YOU Can Write Great Copy

A strange thing for a freelance copywriter to write about? Well, yes and no.

One question I often get asked is why do I think I can write better copy than someone who’s involved in the business and knows it inside and out.

Well, there’s the answer. Yes, you know your business better than anyone else. But because you know it so well, you become totally absorbed by it. How often have you been asked what you do by someone? And by the time you’ve finished explaining they’ve dozed off, lost interest or are completely confused?

You see, there lies the problem. It is very difficult to take a step back from your business to see it from someone else’s point of view. If you are writing your own marketing materials, you have to write for your reader. You have to get into their shoes and explain exactly what benefits your product or service will bring to their lives – which isn’t easy.

But there’s more to it than that. Writing to attract and engage readers isn’t as easy as it sounds. Below are a few pointers to show how you can improve your writing, and turn it into great sales copy:

Think about your reader

Many businesses, when they write their own copy, don’t have their reader in mind. They tend to write content that they would want to read, which is usually very different from what their customers want.

Think about your readers – what type of people are they? What age are they? What are they interested in? Only when you have looked into this can you decide what tone to take. Should the voice you use be casual, formal, conversational?

If you are writing to a teenage audience, you’re likely to take a different approach to an audience who are 40+. They will have different priorities and interests so your copy must reflect that.

Grammar

We all hated it at school, but it’s a vital part of getting your message across. You will be judged on your use of the English language. Therefore you must ensure you follow the grammatical rules (although they can be bent at times to achieve certain effects).  Spelling is also key – make sure everything you publish has been proofread. There is nothing more off putting than reading something full of spelling and punctuation errors.

Your writing will say a lot about your company – sloppy use of grammar, spelling and punctuation will suggest your business is one that doesn’t care about attention to detail!

Headlines

The headlines you use in your communications will determine whether or not they get read. It sounds harsh, but most people judge content by the heading.

A weak and uninspiring heading won’t encourage your audience to continue reading. Therefore it really is worth spending a lot of time coming up with the perfect headline.

Make it simple

One trap that many business owners fall into when it comes to writing their own copy, is that they write it in jargon.

Your readers are only interested in one thing, and that’s what you are going to do for them. If you write copy that is centred on your business, how great it is, and full of jargon, your reader will be switched off in an instant.

Target your reader in everything you write. Make sure you show the benefits of your product and service to them.

But above all, make sure you use simple sentences and words. Many business people have a hang up about using an impressively large vocabulary when writing. That is one of the biggest turn offs ever. No matter how educated your audience, keep your words and sentence structure simple. People lead very busy lives these days so they want to be able to read quickly. Therefore the layout of your communication is also important – make sure the benefits stand out by placing them in bold type or in a bulleted list.

Why am I telling you this?

All your written communications (website copy, email marketing, newsletters, case studies, press releases etc.) reflect your business. Therefore it is vital you get them right.

Most people don’t consider hiring a copywriter because they think they can do it themselves. But let me ask you something, you can probably lay a few bricks if you tried hard enough, but would you consider building an entire house on your own? Probably not.

When your business relies so heavily on your written communications, it really is worth thinking about bringing in the professionals – after all you don’t want all your years of hard work to come tumbling down.