1. keep it structured
spans, especially when digital media is involved. It’s
Everything I write, from the shortest email to the longest essential to condense your message and make it as pithy
article, begins with a rough, structural outline of what as possible. This ensures that you grab the customer’s
I’m about to write. attention.
For a simple HTML email, structural elements to
include are a subject line, headline, body copy and a CTA. 4. never forget the cta
For a blog post, begin by establishing a framework of Most spa professionals are likely familiar with the term
introduction, body and conclusion. It can also be useful to “CTA”: call-to-action. Every piece of marketing that goes
think topically. Ask yourself, “what information do I need out—even indirect content marketing, such as a blog
to include in this copy?” Create high-level sections that post—should have a CTA at the end that tells the reader
cover each topic, then flesh out these sections with exactly what they should do next.
necessary details.
It may also be helpful to structure your copy around
The CTA should always be concise and clear; try to
shorten it as much as you can. For an email, the CTA
the six classic questions: who, what, when, where, why might be something as direct as a clickable button or link
and how. Then, set out to answer each question as you that says, “Book your treatment today!” However, a CTA
write. Organizing copy like this makes it easier to ensure can be concise and clear without being “salesy,” and the
that all the information you needed to convey is included subtlety of the CTA should vary based on which platform
in the text. you’re writing it for. For a blog post on Ayurveda, you
might include a gentler CTA, such as a concluding
2. Write differently for different groups sentence that invites the reader to “discover our
Rather than thinking about what platform is best for ayurvedic-inspired treatments at spawebsite.com.”
what type of writing, think about which audience
responds best to which kind of writing. We’re no longer 5. let it be
in the days when only young people used social media. Proofreading is always a challenge, even to a seasoned
Grandmas use Facebook. Uncles send out Tweets. I’m editor. Fortunately, there are a variety to ways to make it
sure there’s even an octogenarian who uses TikTok. easier. The simplest advice is to just let it be: write the
Thinking of each platform as having a “style” isn’t as copy in advance, then let it sit for a day or two before
useful as it once was. revisiting it. This gives your mind time to ‘clear its cache’,
Instead, think about for whom you’re writing,
so to speak. The next time you review what you wrote,
regardless of platform. Are they primarily male or you’ll stop seeing what you thought you wrote and
female? Existing customers or new customers? Are they instead see what you actually wrote. This is useful for
educated on spa concepts? Are they most interested in catching awkward phrasings, sloppy messaging or
aesthetics, pain relief or relaxation? The answers to missing information.
questions like these are more important than what
Another tip to help tighten up any copy is to read it
specific platform you use, in part because all copy should aloud. This method is especially useful for catching words
(as discussed below) be as concise as possible. that are misspelled, but uncatchable by a spellchecker:
for example, writing “teal” instead of “real.” For typos,
3. be brief reading a text backward forces you to look at each word
Shakespeare wrote that brevity is the soul of wit; this is individually—not as part of a sentence—and can expose
never truer than with marketing copy. Regardless of the any spelling errors you might otherwise miss.
platform—be it email, Facebook, Twitter, blog, brochure,
Grammar and punctuation errors can be more difficult to
or spa menu—it’s best to keep your copy short, while still spot, but even Microsoft Word is increasingly adept at
conveying all the necessary information. catching even complex grammar mistakes (such as issues
Think of how much time you devote to reading long,
with comma usage) as well as errors using
text-heavy emails from people you don’t personally know. where/were/we’re or its/it’s. If you write copy in Google Docs,
What about long Facebook posts? If you’re like most, you Grammarly is a free software that integrates with Chrome
likely don’t read them at all. People have short attention and provides real-time suggestions and corrections.
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