Last Updated on February 26, 2020 by Anthony
For every professional copywriting agency in Scotland, there is another in England, Wales, and so on. In other words, the world has plenty of copywriters to fill all the blank spaces with more than enough words. One of the characteristics of a good copywriter is knowing how to write the right thing at the right time.
Every writer who makes his living producing copy knows that what he is doing is unlikely to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. He knows he will never be sitting at the local bookstore signing autographs based on his wonderful web pages. Yet at the same time, his work requires a special skill that is completely different from what the traditional novelist or journalist does.
The copywriter must be knowledgeable about a variety of topics. He must be able to do competent research at a moment’s notice. He must always know how to frame his words in ways that affectively reach the reader without being overbearing or boring. It’s not easy to do.
Limits of Copywriting
Some of the primary obstacles to good copywriting are the limits naturally imposed by the medium. For example:
- Word Limits – For a blog post or informational page the writer has between 500 and 1,000 words to make his point. He needs to establish the premise, develop it, and get to his close before losing the attention of the reader.
- Visual Appeal – A cardinal rule of copywriting is to break up text with headers, sub headers, and bullets points. These types of things are just necessary to prevent turning off your readers. That means writers have to organise their thoughts with this in mind.
- Paragraph Length – Right along with headers and sub headers is the issue of paragraph length. In the old days, more was better. These days, copywriters have to limit paragraphs to no more than five sentences if they want readers to pay attention.
- SEO – Lastly, copywriting is as much about search engine optimisation (SEO) as it is communicating a message. The copywriter in Scotland might be working from a small office in Kirkcaldy but writing for a nationwide UK audience. His SEO techniques need to take that into consideration.
When copy is being written for static web pages, such as an ‘about us’ page, the limits are generally even more restrictive. So learning how to write the right thing is key to being successful.
Less Is More, More Or Less
Of all the challenges faced by copywriters perhaps there is none as difficult as determining whether to write more or less. There are many things to consider including relevance, topic development, and so on. And now that Google is looking for longer content, it is more challenging than ever to decide when less is more.
The good copywriter continues to stay abreast of current trends and search engine specifics in order to fine-tune his writing. He also continually expands his research so that he is never left dumbfounded by a topic. The rest is mostly intuition and art.
Copywriting Service from Connotations
If you are looking for a copywriter in Scotland, Connotations can help. Copywriting is one of the many professional writing services we offer to clients all over the world. We can produce copy for your general web pages, blog posts, promotional literature, and targeted ad campaigns. Please give us a call so we can show you how effective copywriting can be for you.