Killing the Filler: What Stephen King Can Teach Us About Copywriting
With more than 350 million copies of his stories sold, it’s hard to deny that Stephen King knows the secret to writing that sells. In his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, he discusses the beginnings of his career, his ups and downs, and his advice to other writers hoping to make a living by selling their work.
Even though King’s writes fiction, his tips easily apply to copywriting, since they encourage being clear and concise with your storytelling techniques. When you write copy, you’re also telling a story – the story of how the business you’re writing about can solve the problems of its potential customers.
Here are some of King’s main pieces of advice for writers that especially apply to good copywriting.
Using ‘Coming Soon’ Pages to Kick-Start Online Marketing
‘Coming soon’ pages are a highly effective way to initiate online branding and presence. Yet, most businesses overlook this valuable marketing opportunity.
If Content Is King, Why Is Apple So Bratty About It?
The popular online marketing slogan ‘content is king’ not only refers to the importance of writing engaging copy that also speaks to search engines. It also refers to the broader idea of understanding your medium and how your audience consumes content, including video, music, and images, within that medium.
This is especially the case when part of a new gadget’s hype is built around the groundbreaking ways it enhances our content consumption. After all, what is a nifty piece of technology without the amazing things that it can show us, customized for our specific interests?
Power Branding: The Apple Religion
Few would argue the Apple brand is mighty, with every product release, update and rumour spawning global buzz and madness (consider the recent iPad launch and the case of the missing iPhone). Behind the appetite for anything Apple are intensely loyal consumers, who many claim are fundamentalists. Accordingly, some consider Apple a religion.
