What to read to write normally

In previous releases, we talked about why brands should make content, and not just promote their products. Now let's talk about how to write about the product. Today we will share useful links so that you never write as an amoeba.


In the photo: Ameba Protei. Some brands write at its level.

Blog copywriter Denis Kaplunova

Necessary remark: copywriting is a bad word. If you are looking for a person who will write about your product, run away from those who call themselves a copywriter. Look for editors, commercial writers, or former journalists (not all).
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Kaplunov is engaged in copywriting and writes a lot for his colleagues. Among the tons of information on the profession there are texts useful not only for copywriters.

“80 copywriting rules” , in fact, is a guide in the format of bad advice on how amoebas write. Check out and instantly increase your level. Here are some examples:

• Absolutely any text if you wish, you can cut at least 30%. I repeat ... Any text can be reduced by at least 30%.
• Why no one thinks about the fact that you do not need to use a negative style? She can not cause a yawn.
• Bad metaphor that nail into the eyeball.
• Ashipki allow everything. But not all of them are deducted and killed by re-exposure.
• Some clever man said that brackets cannot be used in the text (although he did not explain why) ...

Another text about basic skills is “15 ways to copy texts” . Kaplunov tells what to do and why. Prohibited speed, useless idioms, unnecessary words.

“15 cases in which pictures are better than text” is a manual on how to remove water, replace it with an illustration and not burn through.

• Product Image: Why describe in a few sentences what the reader can see in a couple of seconds? The main thing is that he gets the clearest "picture", a photo of the goods here has an advantage.

Relap tip: do not illustrate texts as Kapunov does. Next time we will tell you in detail about the correct image search.

"The word is alive and dead" , Nora Gal

You do not have the moral right to write until you read "The Word is alive and dead." Nora Gal - Russian-speaking mother of the “Little Prince” Exupery. It was she who translated it correctly.

In the book, Gal talks about clerical and borrowing. The author explains why they can not be used, and gives examples from many years of practice.

We all met with the clerk. On it speak amoebas and officials. The clerk deprives the text of adequacy and kills it.

And here nouns in oblique cases pile up on each other, and more and more verbal:

• "The process of development of the movement to strengthen cooperation".
• "Increasing the level of competence leads to instability."
• "Equally typical is the motive of an imaginary mother."
• "... wandering in the fourth dimension ... the final defeat when you question your ... existence!"
• "... With complete astonishment, surprise, he participated a moment ago in what happened ..."

It is not thought up! It is printed in an edition of 300 thousand copies.

The more verbs, the better. The word must carry life and be a source of knowledge. Speech mistake to make simple. But to find it - overwork, especially if you do not include the head.

Nora Gal touched on the topic of translation. It is necessary to translate from foreign to Russian organically, and not literally and mechanically. There are hundreds of fixed expressions in English that simply cannot be translated literally - the reader will stumble and lose the thread of the story. Such turns need to be turned into reasonable Russian-language formulations.

• In the original, like a Trojan, literally “like a Trojan”, it’s clear from the dictionary — well done : the girl boldly carried a heavy burden without complaining and not giving up. But the translator does not notice that the ends do not meet. And, of course, does not check itself.

Keep this in mind when you are translating the next press release.

Maxim Ilyakhov: blog , newsletter and tips

If you are writing about a product, but have not heard anything about Maxim Ilyahov yet, think: what is wrong with you at all?

Ilyakhov - Executive Editor of the Bureau Artem Gorbunov. Created "Glavred" - a good service for cleaning text from garbage. First tip: drive the creations through Glavred. But do not get carried away: sometimes stop words do not spoil the text, so do not turn off the brain.

In the mailing list Ilyakhov gives advice on editing. In addition to the basics of the information style, he talks about the structure of the text and other nuances of its creation. In more detail this question is covered in the advanced course of Glavred.

• The optimal text length is interesting.

In the councils, Ilyahov parses the real texts and says what mistakes are made in them and how to correct them. And the blog writes detailed instructions on how to write a text about yourself and the company.

If you are writing about a company or a product, then shove “functionality” and “exclusivity” into a plastic bag. Talk about the benefits and solve user problems.

• In order for the reader to remember the text, show him a specific movie about life. When there is a specific movie, put an abstraction in the beginning. And do not forget about the benefits.

“Internet News Journalism” , Alexander Amzin

No, we are not confused. Despite the title, this book is a storehouse of useful information for those who decide to write about their product.

Alexander Amzin is a media analyst, a former journalist for the old school “Tapes.ru”. He wrote a book to systematize knowledge. Journalists are still learning how to write articles for newspapers and do not always correctly perceive the reality, where the Internet drives the information.

In the book Amzin gives advice on working with texts. For example, tells how to make a verb heading.

• Every editor, journalist, newsman eventually notices that the set of verbs used in describing events is very limited. Many people make from this the wrong conclusion that one should just use the most common verbs. Meanwhile, it kills the news.
• When half of the news feed consists of verbs like “became”, “turned out”, “will”, “suspected”, “accused”, “declared”, “called”, “told” - this is wrong, although some of them are strong and almost always work. Fortunately, there are many good, rarely used verbs. They forget about them if they try to write news according to the scheme and do not want to think for a couple of minutes. Imagine how many such headings would be lost if we replaced the verbs with more familiar ones:
• Solar blown off comet tail
• The 10 dollar bill has grown

Amzin teaches how to work with information correctly: how to understand whether the source is reliable, how to structure the text and monitor the information.

• The sports commentator uses the adjective "igrotsky" on TV. You must have an absolute lack of hearing to say that. Following the commentator of this monster, secondary media are breeding - in the news, in articles.

We strongly recommend "News Internet Journalism" to anyone who is going to write about the product. In the end, sometimes you need to turn a new feature into adequate news, rather than a sour press release, which is easier to burn than read.

Now the book is outdated in some places, so Alexander Amzin is preparing a new version and promises to supplement it with fresh information.

Lyuda Sarycheva's blog

Lyuda Sarycheva is the editor of the Megaplan mailing list, she has been working in conjunction with Maxim Ilyakhov for a year and a half.

In addition to posts about personal, she writes about the art of writing texts.

Valuable post about why the author's style is not needed.

• Individuality, author's style - in the world of the author. The author satisfies his own ambitions, because he wants to write unlike others. The reader does not care. He wants useful and clear text. If the author has a super style, but he writes garbage, no one will read. Conversely, if the text is useful, but poorly written, the reader will leave it.

Or advice on how to write congratulations. And also about double words , frequent grammatical errors and superfluous words .

And finally, a few rules from Relap.io

1. Love verbs.
2. Avoid the clerk.
3. Kill the graphomaniac.
4. Get to know your reader.
5. Try to avoid specific terms.
6. Use as simple words as possible.
7. Do not make too long sentences.
8. One paragraph - one new thought.
9. Keep a neutral style.
10. Write so that your mom understands.