The dictionary defines a copywriter as a person who writes the text of marketing and promotional material. But this gives no sense of the craft and creativity that goes into preparing effective copy.
On this one-day copywriting course you will discover the crucial role of benefits and USPs; you will learn how to structure copy for different situations; and you will be encouraged to explore words and creative ways to make them work.
You will receive a useful manual too, packed with expert advice, and have a year of free support to help you build your skills. But, most importantly, you will learn how to grab a reader’s attention and get your messages across in a fresh and effective way.
Learning objectives
By the end of this course you will be able to:
apply a range of techniques to writing print and online copy
find fresh, interesting ways to communicate
understand the key role of benefits and USPs
distinguish between benefits and features
structure your copy for maximum impact
write in a clear, creative and engaging way
craft powerful headlines
revise and improve your copy.
Morning session
Introduction
The copywriter's craft
The five principles of effective copywriting
Knowing your business
Do you know what you are really promoting or selling?
Who are you selling it to?
Why should they buy it from you?
The importance of benefits and USPs
The difference between benefits and features
Why benefits are everything
Identifying the direct benefits
Getting personal
Adding the features
Determining your USPs
Structuring your copy
The ingredients of a good structure
Some tried-and-tested structures
Style matters
Friendly, conversational, formal…?
Matching your style to your message
Word magic
The richness of English
Psycholinguistics - cold words and warm words
Wordplay
Creative techniques
Similes and metaphors
Afternoon session
Creating powerful headlines
How to get the reader's attention
What makes a good headline?
Tried-and-tested headline types
Crafting a winner
Writing effective sales letters and emails
The seven rules for successful letters and emails
Writing effective catalogue copy
Five tips for powerful catalogues
Writing effective web copy
Key differences between print and electronic copy
Understanding what works on screen
The importance of including keywords in your web copy
Using hyperlinks, summaries and attachments
Getting the response
Reassuring the reader
Writing the call to action
Improving your copy
Three questions to ask before you finish
Further development
Reference sources
Post-course support
More information
The Copywriting course is available as an in-house course, which can be run face-to-face at your premises or virtually over Zoom. For more information,
click here.
Top of page...
“I got a lot out of this course. It was great to have the opportunity to discuss copywriting techniques, practise them and get expert advice.”
Ruth Bowie Topman Marketing Coordinator Arcadia
“Stephen Lloyd Training provided an in-house copywriting course specifically designed to meet our needs. The workshop was very successful, with all the delegates keen to put their learning into practice. I'm looking forward to working with Stephen Lloyd Training again.”
Pam Renfrew Marketing Manager Groupama Insurance
Running the Copywriting course in-house
The Copywriting course can be run as in-house training anywhere in the world, either at your premises or virtually over Zoom. If you have a group of staff who need the same skills, this option is convenient and cost-effective. It is powerful too, because we can provide a course that is specifically designed to achieve your objectives.
Tailored to your needs
The standard programme is available as in-house training, but you may prefer us to tailor it to match the needs of your staff and your organisation. Tailoring can include:
adjusting the length of the programme
adding or removing topics
using your copy as examples and exercises
incorporating your templates
taking account of your style guide and tone of voice.
Flexibility
An in-house course is fully flexible. Tell us what you want to achieve and we will work with you to design a course to match. Tell us when you would like to run the course and we will find a date that suits you.
Free support
Every course we run comes with a year of free support for each participant. We recognise that people do not think of every question on the day of the training. Our support service gives them the opportunity to ask their tutor an unlimited number of questions in the year following the course. In this way they continue to build their skills and confidence.
Ask us for a quotation
The cost of an in-house course depends on a number of things, including its length, its location and how much preparation we need to do. We can readily give you a quotation, so please contact us to discuss your needs.
The dictionary defines a copywriter as a person who writes the text of marketing and promotional material. But this gives no sense of the craft and creativity that goes into preparing effective copy.
Learning objectives
Introduction