Language – Page 2 – Sarah McIver Copy

Copywriting, Language, Press releases, Psychology

5 ways to a more effective press release

11th Jun 201224th May 2020 Sarah

Press releases.

Designed to get as much attention as possible from as many media sources as possible about you and your company’s latest developments.

Sadly, far too many press releases fail to do the job, instead lost in the mountainous pile of other laughably ridiculous PRs that someone took the time to write but never bothered to think about.

Don’t doom your next press release to the same fate…

Here are 5 tips on how to structure your press release for maximum attention and effect:

1. Make it newsworthy

This kinda goes without saying really. There’s no point sending out a press release if what you’re announcing isn’t of interest to anyone. Make it relevant, something people would want to know about. Remember, that’s not the same as something you think people should want to know about!

2. Make it current

One of the best ways to get attention with a press release is to tie it into something that’s already big news. For example, maybe you’ve just released a new version of your online casino software, which now happens to also be available to Spain residents. Angling the PR around the issue of Spanish licenses to certain players in the gaming industry will put your PR at the top of the pile. Try to find relevant articles in the news, stuff that’s going on right now, that you could tie your PR into, therefore attracting more attention to it.

3. Stick to the facts

Press releases are supposed to be informative and relevant, so don’t tangent off onto the subject of your sister’s cousin’s dog. For a start, no-one cares. For another thing, it has nothing to do with the price of fish anyway. Get straight to the point and keep it there throughout your PR.

4. Make it reader friendly

Think about who’s gonna be reading your press release. Mostly newspaper and news website publishers. They must trawl through tons of PRs before they find something they deem worthy enough to get printed or posted so do them a favour, make your PR easy to read. Forget the fancy business jargon and excessively long words, thinking it makes you and your business sound important and smart. What the reader of your PR wants to know is if there’s an interesting story in your PR. There’s not a chance in hell he’s gonna spend the next half an hour trawling through the Merriam Webster for the meanings of all the fancy words you crammed in there. As is a recurring theme when talking about effective copy: speak to people like they’re people.

5. Give it a killer headline

The most important part of your press release is the headline cos that small piece of text will determine whether your PR even gets looked at or not. The main content of your PR could be the biggest news since sliced bread but if that fact isn’t reflected in your headline, you can forget the mention of success coming anywhere near it. That doesn’t mean you need to cram all the details in there either though! An overstuffed headline will get as much attention as no headline at all – after all, where’s a reader to focus? Killer headlines come in all shapes and sizes but they all do one crucially important thing: pull the reader into the copy.

So there you have it. A brief rundown of the key elements of a successful PR.

Think about these the next time you’re writing yours.

Or better yet, have me write it instead.

Copywriting, Emails, Language, Psychology

Forget features, it’s benefits that sell!

5th Jun 201224th May 2020 Sarah

Write in terms of benefits to reach your readers

Features v Benefits.

It might not sound like much, or like there’s much in it, but really, when it comes to writing effective copy, you have to be absolutely clear on the difference between the two.

For example…

You’ve just released a new version of your online casino software. You think it’s pretty awesome if you do say so yourself. I mean, look at this…

HD graphics
Digital surround sound
Widescreen
Custom lobby
Multiplay options
Tabbed layout

…and so on.

So you send a brief through to your ever-ready marketing team with the instruction to just stick that list in an email and fire it out to the members – they’re gonna love it!

Right? Erm no.

The problem with those bullet points is there is absolutely no benefit referred to whatsoever.

You don’t want your members to have to decipher your marketing messages and translate your intra-company jargon… cos trust me, they won’t!

Write in language your members will get!

Make sure your email is in a language that your members understand and can relate to.

So the above bullet points are the FEATURES of the new casino software release. What you need to do is tell the members what that means for them… ie. turn those features into BENEFITS to the reader.

A more effective way of describing your features might be as follows…

Crystal clear gameplay – with top notch HD quality graphics
Hear the sounds of a real casino! – with digital surround sound
See more of the action – with widescreen
Design your own lobby – with customisable options
Play them all at once! – with multiplay games
Easy to find your favourites – with tabbed layout

These bullets are longer (but the bolding helps break it up) but they will be much more effective than the first set of bullets cos they talk in terms that a member can understand and relate to.

