7 Rules of Great Copy Writing

by Bob Bly
Author of Best Kept Copy Writing Secrets

Numbers gain attention, arouse curiosity, and add credibility to product claims.

Here are 7 ways to use numbers to increase the power of your next sales promotion:

1 – Make percentages look larger.

Taking percentages out to the second decimal place makes them look bigger, because there are 2 extra digits.
Good: 230%
Better: 230.47%

2 – The magic of 2,000.

When you have 2,000 or more of something, you can legitimately say you have “thousands.”
Good: 2,100 subscribers.
Better: thousands of subscribers.
Thousands sounds better because it could be anything from 2,000
to 999,999.

3 – Almost/over.

When you want to make a number bigger than it is, compare it to the nearest round number using the words “almost” or “over/more than.”
Good: 17 years of experience.
Better: almost 20 years of experience.
Good: 21 years of experience.
Better: more than 20 years of experience.

4 – Use credible numbers.

The rule of thumb is to use the round number when you are talking theoretically, and the odd number when you are presenting hard data.
Theoretical: “Make $100,000 as a professional massage therapist.”
Hard data: “Last year Henry earned $100,287.45 in his massage therapy practice.”

5 – Do not write numbers as words. Use numerals.

Good: Seven ways to reduce PC down-time.
Better: 7 ways to reduce PC down-time.

6 – Write fractions as whole numbers rather than percentages.

Good: 30% of wine bottles have cork rot.
Better: 3 out of 10 wine bottles have cork rot.

7 – Use the largest unit of measure possible to make a number sound big.

Good: 25 years of service.
Better: A quarter of a century of service.

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