By Kristina Mills

(excerpt from the College of Copywriting and Marketing - Freelance Copywriting Fast Track Course)

One simple letter can make a massive difference to the power of any headline and body copy. The letter “s”.

Using present tense in your copy gets your reader believing that these results are achievable in the “now”. It states that results happen now instead of results will happen at some point in the future. It makes the claims more tangible.

Check out these statements and see which one you think is more powerful:

• LadyMagnet aftershave will attract more women
• LadyMagnet aftershave attracts more women
  

The first statement is saying that the results will be available at some point in the future. The second statement says that the results are available now.

Here’s another example …

• Stainrid will remove stains fast
• Stainrid removes stains fast

Using the word “will” pushes the results into the future. Making the verb “remove” plural, brings the results into the present.

More examples:

• “ABC widget lasts for 10 years” instead of …
• “ABC widget will last for 10 years”
  

Here are some other examples:

“Sales results increase” instead of … “Sales results will increase”
“profits are up” instead of … “profits will go up”

It may seem a little awkward writing in this way because when discussing future benefits, the natural thing to do is to write in future tense. But persist - it works.

See Also:

Direct Mail Marketing Mastery Correspondence Course

Website Copy Writing Mastery Correspondence Course

Freelance Copy Writing Fast Track Course