Think about what THEY want out of their casino software, not what YOU THINK they should want.

Take a feature and think about how it benefits the member. Then communicate those benefits to the member.

You’ll reach more of your members and inspire them to love your new casino software as much as you do.

Copywriting, Language, Psychology

Effective copy is all in the mind

21st May 201224th May 2020 Sarah

People buy for emotional reasons, backed up by logic

It’s all in the mind.

When talking to your poker population, for example, you have to put yourself in their shoes.

Do you know who your typical poker player is? What drives them? What their day to day life is like?

Why they play poker?

In general, there are many reasons people play poker. For some it’s just a fun way to relax after a hard day’s work.

For others, it’s a way to make a bit of extra money on the side to supplement their income.

And for yet others, it’s all about the psychological challenge, the thrill of the game against an unseen opponent, see who emerges the better player…

There are of course plenty of other reasons people play poker, but it’s the copywriter’s job to find out what kind of poker player the communication is aimed at.

Why? Because the most effective way to communicate with your target market is to get inside their head and find out what makes them tick.

Talk to them in their language, relate to them in terms of how playing poker makes them feel, whether it’s the escapism, the extra income, the challenge… whatever it is, talk in those terms, from that point of view.

In your communications, stir up those feelings they get when they play. For example, the way the casual poker player feels when he plays is gonna be vastly different to how the serious poker player earning a decent side income from his game feels when he plays.

Remind them why they play and that they can experience those same feelings at your poker site.

Get on the same level as your poker player and you’re another step closer to keeping them.

It’s not your product you’re trying to sell here. And this is the mistake so many gaming companies today make.

What you’re selling is an intangible emotional and psychological state of being.

And you can’t sell that through reasoning and logic.

A skilled copywriter knows how to make that psychological connection through the power of the right words at the right time.

Bookmark my blog for more tips and tricks on effective online gaming copywriting.

Copywriting, Language, Psychology

Attracting attention: It’s about what you say AND how you say it

14th May 201224th May 2020 Sarah

So you walk into this lovely little cake shop and you start drooling over the sumptuous selection of cute little cherry bakewells, almond slices and other Mr Kipling rip-off delights…

You saunter over to one lil cake stand and take in the aroma of marzipanny deliciousness with a cherry on top.

The seller catches the look on your face and gives you a knowing wink.

“These are really fab,” the girl says. “You won’t get any of that dryness you tend to get in the pastry of most cherry bakewells.”

You ponder some more, meandering over to another cake stand with what appear to be the same cherry bakewells on display.

A different girl this time… “Uh yeah so… buy one if you want one.”

Who would you buy from?

The online gaming industry has quickly become a saturated marketplace and everyone is offering pretty much the same thing.

So how do you put yourself out there, right in front of your target market? How do you make yourself stand out above the rest? How do you get them to choose you over the thousands of other online gaming sites out there?

What makes you so special?

My lil cake shop example above demonstrates the often overlooked importance of effective communication if your aim is to trawl in those members… and KEEP them paying and playing with you!

It’s not just about what you say, it’s about how you say it too.

For example, try saying the following sentence without any kind of snidey tone in your voice…

‘What are YOU looking at?’

Pretty tough, right? Take the caps off the word ‘you’ and you’ve got a pretty harmless and neutral toned sentence.

That one word made all the difference.

Can you see how important it is to get every single word of your member communications right? Even if you think your brand’s the best and no further explanation is needed?

Your casino software could be the best out there but if you’re not telling your members about it effectively enough, you might as well be telling them to beat it.

Remember, people HAVE and WILL spite themselves by turning down the best just on principle. If they feel offended or insulted in any way by your emails, web pages or whatever else, you’ve lost them. They sure as hell won’t stick around for more.

Get the tone of voice of your copy wrong and you might as well hand those potential members over to your competitors on a silver plate.

Don’t get cocky. If you tell potential new members that you’re the best and you’re all that, like you’re doing THEM a favour just by being around, they’ll be off.

Besides, haven’t we had enough of every Tom, Dick and Harry in the gaming industry claiming to be the best online casino/poker/bingo site ever?

Keep it here and you’ll learn a variety of ways to reach (and win over!) your potential and current members without having to resort to blatant lies, puffed up over-exaggerated claims, or corporate robot-talk syndrome.