One of my marketing students asked if good copy had to be grammatically correct. To me, what makes good copy is much like what makes good art. Basically it comes down to the eye of the beholder. I know my English teacher is rolling over. Bless his heart.

Truthfully, you have to be able to communicate with your audience. And to do that, you must first get their attention. Just how much attention does subtlety get? And for those of us with short attention spans, complexity has no chance.

That said, there are definitely some ways to make your copy more effective. After all your goal is not only to get attention, but to get paying customers.

Is your copywriting bringing the results you expect? No, then give it some punch with these tips.

* Use active verbs in your headline.

* Enclose headlines in quotations.

* State a major benefit in the first sentence. Then restate it twice more in the body of your text.

* Ask a provocative question then provide a provocative answer.

* Talk about what is important to YOUR CUSTOMERS, not what's important to you.

* Use a conversational tone, leave the corporate speak in the boardroom.

* Be specific in your offer (Buy today and get $50 bucks to put in your pocket now!)

* Use bullets to make paragraphs stand out.

* Use call-outs to draw attention to special offers, contact information, etc.

* Use images that strike emotions (cute pets, babies, people running).

* Give a surprising offer or state what makes you different (Hey! We never charge for installation OR We're open every holiday OR We save you $25 off your first order-no strings attached!)

* Enhance text with color and use easy to read fonts.

* Include customer testimonies.

* Tell readers how to contact you and WHEN (don't make them search for your address on your website).

* Always include a P.S. that gives bonus information.

* <> Put brackets around your email subject headers. The visual draws attention.