Copywriting: Specificity

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In copywriting, specificity makes a message more credible and much more persuasive because when a promise is generic, the reader has to rely almost entirely on what you're telling them, whereas when you add real, verifiable details, you give them something concrete to evaluate.

Think about the difference between: "Save time with our software" and "Create your monthly report in 10 minutes instead of spending two hours on Excel."

The first sentence says you'll save time, but leaves almost everything to the reader's imagination or personal interpretation.

The second, however, allows the reader to picture a very specific situation, and instead of forcing them to fill in the gaps with their own interpretations, it gives them the opportunity to understand what you're offering and therefore think about the report they have to prepare every month and compare the two hours they spend on it today with the ten minutes promised by the software.

Specificity also makes the benefit easier to imagine.

For example, "Fast delivery" expresses a general idea, while "Delivery by noon tomorrow" creates a concrete expectation that allows the reader to determine whether that promise actually solves their problem.

The more important a promise is, therefore, the more important it is to make it specific and, above all, supportable.

This doesn't mean filling your copy with numbers, because you can also be specific by accurately describing the person you're speaking to or explaining the situation in which the product is used.

You can also clarify what actually happens after someone uses it.

The point is to reduce the room for interpretation as much as possible, ideally eliminating it altogether.

For example, "A course to improve your copywriting" isn't very specific because it could refer to virtually anyone who wants to write better, whereas "A course for freelancers who want to write more persuasive landing pages without relying on prepackaged formulas," despite containing no numbers, is much more precise and allows the reader to understand exactly who the course is for.

Details are what create specificity: they define the boundaries of the promise and prevent the reader from having to guess what you mean.

This is one of the most useful checks you can perform when reviewing your copy.

If a sentence could be copied and pasted onto the websites of dozens of competitors without changing almost anything, it means it's still too generic.

In that case, try replacing abstract language with a real situation your reader recognizes.