In this post, we’ll first go through what copy is and a fundamental rule that dramatically improves your posts. In the second half, easy tips to improve your copywriting.
I’ve heard a lot about copywriting, what is it?
Copywriting helps sells your product or service and persuades outside customers to take action. These captions are your sales pitch, but perfected, as you somehow grab someone’s attention in 3 seconds through a screen. A sales team contacts customers one at a time; but a copywriter reaches all of them at once. While it seems intimidating – trying to figure out one piece of text that has mass appeal – there’s underlying fundamentals that help the process.
First is realizing how important copy is. People underestimate good copy, much like how people underestimate beans in a burrito. Bland in a vacuum, beans are the common bond between the rice, chicken, and sauces. Copy is what holds together design, content marketing and SEO for a consumer ready serving.
Second: Realise you need good copy for conversions. Writing better copy enables you to convert more readers into customers, through succinctly conveying your product or service. Multi-paragraph clunky copy is going to obscure the design of the ad while a punchy, one-sentence sales pitch will likely direct the viewer to your Call To Action (CTA)
So, once you grasp the importance of copy, what’s that magic rule that makes you a better copywriter? You have to understand what it is you are writing copy for. Copy is a creative task, and when you ask a creative person how they came up with such an amazing idea, they get sheepish. This is because they don’t think they did, they simply drew a conclusion between things they thought was obvious.
Why Is Understanding The Product So Important?
A great example of this sort of creativity is David Olgilvy, a legendary copywriter. His most well know work is on rolls Royce, where it took David three weeks to create his copy. The resulting headline read “At 60 miles per hour the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.”
Award-winning copy takes a while to craft, but this was before the internet and a wealth of eager libraries. Today, you can craft a good, non-award copy easily after a google.
If it took Mr. Ogilvy that long to discover such an important selling feature, it is surely worth taking some time to study your product to learn which features will stand out to your customers. That’s the real goal of this chapter — to find out what makes your product unique and what features and benefits will appeal to your customers.
Finding out what makes your product unique and what benefits and features will appeal to your customers is the mandatory first step for good copy.
However, if you’re running your own Facebook page or are close to the business, you probably know the ins and outs already. Every viable business has a point of difference, a cool feature, a competitive advantage. A top copywriter knows how to express this to your audience.
Now that you know how important copy is, and what you need to know to express good copy to others, lets get into some tips on how to create and format your pseudo sales pitch.
Part Two: 12 Tips For Your Ads
Copywriting looks easy on paper however, in practice, looking easy on paper is actually quite hard. In this article, we’ll take you through some power tips to turn your writing from rambling slog into a damn good blog:
1)No one cares what you can do.each subtracted word
Short sharp and sweet. This later got reduced to short and sweet, so it’s an effective motto.
2) No one cares what you can do.
Instead, say what you can do for them. Example, if you were an iPhone, instead of ‘Worlds most HD phone camera”, say “Capture every precious moment in crisp detail”
3) Passive voice doesn’t sell
It’s not engaging. “I’m lovin’ it,” not “it’s being loved by me”
4) Keep your personality in it
People follow brands to be engaged, not read robotic sales pitches.
5) Make sure it has impact
Polite gets forgotten. If you tell people you have “insurance they love”, it’ll get ignored. Tell people their current insurance may be screwing them, they may turn more heads
6) The way you talk? Put it on paper
Extending on number 4, keep your writing casual. Full of pronouns. Making your writing complicated alienates your audience and requires effort from your readers.
7) Not clickbait, but something that pulls the reader into the article
While this can be taken too far, posing a question or leaving the reader feel like they only have part of the required information is important.
8) Your copy shouldn’t be intimidating. Make it scannable
The human brain automatically assesses the formatting of a post. If it looks like an essay, you’re looking at something else, no matter how well written it is. Keep your info in short paragraphs with easy to read headings.
9) Less commas, period.
Short punchy sentences. More said in less words.
Sentences with lots of commas, like this one, ramble on and New Yorker readers think it’s cute, but average readers find it agonizing, because at the end of the sentence they’ve barely said anything at all.
10) Subtract all Adverbs and Adjectives
Instead of “effortlessly create your new infographic”, try “Create your infographic”. Less vague, gets the point across.
11) The reader is a toddler in a shopping aisle, you need to drag them kicking and screaming to the next line.
When writing your copy, every line should lead to the next.
Example:
”Ewoks. Talk about living.
Nothing but frolicking in the woods and chanting folk songs (I like the one about the Yub Nub)
Well, we’ve found something similar in Maine and, yes, there’s massages”
12) Don’t be on the fence, have them make a decision.
Be time sensitive, “buy this today, get it now”. Force them to take action
