Out of all the factors that come into play when writing ad copy, ‘impact’ is arguably the most important. 

Why?

Because it’s the driving force behind the emotional response that drives a call to action, and that call to action is the purpose of the entire copy.

To put it simply: impact → emotion → sale/conversion.

You definitely want impact in your copy.

So, how do you get it? 

Write As You Talk

There’s a simple statement worth considering when writing any ad copy; 

‘People don’t like to be sold to, but they love to buy.’ 

Copy that shouts “I AM SELLING YOU THIS PRODUCT!” right from the get-go can definitely get conversions and sales, but it has a limited impact and has the potential to be greater. 

Copy that’s conversational & relatable taps into that potential by taking the role of friendly advice as opposed to a blatant sale. 

This is copy that flows from sentence to sentence like a chat with a mate rather than reading a book or newspaper. It’s relatable, and that relatability is tied together with your classic pain & pleasure points to build the punch of emotional impact. 

Before you even reach a call to action, you’re already emotionally drawn in by what the copy has to say. And oftentimes, you don’t realise you’re being sold something before you’ve already decided to purchase. 

Now that’s some impact.

Keep It Nice ‘N’ Simple 

Did you know that the average reading age of the UK is 11? Pretty shocking, huh. 

Taking that fact into consideration, it highlights an important difference between copywriting and other forms of writing: 

The importance (or lack thereof) of linguistic proficiency in relation to impact. Basically in terms of copywriting, the simpler the writing is the more impact the copy will have. 

Clear language with a simple call to action can amplify impact massively, sometimes more than you’d expect. Simplicity brings a clear and powerful edge to your copy and making sure as many people understand it as possible can grow your impact exponentially.

Like everyone always says, sometimes less is more. 

The ironic part is that simplifying things down can be easier said than done, especially when you’re selling complex products to a national reading age of 11.  

Nevertheless, the key to good copy is always the simplicity in message, and to message simplicity. 

Use A Narrative

Last but not least, we have the narrative. 

The best way to get anyone emotionally invested in something is to use a story.

Think about movies, books and TV; they all still dominate mainstream entertainment and make millions every year.

Why?

Because people can relate their own lives to the narratives presented to them and emotionally connect with them. 

Copy isn’t too far from the same. But instead of fictional narratives, we use relatable stories to drive home the reality of what we’re writing about. 

There is no better way to show why a product will solve a problem than to give an example of it doing just that. 

Want to put an extra cherry on top? Use some good ol’ social proof to amplify the impact of that story by 100x. 

Happy writing!