Syllabus & Calendar
Course Title: Copywriting Essentials (Writing to Sell)
(
PDMA 001)
Instructor Contact Information
Instructor: John Vigna
Contact via email using Moodle class email.
Technical Support
Online Development Team, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo
Email: online@viu.ca
Administrative Support
Julie Clarke, Vancouver Island University, Powell River
Email: clarkej@viu.ca
Telephone (toll-free) 877-888-8890 or 604-485-8032
Course Description
Marketing a product or service usually requires written promotional and informational materials, including brochures, advertisements, sales sheets, press releases, flyers, and Web sites.
Writing to Sell offers a hands-on introduction to writing to inform, to persuade, and to sell. You will study examples, learn the building rules of good writing--and when to break those rules--and practice writing a variety of marketing materials. You will also examine how to evaluate the success of different written marketing tactics and how to create marketing materials on a budget.
Although the course will focus on writing effective materials, we'll also look at some of the basics involved in projection, from design and layout to printing, direct mail, and Web site options.
This course is intended for anyone who wants to create marketing materials for a product or service, or who needs to learn enough to effectively oversee the production of such materials. Co ruse examples will cover several types of products. You will have the opportunity to practice writing for your own areas of interest.
Goals & Objectives
- To understand the purposes and processes of copywriting;
- To understand the process of persuasion;
- To learn to assess (and reach) your audience;
- To organize information and manage projects;
- To write and critique numerous projects.
Texts and Materials
No required text. The instructor will provide a lecture for each topic, as well as a list of books and web resources that students may find helpful.
Instructor Bio
John Vigna is an award-winning writer who provides copywriting and editing services to a variety of clients through his company, John Vigna Ink. A 2002 Vancouver Entrepreneur of the Year in the Business-to-Business category, John has delivered a number of workshops and taught technical writing and business skills courses.
Our Moodle Classroom
Our Moodle space is our online classroom. Here you’ll find the following:
News Forum – The news forum is a general discussion forum used for the delivery of class news and events. Check here for any date changes or news of general class interest.
Course Syllabus - You are currently reading the Course Syllabus. It will be posted in your online classroom to give you an overview of the online classroom setup and the week-by-week schedule for your class.
Water Cooler - The Water Cooler is a discussion area used for non-course-related topics.
Lessons – delivered as html or pdf files, these should be easily viewable. If you have any problems, please let the instructor or administrator know.
Web Page Links/Resources - Related links. Visit them for even more information.
Assignment and posting of assignment instructions – The Assignment area is where you will upload your completed assignments. If more than one file is required, you will need to zip them before uploading. Please submit your assignments as pdf or Word rtf files unless otherwise directed.
Sample files – There may be sample files included related to your weekly lesson or assignment.
Discussions (also known as 'Forums') - Be sure to visit the Discussion area for each week’s lesson. Topics will be posted for each week’s lesson. You will be expected (as part of your grading for the course) to contribute. For more information on what’s expected here, see the ‘Grades’ area below.
Grades is where you'll check your points to date.
Grading Criteria and Total Components of a Grade
Each student will be graded by earning points for class participation, for assignments, and for the final examination. Grades will be assigned as follows:
97 - 100 points = A+
93 - 96 points = A
90 - 92 points = A-
87 - 89 points = B+
83 - 86 points = B
80 - 82 points = B-
77 - 79 points = C+
73 - 76 points = C
70 - 72 points = C-
65 - 69 points = D
Less than 65 points = Fail
Points will be distributed as follows:
Participation in class discussions: 40 points possible
Students should participate in class discussion by posting their comments or questions and by responding to at least one other classmate each week. The instructor expects each student to contribute at least two thoughtful, quality postings per week (including the response to a classmate). Just logging on and reading other people's postings is not considered participation, nor is mere agreement with others' postings.
Quality of postings is more important than their sheer frequency, length or grammatical form. Quality includes, but is not limited to:
- commentary on the lecture for the current topic;
- detailed sharing of a student's experience or research relative to the week's topic;
- opinions on the topic that are backed with compelling facts and reasoning;
- raising questions that help the class better understand the topic, particularly by proposing; and explaining implications that might have been overlooked in the lecture, or in previous discussion.
Quality participation also means conveying your experience, research, opinions, questions or commentary in a professional manner. Disagreements among discussion participants are expected and often valuable, but they should be expressed tactfully, not in a confrontational tone.
