Intro to Copywriting 2

Dr. Will Kurlinkus

Common Errors Instructions
¡  Visual Design
¡  Create a clear and consistent visual hierarchy. Make
sure the action is visually distinct and separate from
longer educational content, warnings, tips, tricks, and
feedback, each of which should have their own visual
signifiers.
¡  Each step should have an image. Each image should
show the action and be well labeled. Each image
should have an informational and redundant caption.

¡  Teaching: Remember you are providing more

information than simply do this. You MUST say do this
because… here’s why... This is why this works in this
way.
¡  Remember you are writing this to a beginner. I will
be looking for missing information/steps. Have
someone read it over.
As a group write
a statement,
email, etc.
related to your
final project
using these
techniques.
 Now write a list
or rules for future
statements.
What’s Focal is Causal
¡  What’s Focal is Causal: We think that whatever
we’re paying attention to is important, powerful,
and has caused the circumstances around us.
¡  When certain numbers are in the news (the flight
numbers of airlines that have crashed, the lot numbers
of poisoned tylenol bottles) people are more likely to
play them in the lottery. These numbers have the ability
to make events occur!
¡  False confessions urged by police interrogators (if the
camera watches the police they are more likely to
appear guilty; the suspect; they’re guilty). Whoever’s
face we see has the power—as having power over the
chain of events.
¡  Conspiracy theories: We always look for an easy cause
to calm unpredictable chaos.
¡  Political Power: Think of presidents + CEOs as having
more power than they do because they’re in the news.
Rhetorical Attractors
¡  The Sexual: Infusing sex into messages and
marketing isn’t enough to persuade. The action or
product must be love or sexually related (lipstick,
perfume, clothes, etc.).
¡  Individuals who are in a relationship are less likely to be
persuaded by plays to the sexual.
¡  Martin Street vs. Valentine Street then being asked for
help from a woman. The one who had been triggered
earlier by Valentine Street were more likely to help.
¡  I wonder if this research has only focused on straight,
cisgender relationships.
¡  Evolutionarily sexuality is individualizing. We don’t want
to have to compete for mates. Ads placed during
romantic shows should be about standing out.
Rhetorical Attractors
¡  The Threatening: Violence + threat draw our fascination
and attention, whether watching a horror movie, listening
to a true crime podcast, or considering the end of the
world.

¡  Dread Risks: People taking preventive steps that are more

risky than the thing they are trying to prevent. Ex Driving
instead of flying. Avoiding going to the doctor.

¡  We look for theories that dampen our anxiety of the

unknown. If these theories are easier than the action, we’ll
take the theory. Ex. My grandpa smoked all his life and
didn’t die. Thus, you need to make your option the easier
action.

¡  Evolutionarily violence is unifying; we seek protection from

the group. Ads during horror shows should be about
joining a pre-existing community/tradition.
Orienting Response
¡  Orienting Response/Moment Makers: When shifts
of attention occur (changing location, emotional
state, bodily changes like cold/hot, cuts in TV
shows) people are ready to pay attention to
something new (and will forget the old).

¡  TV show producers and advertisers have

dramatically increased the number of cuts and
shifts in attention in their works, which makes
them harder to pay attention to and less
persuasive.

¡  Fix attention to one thing.

Social Media and College
¡  Multiple Key Stakeholders: Who?

¡  Social media as tool for recruitment: How?

¡  What do new students/high schoolers like/want?
¡  How do we help them imagining themselves into a
future with us?
¡  Active, up-to-date, people oriented, real
¡  Engagement: SOCIAL answer questions allow
participation (hashtags are questions to answer)

¡  Social media as a way to promote research +

innovation.

¡  Social media as alumni engagement.

Social Media and Colleges
¡  Good: Students sharing passionate stories (students
having fun, being cool, being interesting, and being
smart). Student driven content.

¡  Bad: Professors being boring. Propaganda. Doesn’t

past the Scattegories test. Bland. Pristine.

¡  Bad: Not Up-to-Date. Doesn’t recognize its target

audience. Don’t “pitch-slap”: share and solve don’t
pitch

¡  Good: Unique. Original. Personality. What’s going on

right now. (personalized not personal). Calls to
action.
Platform Differences
¡  Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram—what are
each used for?
¡  Facebook:
¡  Group/Community oriented rather than
individualizing. Come together, share with friends,
alumni groups.
¡  Like oriented
¡  Comment oriented
¡  Video + Image
¡  What gets actual interaction?
¡  Why do we go to Facebook?
¡  How much should a Facebook account post?
¡  What do you think will be on OU’s?
https://www.facebook.com/uofoklahoma/
¡  What about the English Department?
Social Media Policy
¡  Establishing a social media
policy isn’t just about rules, it’s
about creating sustainable
branding that’s able to be
passed on.
¡  What’s OU’s?
¡  http://www.ou.edu/
webcomm/social-media
¡  What might the English
Department’s Be?
¡  How to respond to
complaints.
¡  How long should posts be.
¡  How many posts a week?
¡  How political?
¡  What types of posts.
¡  What’s not allowed?
¡  Branding.
¡  Approval process: when to
seek it, from whom?
¡  Customer service protocols:
answering questions.
¡  Basic technical information:
log-in passwords, account
names, hashtags, etc.
What is a Standard of Work?
¡  Creating a portfolio of documents and rules.
Cialidini: The Magnetizers