Is copywriting all about knowing the correct words?

If there's one thing that sales copy should NEVER be, it's stiff or formal.

So, yes, if there's one thing English language copywriters need, it's conversational English, including sayings and even some slang terms,. The reason people pay good money for copywriting services is because good copy makes the sale. If you sound like a robot, you won't get the sale, and you won't get re-hired.

It's MUCH more about emotionally motivating the prospect.

But if you're not a native English speaker - here's a warning.
There's a good chance that anything you write will have subtle oddities that confuse the prospect or "just doesn't sound right."
So if you want to write your own copy and you aren't 100% confident in your English skills. You might want to write your copy and then have a native English speaker (preferably also a copywriter) edit it, so it sounds less awkward and more natural.

-Andy

Copywriting should be such that the person reading your copy relates to you and your STORY! You have to engage them, take them through an emotional journey and then tell them exactly what you want them to do - CALL TO ACTION!

It's a big mistake to think that you have to be a native English speaker to be able to write a good copy. As long as you have good command of English and can write a personal letter to a friend, for instance, you can write a good copy. Because really, that's what a good copy is; it's like a personal letter. Copywriting is a skill and an art. You can learn it and with practice you can master it.

Words are visual representations of what is going on in our heads. While all words have a denotation - that is they mean something that is accepted across the whole language speaking society - such as "tree" will always denote a specific type of plant and "in" will always mean a specific spatial orientation.

Words also have a connotation. That is an alternate meaning that is not quite as rigid. Connotations carry meaning further into the subconscious than Denotations. Consider these phrases:

She's a working girl.
She's a career woman.

Same person? The denotation of the words are the same. The connotations are not. Someone who respects and admires the woman and wants others to see her in a way that will engender respect and admiration will most likely use the second phrase to describe her. Those who find her unsophisticated or low class will be more likely to use the first phrase to covertly belittle her stature.

Knowing which words to use isn't just a matter of knowing the language - it is a matter of knowing which words your target group are most likely to use themselves and what emotional predispositions they are used to convey. You aren't going to market something to a 70 year old man in the US using the phrase "it's the bomb". It won't sink in the way you want it to. However - if you're selling something to a 17 year old guy, "the bomb" rings for him.

Words are so much more important in sales copy (and in society and communication in general) than most people realize that it's hard to even get the point across strongly enough.

Sure - using correct English is important when advertising to English speakers -- but going beyond that and using the words that are best suited to communicating with your chosen target group is really a necessity as well.

Copywriting is not about being a native English speaker but rather being capable of adding weight to words you are already conversant with. Once you are capable of providing an interface with your targets you should be able to pull them with your ideas or to your products.

Look copywriting is just "selling an idea".

Its all about Persuasion.

And so if the receiver does not understand you, you are in trouble.

That much English you need.

Beyond that its all about understanding your prospect and hitting it where it "hurts".

Words are just a medium, its understanding the prospect which matter much more.

One "misteak" that I see frequently is letting words get in the way of the ideas. By that I mean that the words should not distract from the ideas/emotions/actions that the copy is meant to convey.

And distractions include misspellings, bad grammar, words that require a Phd to understand, bad layout/formatting, mile long sentences, and other such stuff that seem to encourage the reader to leave.

One thing I've noticed in this forum is the copywriters all seem to write in short sentences and paragraphs. And that sure makes it easy to follow their ideas.

Marvin

So far great replies. Thank you.
Another reason for opening this thread is because I see a lot of lies in copies around the web. Are they effective? Do I have to do this?

I read all kinds of sales pages, I've even came across one in the pick-up niche, where the author claimed that at the age of 13 he was .... all the women from some area (neighborhood or school, I can't remember).

I mean, who is that stupid to fall for this?

English isn't my first language either, so I understand where you are coming from.

It's not just a matter of knowing the words. It's about knowing how to use them well. A dictionary knows a lot of words too, but no one bothers to read the whole thing! In order to be an effective writer, you have to understand which words convey a particular message, and then also understand which words to use in the appropriate contexts.

My favourite writer is Irvine Welsh.

Irvine Welsh is not a copywriter, he's a novelist. Anybody that's aware of his work (if you don't recognise the name think of the movie trainspotting) will know that Irvine is somewhat unorthodox in his writing style.

That's what I love about him and why I think he's relevant to this thread.

Welsh doesn't bother with the rules of spelling, grammar and diction when he is writing, he doesn't need to. He just writes the way he wants to write. He writes phonetically when he feels like it and uses typography like a play thing. Irvine Welsh is always playing with words and sentence structure and changing them to make them fit his needs. Of course though, his profanity will have no place in a professional environment.

The point I am trying to make is that his use of profanity, slang and colloquialism have a very strong impact on his work and help the reader to associate with his characters as though they were sat next to you in the pub. Love or hate the characters in an Irvine Welsh book, you won't forget them. Having the ability to make a product 'stick' in the way Welsh makes a character 'stick' would be a fine thing.

Irvine Welsh has the ability to manipulate the language and bend the rules right to the limit without actually breaking them, even when he does. Irvine Welsh writes not as a writer but as a person that is sat right next to you, and that is something that even the majority of true native English writers struggle to achieve.

Of course that's not to say that non-native English speakers can't pull it off, but they'd have to be pretty bloody good at it.

Copywriting I would think is all about the words you choose. Writing copy in a language that you're not familiar with therefore can prove to be really tricky - even if you get another copywriter to translate it. I think it's best to write copy only in languages that you're truly comfortable with.