Gerry McGovern’s top ten rules of copywriting

Posted by Offer Tsuriel on October 26, 2009

These are ten copywntmg rules from Gerry McGovern (www.gerrymcgovern.com). As you read through these, think about whether these rules apply for other media and also whether you achieve them on your web site.

1. Be honest. Paper never refused ink. Web sites never refused hype. If you can’t deliver within twenty-four hours, then don’t promise to.
2. Be simple, clear and precise. Time is the scarcest resource, so never use five sentences when one will do. Avoid jargon. People are confused enough today.
3. State your offer clearly. What exactly is it that you sell?
   

 

4. Tell them about your products’ limitations.
5. Have a clear call to action. If they like what you have to offer how do they go about buying it?
6. Tell them quickly if they’re not a customer you can supply. There’s nothing I find more frustrating than finding out at the last moment that they can’t deliver.
7. Edit! Edit! Edit! There has never been an article that cannot be made shorter.
8. Give them detail. If they feel like finding out more about a particular product feature, then give them that opportunity. (That’s what hypertext is for!)
9. Write for the web. Avoid the customer having to download Word documents, Powerpoints or PDFs unless offered as an alternative for convenience. (Note that Google and other search engines do now index these documents.)
10. Leave it at nine! If you want to create a ‘Ten Rules’ but can only find nine, leave it at nine.