The End

The end — the two magical words every struggling reader wants to find and every author wants to write. Knowing when to type those words and nothing else is critical to authorial success.

It’s just as true for copywriters as for fantasy novelists. In fact, an article on Re:Worded says,

“Half of copywriting is knowing when to stop writing.”

So when – and how – do you stop writing?

• Before you think you’re done. Have you ever started a new TV show or series of novels, got wrapped up in the plot and characters, and then watched in disappointment as quality fell off? In TV, it’s called “jumping the shark” — that point at which the show turns to gimmicks instead of a story to keep you intrigued. The creators of the hit series Breaking Bad avoided this problem by setting an end date for the story at the beginning of their work. When writing advertising or marketing copy, you could try writing your ending first, too.

• When you hit your word count. Long-form articles rank better on Google than short-form articles do. Google loves an article that hits 1,000 words because the bots get more clues for what the article is about. Write longer articles, and your clients should love seeing their SEO rank rise, which is good for you. The downside? Long articles easily confuse or bore the reader. Make sure your content is valuable and easy to scan.

• After asking a powerful question. Most people don’t want to read your opinion or listen to your knowledge, anyway. They just want to share their own. So end your blog post, article, or social media piece with a powerful question. Readers can voice their thoughts in the comments, doing some of your work for you!

• Upon introducing a new topic. If you are pumping out content once or twice a week for a company, you could easily create 100 articles a year and soon run out of topics. When you realize you’re introducing a concept that could be its own piece, make a note of it for a future article and stick to your original subject. You’ll wish you had. Trust me.

Talking about quitting is counterintuitive, isn’t it? We live in a culture that bombards us with the message: “Never quit. Never give up. Never abandon the ship.” But quitting isn’t always a bad idea. If you smoke, quit. If you’re doing something you deplore for no reason, quit. When you’re done with a project, quit.

“One of the mistakes writers make,” says world-renowned journalist Malcolm Gladwell, “is that they spend a lot of time thinking about how to start the story and not a lot of time thinking about how to end it.”

Gladwell’s insight applies to more than journalistic pieces. It’s true for copywriting. It’s true, perhaps, for life.

The part of my story that involves writing a regular column for Almost An Author ends with this article. For the past two years, I’ve written on humor, drip campaigns, storytelling, laryngitis, copywriting history, and the freelance life. You’ve laughed at my jealousy-induced rant about Carlton Hughes and my story about my grandfather riding a horse down the theater aisle during a movie.

You were also gracious enough to congratulate me when I wrote about getting fired as an agency copywriter and launching my own business. In fact, your encouragement is part of why I have found success as a full-time freelance writer and editor.

Thank you.

For me, the fun has been in watching this site grow, change, and mature and in getting to play a part in its development. Winning that designation as a Top 101 Writing Site from Writers Digest was the cherry on top.

So before my column jumps the shark, I’ll leave this space for someone else to help A3 keep getting better. In the meantime, I’m launching a podcast in the spring, juggling several new clients, and tackling an intriguing project that I landed (where else?) through a fellow A3 columnist.

I’ll definitely keep an eye on the amazing articles over here, and I’ll put them on Twitter when I can. You can connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to talk about writing, reading, or weird ideas. Now get off A3 and go write.

THE END

PS: When and how do you plan to end your story? What’s the best ending you’ve ever read?

Holland Webb is a full-time freelance copywriter and digital marketing strategist living near Greenville, SC. His clients are leaders in the online retail, higher education, and faith-based sectors. Holland has written for brands such as U.S. News & World Report, iLendX, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, MediaFusion, Modkat, Great Bay Home, IMPACT Water, and BioNetwork. He is a featured writer on Compose.ly, and his monthly copywriting column appears on Almost An Author. You can reach him at www.hollandwebb.com or at hollandlylewebb@gmail.com.