Copywriting Tips for the 4th of July
- iw2write@gmail.com
- Jul 1, 2024
- 3 min read
It's that time of the year again: Fireworks, overblown, poorly written movies, barbecue parties, a day at the beach, and 4th of July sales.
I remember the good ol' days of print & tv ads when the Internet wasn't even close to a pipe dream. In the weeks preceding the holiday, people would rush out to buy the newspaper, to check out the sales and coupons, and make a mental note (or write it on a "sticky post" and stick it on the fridge) to be at Macy's, Bloomingdale's, K-Mart, or whichever department or clothing store ruled supreme at the time. The 4th of July is always a good time to come up with a creative campaign to grab a reader's attention. After all, throughout the year he's swarmed with all kids of content, from emails to banners to blogs, even actual print newspapers and magazines. While school year holiday promotions, such as Halloween and Thanksgiving and Easter may get lost sometimes, creatives can put their creativity to good use during the summer season, when events are few and far between, and they can make the promotions stand out.
First, focus on your goals from your 4th of July campaign: More awareness? More purchases? More buzz? More likes/shares and the...like? More email signups? Secondly, where are you planning to promote your product/service: Print? Online? Both? Is your website ready to be "decorated" with holiday banners? You can of course have the "evergreen" promotional text, like "4th of July sale!" (how original), or "party like it's 1776." 1. Be direct. People's time is valuable. So unless you're writing a "how to survive/shop/cook the perfect burger" blog, you don't have the time, space and/or the attention space for embellished copy. Keep it straight and to the point.
2. Be original Believe it or not, one can still find original ideas. It's not easy being original, especially with the overwhelming wealth of information. But, it's possible. All you need to do is find something small, a fresh take that doesn't have to be "big." You can also take something that's been done before and reshape/reorganize it. In content marketing they sometimes call this "repurposing content." An original combo of visual + copy = can make an effective an memorable ad.
3. Use 4th of July keywords!
No, not necessarily out of SEO necessity...but they capture the eye quickly. Examples:
Have a blast Our [products] are going out like fireworks Start your holiday with a bang. And another. And another. See stars. See stripes. See yourself in a [a new car? Resort]
Party like it's 1776.
4. Offer real value.
It's not just a matter of grabbing attention, it's making the person stop and think, "wait a minute, this is actually a real good deal for me."
5. Be funny Funny is always good. Finding unthought-of advantages, say, of social distancing (staying away from your mother-in-law! And these days, more than ever, people want to laugh.
6. Be sarcastic
Sarcasm can be a double-edged sword, but used correctly, it can be very effective.7 .Appeal to everyone.It's vacation time. Everybody could use something. Everybody drinks more, sweats more, travels more.8. Be educational - in a fun way.The 4th of July is an extremely popular holiday. You can find clever ways to weave historical anecdotes into your copywriting and content. How about a trivia? Fun facts, like was Independence Day celebrated once on July 5th? (Spoiler alert: it was).Have a great, safe and enjoyable 4th of July! Need a copywriter for this holiday or any other time of the year? Feel free to drop me a line!
7. Be illuminating
Attract a user with a headline like, "did you know the declaration of independence was written on a laptop?" or "Tell us what's written on the back of the declaration of independence and get 10% off..."
P.S, don't forget about a good email subject line, such as:
Re: Your red, white and 20% off promo
You've got it all set up for July 4th. Or do you?
It's almost the 4th of July. Have you forgotten something?
Most importantly, Happy ID4!
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