Stephen King is an author who needs no introduction. With over 200 short stories and more than 50 novels, he ranks among the most famous writers of all time. Behind the images and plots of his works lie the most serious problems of humanity, over which we have room for reflection. And from a purely literary point of view, it is an undeniable fact that Stephen King's style grabs the attention and keeps the reader engaged until the last page - that is, there is a kind of copywriting art on his part. Is this a coincidence?

The ability to write in a way that keeps the reader engaged and arouses their interest is an ability that not every writer possesses. Stephen King is the Master of captivating content, from whom we can learn useful tips if we want to engage in quality copywriting.

Stephen King's lessons for good writing are simple and ingenious:

1. Write for yourself first, then for your audience – a conscientious writer and copywriter must first approve of themselves. If they are satisfied with the content they have written, looking at it from the perspective of their target client, then it is almost certain that the audience will like what they have written as well.
2. Don’t use “passive” words – using “passive” words can weaken the impact of the story we’re telling. That’s why we, as copywriters, need to focus on action verbs and “active” vocabulary. The vibrations that words evoke also affect when a text is read aloud.
3. Reading, as much reading as possible – there is no writer or copywriter who does not develop themselves through reading. Otherwise, we risk getting stuck in one place, which is a shortcut to failure.
4. To write one word at a time – as Stephen King put it, this rule advises us not to dwell on words and phrases that only accumulate in the text and – ultimately – say nothing. It is necessary to focus on the power of each written word , placed in its right place.
5. Stick to your own style – always, in everything, including copywriting services, uniqueness is valued. In our quest to sound current, we sometimes go in the wrong direction, mixing styles, which is noticed by readers. Not to be a faceless copy and not to wander in styles – this is a golden rule.
6. Go Deep – If we’re superficial in our story, we’ll sound not only unconvincing, but even frivolous. Telling personal stories is the foundation of successful copywriting, because if our readers identify with what we’re telling them, they’ll want to take action, change their thinking and even aspects of their lives. Finding a human element to base our story on will make it impactful.
7. Let's take a breath - rest is vital not only for the body, but especially for the mind. Stephen King himself takes a six-week break after writing a draft. Of course, we set the pace and the breaks - the important thing is to have them.
8. Let's leave the boring and focus on the "killer" content - if our text is as intriguing as possible for the audience, then we have done a good job of reducing or even eliminating the boring passages that are often skipped by readers.
9. Be careful with inserting facts – in copywriting, using data can help if you don’t overdo it. You shouldn’t overdo it with statistics at the expense of the story itself. Data is like spices – it works great if used in moderation, otherwise it can ruin the whole dish.

Writing "magically" well is not impossible. Our innate talent is only the foundation to be successful copywriters. Let's learn from Masters like Stephen King and other classics of the word, because their skills made them so.

Photo: The Rolling Stones, 31.10.2014