Welcome to the One Minute Copy Coach!
Welcome to the One Minute Copy Coach!
Your time is valuable. So is your work. The creative team at Huntsinger & Jeffer respect both. We want to help fundraising copywriters craft the most effective copy possible so they can get the best results for their organizations.So we created the One Minute Copy Coach. Every week you’ll get a quick, useful tip on the art and craft of writing fundraising copy. Each one should only take about a minute to read but will, we hope, help you write cleaner, tighter, and more emotional copy that will get attention and persuade your readers to act.We hope you’ll enjoy these little posts. And we really hope you help us improve them by offering your own honest and candid feedback.Thanks!So, let’s get this show on the road ...
Close Your Grammar Book and Open Your Ears
Ever gotten into a heated discussion about the Oxford comma? Ever had someone question why you use two sets of ellipses to connect paragraphs? Most people involved with writing have a list in their heads of grammar preferences and rules they feel must be inviolate.The ultimate purpose of grammar, of course, is to make writing clear and understandable. But it's easy to get lost in the weeds of what is “correct” and lose sight of how your reader actually experiences what you're trying to express.In fundraising copy, the purpose of writing is not to make academically precise explications but to evoke emotional responses that will persuade readers to take the action you want them to.Fundraising writing is a conversation with your reader, and it must sound conversational.That's why, as a competent copywriter, your most reliable grammar reference is your own pair of ears. When you review your draft copy, listen carefully to how the words sound and how the sentences flow.Whether you choose to boldly split an infinitive, use the occasional sentence fragment, or be wildly inconsistent in your use of the final serial comma, should be irrelevant as long as your copy sounds like one human being speaking earnestly and sincerely to another.© 2021 Huntsinger & Jeffer