Our marketing goal is to persuade our target audience to see our product, believe in our product, and buy our product. To accomplish all these interrelated aspects of marketing, we must get people to tune in, easier said than done in this age of mass-marketing and media overload. People are so accustomed to advertising in every corner of their lives, they no longer pay attention. This makes word-art indispensable.

Notice this example. The first paragraph is written without applying the word-art technique.

·               What do I mean by word-art? As writers, we know how vital it is to find the right noun and appropriate verb when creating a narrative that persuades readers to keep turning pages. That same search and application will produce results in the marketing material we create or commission, as well.

While this paragraph is informative, where is the persuasion or call-to-action which will motivate you to get busy writing your next promotional piece using the word-art technique?

Now read the next example with word-art included.

·               What do I mean by word-art? As writers, we know how vital it is to find the perfect noun and the strongest verb when creating a powerful narrative that persuades readers to keep turning pages. That same meticulous search and application will produce remarkable, almost miraculous results in the marketing material we create or commission.

Which of the two is more likely to inspire you, or at the very least, get your attention? Take the time to search out words that inspire, motivate, and excite. Find words that can stand alone and still make an emotional connection. Each of the words added above have that characteristic. If you don’t believe me, close your eyes and slowly repeat aloud each of the words in bold type. These words will spark a glimmer of excitement; it’s that involuntary emotional response to language we want to tap by using Word-Art.

This concept is extremely important when designing promotional materials that are call-to-purchase items, such as blurbs, posters, bookmarks, store signs, postcards, and printed ads. In most cases, these items have only seconds to engage the attention of readers and an equally short time to impact their emotional impulse to buy. Keep your presentation brief, unique, and sincere.

One word of caution, most readers today read at a seventh grade level or lower. Don’t talk over their heads. Amaze them, challenge them, or advise them, but don’t confuse them.

In my next segment we’ll be looking at a little-thought-about aspect of good copy…Remembrance

By Lynda Coker