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Whenever you are putting together a piece of copy, it is a good idea to follow the advice of Steven Covey and “start with the end in mind.” This is true whether you are writing an email or a long sales letter, a brochure or a page on your web site. The surest way to arrive at your desired destination is to know where you are going before you take your first step.

It follows quite naturally that the initial question you need to ask is “What are you hoping your reader will do at the end of this piece of communication?” How you answer this will determine not only everything you write, but also how successful your communications are in achieving results.

Always Go For The Goal

On a web site, for example, you may be writing copy for your opt-in page. What is your ultimate objective? Most likely, you are hoping visitors will identify themselves by giving you their e-mail addresses along with permission to send them mail. Everything you write on the page should be directed toward that end.

Or perhaps you are planning a seminar or workshop and creating invitations to send out by post. Obviously you want each recipient to book a place the event, but you can be even more specific than that. Ask yourself, “How exactly to I want people to respond?”

Do you want them to pick up the phone? Should they send back a pre-printed form? Or would you rather have everyone visit your web site and register there? Being able to visualize the desired outcome will help you direct your readers to that action.

Whatever you are writing, keep the end firmly in sight and limit your writing to the shortest course that will take the reader there. If you are putting together a lead generation advertisement, just stayed focused on generating the lead. You don’t have to do more than that.

Unfortunately, sometimes people put too much material into their copywriting – more than they need to get the job done. This can actually be counterproductive, distracting readers from taking the desired action. Avoid this, by all means. Edit out any copy that is off the mark.

A Caution About Copywriting

Having said all of that, it is also important to let you know what copywriting can’t do. All the best copy in the world cannot compensate for the wrong product or service being offered to the wrong market.

Whatever you are planning to sell or promote, be absolutely sure you’ve done your homework before you start writing about it. You need to be able to say with confidence, “I know that I’ve got something which is targeted to the right group of people, and I know there is some demand for it.”

That’s a critical first step. If for any reason you haven’t done it, no matter how much thought and effort you put into your copy, it will be wasted. On the other hand, for the right product being offered to the right target, copy written with the end in mind will really help things take off.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

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