Creative Writing Techniques Used by Advertising Copywriters

Writing for advertisements is far more than dry business facts. You need to be able to bring emotion, color, and life to your writing just as a creative writer would. As a matter of fact, the techniques of both trades are very similar, but with slightly different end goals.

Technique Number 1: Sensory Detail

Every product an advertising copywriter writes about corresponds with a sensory experience of some kind. For a simple creative writing technique, ask yourself how a selection of products gets used by a consumer. Go for variety and versatility to make sure you are flexing your creative muscles as much as possible. Here are some fun products to practice writing one, persuasive sentence about.

• Sunglasses
• A bottle of wine
• A surfboard
• A gourmet coffee blend

Technique Number 2: Ask yourself what your reader wants

For a change of perspective, don’t focus on what you want to say. Focus on what your reader wants to hear. This is far easier than it sounds. After all, you are both a producer and a consumer. When you close your eyes and imagine a pair of sunglasses, a bottle of wine, a coffee blend or a surfboard, what elements do you want to see? What are you really buying? A surfboard, or sunshine and waves? A bottle of wine or a quiet evening with someone special?

Technique Number 3: Be emotional

You won’t hear that type of advice in many professional settings, but it is central to writing compelling advertising copy. This is because even though you may think in terms of budgets and rational decision making, the truth is most purchases are an emotional decision. You want to tap into these motives anytime you are trying to write on behalf of a brand.

Technique 4: Study the greats who came before you

 Advertising walks the line between art and business. In the latter half of the last century, there was an absolute explosion of creative and innovative advertising techniques. A whole new world of brand voices and product identities. As a matter of fact, there have been significant impacts on the average person’s lifestyle thanks to popular advertising campaigns that took hold of the imagination of the general public. Always compete with the best, and you will push yourself to be the best you can be.

Learn More Creative Copywriting Techniques with a World-Renowned Educational Partnership

Florida International University and the world-renowned Miami Ad School have partnered to deliver an advertising education unlike any other. You get to interact with and learn from professors with decades of experience in the competitive and challenging world of advertising. They can show you examples of powerful copy driven by creative writing techniques, and how you can bring those ideas to your own work. You get to network in the artistic environment of Wynwood in sunny Miami, South Florida. To learn more about this opportunity, email program director Grizelle De Los Reyes, gdelosre@fiu.edu or contact us online if you prefer.