Good copywriting garners response, creates awareness, and is best remembered.

1. Start with an effective / good headline

Pack in your brand name, product benefit and a catchy appeal to your audience in the headline.

Research has shown that headlines of 10 words or longer containing news or information will outperform shorter headlines.

2. Make your copy interesting

Your target audience must want to read your copy. Your opening statement must compel the reader to read on.

Use language your customers use in daily conversations. If you are selling to the masses, use simple sentence structures, eg. "eschew obfuscation" could be just simply, "avoid confusion"!

3. Sell only one thing

Good copywriting presents one main selling idea. This is the primary benefit to the customer. Do this quickly before you lose his interest.

4. Use plenty of facts

Research has shown that a copy's success increases as the amount of information increases. The more facts you tell, the more you sell!

Facts are truth, facts are trusted. Therefore, facts increase your product credibility.

5. Use testimonials

The testimony of a fellow customer is more credible than the comments of the copywriter. A well known customer is even better.

6. Always be truthful

Tell the truth in your copy, if you don't you will not get the customer to buy the second time. No inflated claims, no lavish promises, just plain truth.

7. Create action

The purpose of any good copywriting is to create action - a desire for the product or service. The desire must be sufficiently strong to compel a customer to buy it.

8. Tell them where and when to buy it

If you want to generate leads for your sales team, tell them to call for a free brochure.

Create urgency, make customers act now before they move on to other things and forget your great offers.

Summary:

Sell the primary benefit fast, impact the reader, stay focused (communicate the primary benefit, and only the primary benefit), and then be honest.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule but these are few. The above pointers should get you ahead of the competition with good, effective copywriting for your advertisements or brochures.