subject line that makes you open the email immediately. Save it. You might see a product description that makes a simple product sound valuable. Save it. You might see an advertisement that clearly explains a problem and presents a solution. Save it. You might see a sales letter that perfectly handles the objections you had in mind. Save it.

The goal is to train your eye to notice persuasive writing.

2. Organize your swipe file by category

“Organization isn’t about perfection; it’s about efficiency, reducing stress and clutter, saving time and money and improving your overall quality of life.”

In the quote above, Scalise argues that the real purpose of organization is not perfection but functionality. Organizing means reducing unnecessary friction.

When your belongings, tasks, information, or workspace are organized, you spend less time searching, making decisions, or dealing with chaos. The result is more efficiency, less mental pressure, and more time and energy for important activities.

The quote connects well to the process of building a swipe file. A swipe file does not need to be a perfectly categorized archive containing thousands of examples.

The goal is to create a simple system where you can quickly find useful examples when you need inspiration. The organization exists to support the creative process, not to become a task that prevents you from writing.

A swipe file becomes more useful when it is organized. You don’t want to find yourself saving random examples in one folder and later struggling to find what you need. You need to create categories based on the type of copy you want to study.

Some useful categories include:

Headlines

Headlines are one of the most important parts of copy because they determine whether someone continues reading. More people will read a copy with a good headline and bad body that a copy with a bad headline and good body.

Collect headlines that make people read the first sentence of the ad or the sub-headline because they: Create curiosity, Promise a benefit, Address a problem, Challenge an assumption, Use strong emotional language.

Study why they work.

Sales pages

Sales pages show the complete structure of persuasion and therefore a valuable resource to have in your file.

Study how they: Get the reader to read the first sentence of the ad through the headline they use, Introduce the problem, present the solution, Explain benefits, Handle objections, Build credibility, Create urgency, Ask for action.

Emails

Email marketing copy is a must have in your swipe file. 66% of consumers rank email as their preferred brand communication channel also because Email marketing is critical because it generates an average ROI of $36 to $40 for every $1 spent. Email copy teaches you how to communicate quickly and personally.

Collect emails that have: Strong subject lines, interesting opening, good storytelling, effective calls to action.

As I have listed them above there are several types of copy you could include in your swipe file as long as you know where it is categorized to be called up when needed for inspiration.

3. Analyze examples in your swipe file

Elon Musk often emphasizes the importance of reasoning from first principles. This basically means breaking a problem down into its most basic truths. His approach is that you need to understand the basic building blocks that make a complex problem work before trying to solve it.

“Treat nature by means of the cylinder, the sphere and the cone, everything in proper perspective so that each side of an object or a plane is directed toward a central point.”

This idea comes from a conversation Cézanne reportedly had with the young painter Émile Bernard in 1904. Cézanne was explaining his approach to painting: rather than copying the surface appearance of things, artists should understand the underlying structures that create what they see. By reducing complex objects into basic forms, painters could better understand volume, depth, and composition.

A similar idea appears in art through Paul Cézanne, who encouraged painters to treat nature by means of the cylinder, the sphere and the cone. This idea comes from a conversation Cézanne reportedly had with the young painter Émile Bernard in 1904.

Cézanne was explaining his approach to painting: rather than copying the surface appearance of things, artists should understand the underlying structures that create what they see. By reducing complex objects into basic forms, painters could better understand volume, dept and composition. The idea is that mastery comes from understanding the fundamentals beneath the surface.

The same principle applies to your swipe file. When studying great copy, you should not only look at the words and try to imitate the sentences. Instead, you should break the copy down into its fundamental components: What is the structure? How does the headline capture attention? What problem is being addressed? What persuasion principles are being used?

By understanding the basic mechanisms behind effective copy, you learn how to create your own persuasive messages rather than simply repeating someone else’s words. Just like an artist studies shapes and structure, a copywriter must study the principles that make copy work.

Create notes about every swipe

For every piece of copy, write notes such as:

• What is the headline doing?
• Who is the target audience?
• What problem is being addressed?
• What emotion is being used?
• What is the main promise?
• What makes the offer attractive?
• What objections are being answered?
• Why does this copy work?
• How do they ask for action?

This turns your swipe file from a collection of examples into a copywriting study system.

Practice rewriting great copy

One exercise you could use that helps you analyze the copy is rewriting successful copy by hand. Legendary copywriter Gary Halbert was a strong advocate for this and he advised that you should get yourself a collection of good ads and direct mail pieces and read them aloud and copy them in your own handwriting.

The purpose is to understand the rhythm and structure. When you rewrite an advertisement, you will notice the sentence lengths, word choice, transitions, emotional language and how the copywriter develops the argument in the copy. This exercise will therefore train your brain to recognize effective patterns and notice what makes copy persuasive.

4. Include your own work in your swipe file

The first person you need to learn from is yourself. Therefore, your swipe file should not only contain other people’s copy but also your own writing too.

You should save the headlines you write, emails you create, sales pages you include. Over time, you can compare your old work with your new work to see how far you have come.

Your own experience should become part of your education if this is not the case then you are not learning.

5. Keep adding to your swipe File

This is something that is obvious but will still remind you anyway. Peter when writing a letter to early Christians who already believe and understand the core teachings of Christianity told them in 1 Peter 1:12 that he will always remind them, even though they know.

A swipe file is not something you build once and finish. Serious copywriters continue collecting examples throughout their careers. Even though the core principles remain like the sphere, cone and cylinder in nature according to Cezanne, marketing changes. New platforms appear. New companies develop creative ways to communicate.

It is therefore a good habit to keep collecting and studying great copy. The best copywriters are successful because they have spent years studying what works.

In conclusion, a swipe file is one of the most practical tools you can create as a beginner copywriter. It allows you to study proven examples, understand persuasion principles and develop your own writing ability.

Finally, study different industries. Do not limit yourself to your own niche. You as a beginner copywriter writing about fitness can learn from technology companies.

A financial copywriter can learn from fashion brands. Different industries solve different persuasion challenges. A luxury brand might teach you how to create desire. A software company might teach you how to explain complex ideas simply. A charity organization might teach you how to create emotional connection. Great copywriting principles apply across industries.

Let me conclude this article with a qoute from a philospher I so much like:

“For men almost always follow in the footsteps of others, imitation being a leading principle of human behaviour. Since it is not always possible to follow in the footsteps of others, or to equal the ability of those whom you imitate, a prudent man will always follow the methods of remarkable men, and imitate those who have been outstanding, so that, even if he does not succeed in matching their ability, at least he will get within sniffing distance of it. He should act as skilful archers do, when their target seems too distant: knowing well the power of their bow, they aim at a much higher point, not to hit it with the arrow, but by aiming there to be able to strike their target.”