Copywriting Tips – How to Write Case Studies that Zing

Posted on June 10, 2011

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Writing case studies – short, punchy, exciting case studies – is a fabulous to way to showcase your client credentials and your expertise. Through the school of hard knocks, I’ve come up with a primer on How to Write Case Studies that I take into each new assignment.

USE THE CSR STRUCTURE

CSR stands for Challenge | Solution | Results. Case Studies need to be short (you can limit them to a few paragraphs), but they also need to address these 3 key areas:

Challenge

  • What challenges and goals did your client have?
  • How did they hope you could help?

Solution

  • How did you go about addressing these challenges?
  • What pieces did you create/include to target their specific concerns?

Results

  • What was the outcome?

HOOK THE READER

Writing case studies is similar to writing a story – you’re leading people on a journey of discovery. So don’t forget to…

Stay Excited

  • Begin with a great lead-off sentence that sums up the challenge your client faced (not a “problem”, but a “challenge.”)
  • And keep your tone upbeat throughout – focus on the constructive aspects of the project.

Revisit the Steps

  • Imagine yourself back in the planning & completion process.
  • Now reveal to your readers what steps you took to achieve the solution.

Include a Personal Aspect

  • Think about how your solution makes people or companies feel. What was the response from the public or intended recipients?
  • Use relevant quotations – these make much more of an impact than generic statements.

BE CLEAR

Explain the Obvious

You may know that your client is a “gold star manufacturer of granite tiles,” but that doesn’t mean your reader will.

  • Include a quick sketch (a phrase like the one above will do) of the important players.
  • Explain any terminology or acronyms that may not be clear to a layperson.

Reduce Sentence Length

  • Go back and see if you can remove commas by creating new sentences. Long sentences are tough on the eyes.

Avoid the Passive Tense

  • It helps keep the energy level high.

Use Adjectives and Adverbs Wisely and Well

  • Words are at a premium when writing case studies, but tiny details (“Colonial pewter mug,” “blazing speeds,” “fiery taste”) will make your story zing.

PROVE YOUR POINT

Demonstrate ROI (Return on Investment)

  • What gains did your client make? Better leads, more sales, huge crowds, X amounts of press mentions?
  • Make sure your case study includes some info about why your solution really worked.

Intersperse Relevant Statistics

  • Too many figures can sink the case study boat, but a few well placed statistics (“75% increase in sales over the previous year”) can help you make your point.

EMPLOY MULTIMEDIA

Integrate Videos, Pictures, Charts & Graphs

  • A scintillating video, crystal-clear photograph or bar graph can speak volumes.
  • Everything should work together to persuade readers that you know your stuff.

NEED MORE COPYWRITING ADVICE?

Head on over to www.squamcreativeservices.com to check out more copywriting tips and resources. Or contact me for a free copywriting consultation.

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