The easy way to give your copy a makeover

First impressions count, and a little formatting can go a long way

[Image courtesy of Carlislehvac at Flickr Creative Commons]

Last weekend, I was prompted to reflect on what a difference presentation makes. And the starting point for this train of thought was a paintbrush. But I wasn’t standing in front of an easel; instead, I was scraping, sanding and painting the window frames in my office. In just a couple of hours, they went from dirty, cracked and unappealing to clean, smooth and pristine. And all because of a little elbow grease and a lick of paint. To motivate myself when I do these little DIY jobs, I say to myself ‘What would a potential purchaser think?’ And in this case, they’d think ‘What great windows. I think I’ll pay the asking price for the house’. And that’s all the motivation I need. My house isn’t for sale, but if a little work here and there can make it more saleable, and increase the value, then it’s time and effort well spent. The same is true of copy. On this blog, I’m always saying things like cut it down, take it out and pare it back. But there is a limit to how much you can hack away. Sometimes, there’s no excess left to take out. So is the job done? Not exactly. For copy, like windows, walls and gardens, can always do with a little primping to make it look more appealing. And more saleable. Let’s take an example. Twice. Now before you say ‘I’m not reading all that’, let me tell you that you don’t have to. In fact, it’s better that you don’t, as it’ll demonstrate my point more effectively. Here are two versions of the same copy, with a few tweaks on the second pass:

Password security
It’s just crept up on us. Over the last 15-20 years, we’ve had to create passwords for everything from Amazon to Google, from Apple to our PCs and mobile devices. The trouble with a password is that you have to remember it. So you need to make it memorable. And that’s the problem. Because often, what’s memorable is what’s most obvious. So you choose your date of birth, or your partner’s name, or your house number. It’s easy for you to remember, and for hackers to guess. It’s not just humans you’re up against. Password-cracking software can cycle through thousands of word and number combinations a second, making cracking obvious passwords child’s play. So what do you do? Well firstly, don’t use the same password for everything. So much for what you shouldn’t do. But how about some positive advice? Well one easy way is to use a ‘passphrase’, where you use the first letter of each word to create your password. Alternatively, you could use a password-generator to create a strong password for you, incorporating punctuation and symbols. Or you could create a password document, where you store all your passwords; the thing is, if you forget the password document password, then you’re in trouble. Do also remember also to change your passwords frequently, for added security. Password security may have just crept up on us, but that’s no reason to ignore the problem. In an age of increasing hacker sophistication, doing nothing is not an option. The time to take action is now.

And again:

Password security: Top Tips to keep you safe from prying eyes!
Passwords are everywhere. They’ve just crept up on us. Over the last 15-20 years, we’ve had to create passwords for everything from Amazon to Google, from Apple to our PCs and mobile devices. The trouble with a password is that you have to remember it. So you need to make it memorable. Don’t make the hackers’ job easier. And that’s the problem. Because often, what’s memorable is what’s most obvious. So you choose your date of birth, or your partner’s name, or your house number. It’s easy for you to remember, and for hackers to guess. It’s not just humans you’re up against. Password-cracking software can cycle through thousands of word and number combinations a second, making cracking obvious passwords child’s play.
Here are our Top 5 tips:

Don’t use the same password for everything, as you could lose everything in one go.

Use a ‘passphrase’, where you use the first letter of each word to create your password.

Use a password-generator to create a strong password for you, incorporating punctuation and symbols.

Create a password document, where you store all your passwords. But be careful: if you forget the password document password, then you’re in trouble.

Change your passwords frequently for added security.

Take action NOW
Password security may have just crept up on us, but that’s no reason to ignore the problem. In an age of increasing hacker sophistication, doing nothing is not an option. The time to take action is now.

Paint your copy better

You see what I mean? When it comes to copy, a little formatting goes a long way. I’ll bet you only read the headings and the bolded text in the second one. And you know what? You picked up the message just as well as if you’d read the bits in between. Good copywriting encourages speed-reading. It helps the reader through the text, saving them time and effort. Just like scraping, sanding and painting does for tired window frames, a little light decorating work will transform you copy. And it’ll make readers and potential purchasers think ‘I’ll buy that’. And you’re done.

Kevin Copywriting, Language, Marketing, Writing.