Freelance copywriting is what makes sales literature and websites make the reader take action. So all those brochures, websites and emails you receive would (probably) have been written by a freelance copywriter.
They really are the secret weapon of marketeers. You see it is their creativity that makes an advertisement memorable or a website readable.
Watch this short video so get an essence of what a freelance copywriter could do for your business.
Advertising copywriting is an essential tool that all businesses should be using for their on and off line marketing strategies.
In my ealier post on copywriting services I illustrated this point with the well known example of Kelloggs during the American repression. But it’s not just the fact that you can’t let your advertising and marketing slip when the economic climate becomes gloomy, you also have to ensure that your advertising and marketing copywriting is effective.
Whether you are looking to start a direct mail campaign or concentrate on your online presence, your advertising and marketing copywriting is where you need to start.
When writing you need to follow these 4 simple rules:
Shout about the benefits – whether you are writing website copy or direct mail, your copywriting must illustrate the benefits of your product or service to your reader.
Unique selling point – there has to be a reason why your reader should choose your product above another one.
Tell them what they need to do – without a strong call to action your hard work will be wasted.
Your advertising copywriting is the key to your marketing success. Whether it is done in-house or whether you hire the services of a freelance copywriter it is essential that it adheres to the 4 steps outlined above. This list is not exhuastive by any means, but it is a great start to ensure that your marketing is effective.
Well, if you are a business that does a lot of marketing – that’s probably just about every business – copywriting services are what can turn your surviving business into a thriving business.
Copywriting is basically another word for sales writing. Therefore you can see how much it would impact on your daily business routine.
There is your website copy, newsletters, email content, blogs, articles…and that’s just for starters. So you see, the strength of your sales writing has a direct effect on your sales performance.
Before you start shouting at your screen – yes I know we are in a recession right now, I know money is tight but whatever you do, don’t trim back on your marketing budget. No matter what the economic climate, marketing is essential.
Don’t believe me?
Well here is a very famous case in point. During the depression of 1929-33(ish) Kelloggs in the USA (whose cornflakes were a health food at the time) continued to promote as heavily with adverts, posters etc as they had been doing before that. By the time the depression was over there were no other breakfast cereals that anyone had heard of and Kelloggs achieved almost instant market domination, a position they’ve held ever since.
See, I told you.
So what are the 4 reasons why copywriting services work?
They keep your product/service visible in the market place and therefore in the forefront of your customers’ mind.
Well written copy will increase your credibility within the market place.
Professionally written persuasive copy will help you by increasing your sales through targeted leads and web traffic.
By hiring a professional to write for you will free up your time to do what you do best.
Therefore it is a no-brainer. To make your company thrive and stand out in the market place you need to invest in professional copywriting services.
You have a great product and service so shout about it.
Congratulations! You have made it to the final hurdle. Over the past few days you have been learning how to grab your readers’ attention, get their interest, and create a desire for your product. At last the finish post is in site: now all you have to do is get them to take action.
Just because you have managed to create a desire for your product, doesn’t necessarily mean that your reader is going to buy. The best way to get your reader to take action is through the use of testimonials.
These are a great motivator and a tool that every freelance copywriter should have in their writing arsenal. People love to hear about the experiences of others. If your past clients have produced their own testimonials don’t edit them. They may contain the odd grammatical or punctuation error but this is exactly what you want – it makes them real.
Another way to get your readers buying is by offering free samples, statistics, a free trial or money-back guarantee. If you have these available why not use them all or a combination plus testimonials – just do whatever you feel necessary to get your reader to take action.
The call to action
If this is weak, the rest of your hard work would have been wasted.
They don’t have to be saved for the final paragraph. Sprinkle them throughout the sales letter or, if using email, use hyperlinks so once the decision to buy has been made your reader can act immediately.
Here are a few things to avoid when writing your CTA:
Ambiguity is bad – don’t confuse your reader
Watch your wordiness – you’ve made your pitch now get straight to the point
Don’t be vague – leave them in no doubt as to what they need to do
Put simply, your CTA should be short, simple, direct and clear:
Give them different ways to get in touch/place their order (e.g. email, fax, phone)
Give them a clear and simple-to-complete order form
Make it a command – ‘order now’ ‘order by 1st February’
There you go. That’s it. Your lesson is now over.
These techniques aren’t exclusively for sales letters. No matter what you are writing always remember: AIDA – Attention – Interest – Desire – Action and you can’t go wrong.
If you have been following this series of articles you now have the skills to created a killer headline to get the attention of your readers. You have sold them the benefits of your product to get their interest. So now all you have to do is create a desire.
Ask any sales person and they’ll all agree that getting someone interested in something is one thing, but to get them to want it is entirely different.
Why? Because what we actually want constitutes only a small percentage of the things we are interested in.
As a freelance copywriter I always keep one thought in mind whenever writing for clients – when someone wants something they’ll convince themselves that they really need it.
Bring the product to life
Use words to create a picture – make them ‘see’ what their lives would be like with your product. Play on their emotions. Will it give them kudos? Will they appear more successful, more attractive to the opposite sex…?
Restrict the supply
This is guaranteed to increase the ‘want factor’. You can limit it by time by having a cut-off date after which it won’t be available (or a special offer price for a limited period). Or restrict the supply in numbers e.g. attendance is limited to just 50 people.
Desire drivers
Try one of these:
Your reader has been specially selected
They are among the first to get the offer
People they respect have bought the offer
Only your offer can give them the benefits they want
How easy you’ve made it for them to act
Wow, we’re really cooking now. Your reader is on the verge of buying your product. There is just one final hurdle that has to be cleared – you have to get them to take action.
