Copywriting is one small aspect of your bigger digital marketing conversion strategy. But it’s also an essential one as far as sales go.
At its core, copywriting is all about reducing any and all barriers between your message and your reader.
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It’s about getting them to trust you, like you, and finally – buy from you. In other words: copywriting is selling through text. All things from landing page design to email marketing to direct sales – that’s copywriting.
To be a good copywriter, you need to understand the details of the English language that most people don’t even think about, have a great eye for details, a wide vocabulary and the ability to see things from a different perspective (e.g. from the customer’s point of view).
To be a great copywriter though, you also need to be able to understand human psychology and what drives and makes people tick.
What keeps them up at night? What are their biggest fears and concerns? How will you ease them? Why should they trust you?
Becoming a copywriter is easy. But becoming a good one is hard.
It’s not just about being a good writer. Everyone can do that. Rather, it’s all about tapping into the minds of your customers.
Imagine working in journalism or literature for 10 years or so. Would that make you a great writer? Absolutely! But would that make you a great copywriter? Not necessarily.
So, instead, to save you a lot of time, sweat, and hard work – here are 5 powerful hacks you can implement to become a better copywriter.
1. Do your research
Before you so much as write a single sales letter – you need research to write smarter and more effective copy. This also applies to your bigger marketing strategies as a business.
Each new client brings a new set of challenges, target market, specific products and more. And one of the biggest challenges you’ll face is learning all about them.
Every little bit helps. So, you might want to start with asking your client what they know about their consumers. Start with creating a Buyer Persona. The more realistic it is – the better.
Your research has to be as thorough as you need it. The aim here is to gain a better understanding of the people you’re writing for.
First, define your audience into segments and know what you’re looking for.
For example, if you’re in eCommerce, your segments might include:
- Abandoned carts.
- New customers.
- Repeat customers.
- Inactive customers.
With abandoned carts, you’ll have to identify and look into what might prevent them from buying.
What’s bothering them? What anxieties, fears, frustrations?
If you manage to identify and answer those questions – you can then set up an automatic email to be sent out if your customers keep abandoning their carts. If done well, the email should be able to convince them to go back and make the purchase.
Not sure what your target market thinks about a certain product or what’s bothering them?
Check out where they live and communicate with each other – Amazon reviews, Facebook groups, Reddit, etc.
Don’t know about a certain travel destination? A million people on TripAdvisor do.
The world is your oyster when it comes to research. And you should use as much of it as you need to.
Once you know enough about your product and your target market, you can then move on to the next step.
2. Create a list of “banned” words
Copywriting is all about being clear, concise and straight to the point.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of adding extra fluff to your writing. Especially with words that you use in casual conversation.
Ideally, your writing should be conversational in its tone, yes, but not to the point where there are too many words that clutter the flow (e.g. “like”, “just”, “pretty”, etc.).
So, to fix this issue, create a list of words that harm your writing.
You’ll get better at spotting them over time but a great way to learn from your mistakes is by keeping a list of “banned” words.
Once you have a list of words, you can then CTRL+F your writing for them and start removing them one by one.
Here’s a list of some of the common words you might want to remove:
- Get.
- Very.
- Like.
- Just.
- That.
- Actual/actually.
- Already.
- Really.
- Great.
- Nice.
- To be.
In general, you also might want to cut back on adverbs (words ending with “-ly”).
Once you start your own list, you can keep adding words to it and improve your writing as you go.
Though, there are some words that sometimes, you just really have to include them. Either for emphasis, to highlight a point, or some other reason.
Words you don’t use often have more power when you decide to use them.
As a rule of thumb, the easiest way to deal with almost anything giving you trouble is to delete it. If it sounds awkward or sticks out to you – remove it.
When it comes to the tone of your writing, feel free to use contractions, some humor and mix it up as long as it doesn’t break the flow.
3. On editing
The most common editing advice is not to edit while you write. Sometimes you might get too hung up on editing and break your concentration or lose your train of thought.
But that advice is too general, and doesn’t apply to everyone.
Realistically, there are no real rules when it comes to editing in the copywriting world. Everyone is different and has their own approach.
If you feel an itch that won’t go away until you edit a sentence – then feel free to go back. Sometimes you might come up with new ideas and paragraphs while editing. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for editing.
And on the other hand, if you feel you’re on a streak and the words are coming out freely, then don’t stop – you can always go back later.
If possible, you should try editing in a few different contexts.
Try editing after you finish writing. Once after going for a walk. And once the next day.
In terms of your writing style, try to switch it up once in a while.
Short sentences are good. But if you to keep things interesting – switch it up.
Throw in a long sentence or two, and see how that’ll affect the flow. When going over the length of your sentences, try to force yourself to make some of them shorter and some longer.
Short sentences make your paragraphs skim-friendly and long ones are ideal for getting across a point.
4. Formatting
All of the above tips are about making your articles look nice. But another essential step is making your writing look nice.
When writing, your text should be skimmable. Because, like it or not, people are going to skim your writing.
You’re probably skimming this, right now, aren’t you? It’s okay you can trust us.
Readers typically look for the main point of your articles.
Bold text means it’s important, italics means emphasis, and headings signal a new point.
This is the classic formula and we all follow it subconsciously – there’s no shame in that.
If anything, you should use this as a strength and incorporate white space in your writing.
Did you notice that there’s a paragraph break between every other 2-3 sentences or so? This is on purpose to make the text skim-friendly. But even when there’s white space – people usually skim ahead to the important bits.
Though, there’s nothing wrong with long articles, as long as you have a reason for it. Either way, make sure you don’t set a word limit when writing.
Write until you think it’s ready. Quality over quantity.
As long as your writing is consistent – you’re on the right track.
5. Break the rules (sometimes)
The last important rule is to ignore the rules – sometimes.
Copywriting is different from writing a paper in that you can use your personality to evoke emotions and desire in your readers.
You want to speak (the way how you normally talk) directly to your ideal client. To do this, you might have to break a grammar rule or two. You want your readers to connect with you, you don’t have to go out of your way to impress them with your outstanding grammar.
Don’t be afraid to end your sentences with a preposition and use sentence fragments.
You’re writing for the web. You want your writing to be concise. Easy to read. Simple.
This means ignoring some grammar rules here and there. Because, guess what? If it sounds natural, your readers won’t mind it!
The bottom line is this: write the way you’d speak to your ideal client.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the point of copywriting is connecting with your leads and setting the stage for a sale. It’s not just about writing.
You need to tap into your ideal reader. And connect with them through text that signals trust and pushes them to make a purchase.
If this means switching things up and breaking a grammar rule or two – go for it.
Though there are some rules you shouldn’t break as a copywriter, you also shouldn’t be afraid to experiment.
If it ain’t broken – don’t fix it. And if it works – it’s good copywriting.