In many respects, the word “copywriting” sounds old school, dated, and no longer relevant. In reality, it’s more valuable than it’s ever been.
While mediums have changed over the years from newspapers and magazines to blogs and social networking sites, the underlying demand for conversion-oriented copy has not. If you run a business where the goal is to move people to take a specific action, you must understand how to write compelling copy.
4 Copywriting Tips for Brands
Many people think they can’t write because they’re unable to string together words like their favorite author or blogger. They’re convinced that, because they’d never be able to write a 400-page thriller, they’re also disqualified from producing conversion copy. But this simply isn’t true.
Copywriting is a totally different art than penning a fiction novel. In many respects, it’s much more difficult and technical. However, it’s something that can be acquired and learned over time. And while there are no guarantees that you’ll become an excellent copywriter after reading this article, the suggestions below should arm you with some practical insights and techniques that will — if nothing else — spark your curiosity and encourage you to practice. Let’s take a look.
1. Write to One Person
You have to get past the notion that you’re writing a blog post or landing page copy for millions of people. While it’s possible that you’ll reach a point in your career where you’re appealing to the masses, it’s unlikely that’s where you are now. Instead, you’re writing to a very specific audience.
The best way to engage an audience and make them feel seen, heard, and understood is to imagine a specific person in your mind and to write to that person. When you focus on that one person — what they look like, how they think, their sense of humor, dreams, aspirations, etc. — it gives your copy wings. Generalities are replaced by specific nuggets and the copy becomes more conversational and less academic. This results in better conversion rates across all content mediums.
2. Use Social Proof
Stores and anecdotes go a long way in copywriting — and should be used often to make copy more memorable — but they aren’t enough to move people to action. You engage with emotion, but you close with logic and reason.
The best way to implement logic and reason into your copy is to use as much concrete social proof as you can get your hands on. This includes facts, data points, statistical evidence, and testimonials. Backlinks represent great evidence of social proof as well.
3. Keep Your Copy Punchy
The days of long, dense paragraphs and lengthy, descriptive sentences are gone.
While there’s a time and place for this sort of copy, it’s not effective in a situation where you’re trying to move a reader to action.
The best approach is to keep copy short and punchy.
Paragraphs with just one or two sentences are effective.
You want to avoid overwhelming people and tight copy keeps people engaged.
4. Write Like a Fifth Grader
This seems like terrible advice, right? Why would you want to revert to your fifth-grade English class tendencies that took years of hard work to neutralize and overcome?
Well, it’s not what you’re thinking. You shouldn’t write like a fifth grader grammatically. To help, you can use a word unscrambler to increase your vocabulary. Instead, you should write copy like a fifth-grader conceptually. When a fifth-grader writes, she doesn’t worry about flowery language and intricate content hierarchies — she just gets straight to the point. She has a way of explaining things in such a matter-of-fact way that they resonate.
Writing like a fifth-grader means getting focused and emphasizing the meat of the matter. You can always come back and fluff things up when you’re editing a piece of content. But the first time around, the only objective is to get the main point or call-to-action across.
Stack Your Skills and Win Big
Skill stacking is one of the most important concepts in life and business. It’s basically the idea that as you layer more skills on top of one another, you become more valuable to your business, the marketplace, potential business partners, etc.
And here’s the kicker. You don’t have to ace every skill you add to your stack. If you can learn how to be better than average at multiple skills, the blend of these talents actually makes you better suited for today’s business world than someone who is exceptional at just one thing.
You might not be a copywriter by trade. But if you combine above-average copywriting skills with the other talents that you already have, it’ll dramatically improve your odds for success. Failing to do so, could ultimately lead to the status quo — or worse.
What are you waiting for? Give these copywriting tactics and concepts some practice and see where they take you!
