87 ways to get unstuck
A deck of named copywriting techniques, each with a question to ask your brief and a way to try it on your own copy.
Made by ProCopywriters, the UK’s professional body for copywriters. Free, for anyone.
I can’t get started
The blank page is winning. Lower the bar until you can step over it.
Dirty dozen
Instead of trying to write the perfect headline, try to write the very worst thing you possibly could.
Bullets
* Don’t worry about the style or tone
Tell a friend
I must tell you about this brilliant copywriting technique…
Embrace constraints
Feeling overwhelmed by creative possibilities?
Start short
As Joseph Sugarman suggests: “The purpose of the first sentence is to get you to read the second sentence.
My copy is dull
It’s correct, and nobody will remember it.
Specificity
Instead of trying to appeal to a mass audience, and failing to interest everyone, focus on the readers who need your specific product.
Show, don't tell
’Show, don’t tell’ is basic advice for writing fiction and it applies perfectly well to writing copy.
Weirdness works wonders
A sprinkling of weirdness can help people remember important messages and set you apart from your ‘meh’ rivals.
Metaphors and similes
These literary devices can make alien ideas feel like familiar friends.
Conflict calls attention
Conflict demands resolution, so it makes for interesting stories.
The client says it doesn’t sound like them
The words are fine. The voice is someone else’s.
Tone of voice
Your tone of voice is a major component of your brand’s identity.
Verbal identity
Verbal identity goes deeper than tone of voice.
Write like people speak
It’s easy to slip into ‘marketing speak’ when writing copy.
Review harvesting
Shopping reviews and Q&A sites are packed with real-world problems and descriptions of the products bought to solve them.
Brand archetypes
Brand archetypes borrow from Jungian psychology to give your brand a recognisable character.
Nobody’s clicking
They saw it. They didn’t care enough to act.
It’s too long
Everything’s in there, which is the problem.
Unbury the lede
To ‘bury the lede’ is a classic journalistic sin that involves hiding the story’s salient details under multiple paragraphs of preamble.
The inverted pyramid
Borrowed from journalism, the inverted pyramid puts the most important information first, followed by supporting details, then background context.
Singular focus
Trying to share too much information at once can overload your readers and detract from the primary message.
White space
As a copywriter, you’re designing a reading experience.
Read aloud
Listen carefully.
It all sounds the same as everyone else
Swap the logo and nobody would notice.
Zig when others zag
What if all your competitors are wrong?
Write the unwritten
Stating the obvious is a powerful trick when nobody else is telling the truth.
Deliberately different
Is your copy too similar to that of your competitors?
Know your competitors
Are you competing with companies in different industries?
Pratfall effect
Research shows that it’s possible to be too perfect.
Brutal honesty
Address the obvious weakness with your product immediately and openly.
I need a big idea
You need a thought nobody’s had about this yet.
Lateral thinking
Could you weave this word into your copy?
Combine harvester
Rewrite a single headline using five different voices or copywriting techniques.
Cut-up technique
Try printing your working notes so you can cut them up and rearrange the physical sheets.
Unusual suspects
Who within the business has the most direct contact with customers?
Absolutes are unbeatable
As Luke Sullivan writes: ”Go for an absolute; go for an ‘-est’.
CopyDeck is the free part of Ideas. Studio is ProCopywriters’ tools for people who write copy, included in Pro membership.