Assignments: 60 points possible
Points per assignment are listed in the Course Schedule, below.
Assignment instructions will be added to the end of each lecture. Completed assignments should be posted in the Discussions topic set up by the instructor for that week's assignment(s), as described in the assignment instructions. Please do not send completed assignments to the instructor's email box. Use either html (save as web page) or rtf (save as rich text format) as the format for your completed assignments.
Late assignments will automatically have one point subtracted for each day late, unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor for late submission due to extenuating circumstances.
Final grade in class
Your unofficial grade in the class will be emailed to you by the instructor no later than one week after the class ends.Your official final grade will be sent to you via 'snail mail'.
Extra-credit: The instructor may offer opportunities for extra-credit points. Participation in extra-credit opportunities is strictly optional.
Feedback Schedule
The instructor will provide feedback and points on graded assignments within one week of the due date for that work, unless otherwise noted in the assignment instructions. Late submissions may take longer. Students should check the 'Grades' link from the homepage to view their grades and feedback on their assignments.
The instructor does not normally participate in real-time chat discussions, but students are welcome to use this feature on their own.
The instructor normally logs onto the course discussion forums at least once daily, Monday through Friday. Exceptions are the instructor's travel or sick days, which may be posted as an announcement on the Homepage.
The instructor's office hours are anytime Monday through Friday via his Moodle email. (Use the Quickmail feature available from your Moodle course homepage.)
Student Conduct
Vancouver Island University students are expected to behave in a responsible manner respectful of the learning environment inside the classroom, whether attending in person on online. This policy applies to all Vancouver Island University campus and off-campus locations where Vancouver Island University sponsored activity is occurring. For further information, link to Vancouver Island University's Student Conduct Code pages.
Course Topics and Assignments Outline
Week 1:
Topic: The rationale of copywriting?
What is the purpose of copywriting? How can copywriting help inform and persuade your audience as to your product or service's benefits? In this session, we'll introduce the basics of copywriting. We'll also discuss the 3 P's of copywriting: Problem, Purpose, and Process.
Assignment 1: Brochure Analysis I (5 points)
Week 2: b
Topic: The process of persuasion
Writing a message that persuades is not easy. You must have a crystal clear understanding of what it is you want your readers to do in response to your persuasive effort. This means that you have to be able to convey your message in the clearest possible terms while also being responsive to opposing points of view.
In this session, we'll look at audience-centred persuasion strategies by adhering to the basic principles of identification, suggestion of action, familiarity and trust and clarity. We'll examine how these basics work with compliance strategies, argument strategies, or emotional strategies.
Assignment: Brochure Analysis II (5 points)
Week 3:
Topic: Creating memorable brochures
Now that you are familiar with your problem, purpose, and process, and now that you have a clearer idea on persuasion strategies, it's time to put it all to work.
In this session, we'll discuss the visual and the verbal and needs and benefits in writing your brochure copy. We'll examine a concept brief and rationale for the copy. And we'll determine the appropriate format, length, order of presentation, and the crucial importance of headers/sub-headers.
Assignment: Create a brochure (15 points)
Week 4:
Topic: Creating eye-catching press releases
Well-crafted press releases can garner the gift of attention from the media, which can make or break your product or service.
In this session, we'll look at the various types of news releases from publicity releases to product and financial releases. We'll employ the pyramid method of writing a release, beginning with a strong lead. We'll also look at various format options for news releases.
Assignment: Create a press release (10 points)
Week 5:
Topic: Creating sizzling Web copy
Writing for the web is one of the most common and effective ways to communicate a product or service. Yet, successful web writing is a rare skill. Thankfully, it is one that is easy to learn by understanding some basic principles.
In this session, we'll look at examples of effective and non-effective web writing. We'll examine the techniques that can make your web writing succinct and clear by following six basic rules. We'll also consider when to break those rules.
Assignment: Create Web copy (15 points)
Week 6:
Topic: Going into production
Now that you've completed your writing marketing materials, you may have to work with a designer and printer. The trick to working with either is to know a bit about the printing and design process in order to get along with both.
In this session, we'll look at the basics of the printing and design process. We'll also consider factors or cost, paper, whether to go online or print, demystify colours and preparing printer-ready files.
Assignment: Outline preparation of printer-ready file of brochure (10 points)
Questions, comments, or concerns? Please contact Instructor via Moodle Quickmail.
Copyright 2004 © John Vigna