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Copywriting for Better Results:
Sell Them Strawberries, Not Fragaria

by Katherine Khalife

Hmmm, let's see. A beautiful, juicy, succulent, red strawberry . . . or a fragaria? Which one sounds more appealing? Which one would you be more likely to buy? Unless you're a horticulture expert and know that a strawberry and a fragaria are the same thing, I bet you'd buy the strawberry. I would too.

When you work in a museum environment every day, it's easy to forget that few outsiders have your expertise. After all, you use insider terminology and scholarly distinctions all the time. And you probably know your institution and your subject so well that you even think in shorthand. To you, museumspeak is second nature; to your potential visitors it's a foreign language. Keep that in mind when you're writing marketing brochures, ads, flyers or direct mail pieces. Sell your readers strawberries, not fragaria. Here are eight tips on copywriting for better results:

1. Look at your museum through beginners' eyes
Think back to the very first day you worked in a museum. Were you confused or puzzled by some of the terminology? Most of your readers are too. What fascinated you most about your institution the first time you visited? Probably things you take for granted now. Recalling your first impressions can be very helpful in writing copy that you're readers can relate to and be excited by.

2. Use laymen's terms whenever possible
If you don't have room to define a technical or insider term by relating it to something your reader is familiar with, it's better not to use it at all. Use laymen's language instead.

3. Ditch the acronyms
Unexplained acronyms cause readers to feel excluded when they don't know what the initials stand for. Unless the piece you're writing is only for your peers, professional "shorthand" is out of place.

4. Keep the focus on the reader
Write in terms of "you" rather than "we."

5. Stress benefits, not features
Features talk about you -- what you have to offer, what you're about, what makes you so great. Benefits, on the other hand, address the reader -- what the reader will gain from attending or giving or joining. Think about it a minute. When you read an ad or a brochure, isn't the main question in the back of your mind "What's in it for me?" Your reader is asking that same question. Be sure you answer it.

6. Give your audience the "whens" and "whys" behind the "whats" If you're a railroad museum, when did railroads first develop and why were they so important? If you're a house museum, why should I be interested in the person who lived there? If you're a battlefield, when and in what war did the battle take place, and why was it pivotal? You know the answers so well that it's easy to forget that most of your readers don't. Give a one- or two-line explanation that puts your institution into context for them.

7. Write commercially
Like it or not, you're competing with other kinds of attractions for vacation and leisure dollars. This is not the time to be modest or scholarly.

8. Don't forget the "awesome factor"
We're all impressed with biggests and bests. Stress yours.

For links to related articles and online resources, visit the Public Relations, Writing and Editing, or Media Directories sections of the Museum Marketing Tips Links Library.

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Copyright © 2000 Katherine Khalife All rights reserved.
For reprint permission, please e-mail info@museummarketingtips.com

Katherine Khalife is a writer and consultant specializing in museum marketing, customer service and heritage cultural tourism. See the Services section for information about her workshops and other services.

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