Entries Tagged 'copywriting tips' ↓

Creating eye-catching, interesting and relevant copy is not easy.

Whether you write your own in-house, or you hire in a professional copywriter, your copy has to address your reader directly and really sell the benefits of your product or service.

Let’s assume for a moment that you’ve got some stonking copy written. Your website looks amazing and has all the latest social gadgets and gizmos. Your brochures look slick and really grab attention. Even your emails are pretty snazzy.

But you’ve got a problem.

Despite all that, your conversions are really low. Your phone isn’t ringing and rather than your inbox being full of leads, it’s full of junk mail from companies trying to sell you Viagra.

What’s gone wrong?

Your CTA is AWOL

The most probable cause is your Call to Action (CTA), or rather lack of one.

There is an argument that states that your customers are intelligent and will therefore know what you want them to do.

Granted, they are most probably intelligent, but that doesn’t mean they will make contact with you. If you want that to happen, you have to tell them that’s what you want them to do.

A clear, commanding and effective Call to Action is the crowning glory of your copy.

1. Relevant

The first thing to remember is that your CTA must be relevant to your business.

If you want them to sign up for a newsletter, tell them and provide a link so they can do it easily. If you want them to call you, tell them and give them your phone number.

2. Commanding and clear

Don’t make them hunt round your copy for your CTA because they won’t bother. Make sure it stands out and is commanding.

Adding a line such as “It would be really nice, if it’s not too much bother, to hear from you. So if you have time, we’d be grateful if you could perhaps call us at a time that’s convenient to you” is not going to inspire them to pick up the phone.

“Call us on xxxxx”, “register now by clicking here”, “Email us today on xxxx@xxxxx for more information”.

Be commanding and tell them exactly what you want them to do.

3. Make it part of your copy

Your CTA doesn’t have to be left to the end of your web page, brochure or email. You can dot them liberally throughout the text. But make sure they fit the context.

If you randomly add one halfway through a text section it’s going to jar and leave your reader confused. Make sure the content immediately before your CTA leads up to it so it’s a natural progression.

4. Make it visible

You can make your CTA stand out by placing it in bold text and having it as a paragraph on its own. As I mentioned above, don’t feel as though you have to wait until the end before adding it.

If the content allows, add them in several locations so they are always visible to your reader. That way, as soon as they’ve decided they want to make contact, they can without having to hunt round for your details.

The best Calls to Action are:

• Clear
• Simple
• Commanding

Be bold and tell your reader what you want them to do.

Over to you

Take a look at your marketing materials.

Do they all have clear CTAs? If not amend them quickly. If you don’t have a CTA, you’re unlikely to get great conversions.

Writing a monthly newsletter is a great way to keep in touch with your customers and add value to your relationship.

You can use them to share information, give tips and offers.

But generating great content on a regular basis can seem like a daunting task. But it doesn’t have to be. All you need is:

• A great looking template
• A simple process to write content-rich material that can be repeated again and again

The template you use should reflect your business image. Something in line with your website’s design would be ideal. Just make sure it’s a clean, unfussy design that won’t detract from the information it contains.

But what about the simple process I mentioned? Well, below is an example to show how easy it can be to write your newsletter when you have a system in place.

Newsletter writing process

This 5 step writing process is a great way to kick start the creative process every month. The number of topics you pick will determine the length of your newsletter.

1. Choose 3 topics for the main body of your newsletter
2. Choose 3 topics for your side bar
3. Interview industry experts or research a specific topic
4. Write and edit your articles
5. Proofread your newsletter

1. Main topics

These articles will make up the body of your newsletter. You can choose as many topics as you like, but the more you have, the longer your newsletter will be.

They don’t have to be long articles (approximately 300 – 500 words) and can cover things that have happened in the news (or your industry) recently, what’s happening now and what’s coming up.

2. Side bar

The side bar is for quick bits of news so they’re not as in depth as the main topics you’ll write about.

It also gives you the opportunity to add regular pieces such as a book of the month, announcement of forthcoming events, tips, and offers.

3. Interviews and research

Conducting an interview or writing a research-based article can add real meat to your newsletter.

The interview would act like a magazine Q&A session. In it, you could get an expert’s insight into a particular hot topic that your readers are interested in.

The same can work for the research article. Find out what’s important to your readers and write about it. But make sure you include links to the external articles you used for your research so they can read around the subject if they want to.

4. The writing process

This is the part many people dread. But writing well rounded, interesting articles is easy.

Make sure you write in the second person (i.e. ‘you’) to instantly build rapport with your readers. As mentioned above, use hypertext links to direct your reader to more information. This will add value to them and show you really do understand your subject.

Another important feature within your newsletter is your call to action. It could be a link back to your website, an instruction to email for more information or a competition. If you want to make your newsletter marketing a two-way street, you must ask your reader to do something.

Of course, they can only get in touch if you include your contact details. Never hide away from your customers. As with your website copy, make sure your postal, email and phone details are easily available otherwise it looks as though you have something to hide.

The final part of the writing process involves leaving your newsletter alone. Put it to one side for a few days before reviewing the content to make sure it provides the messages you wanted.

5. Proofread

This is the final and most important part of the process.

The last thing you want to do is hit send only to find a glaring typo.

Putting the newsletter aside for a few days before reviewing it will help with the proofreading process. Ideally, you should get someone else to proof it for you. But, if that isn’t possible, giving yourself a few days grace before checking it through should help you spot any mistakes before you send it out.

Over to you

Done well, a regular newsletter can help build and cement relationships with your customers. By adding value and maintaining regular contact, your newsletter can encourage sales.

Do you send out a monthly newsletter?

Have you found it beneficial?

Do you have a process you follow each month like this one? Please leave a comment below and share your newsletter experiences with us.

When you sell face to face your sales pitch is entirely verbal. You can watch the other party for physical clues as to what they’re thinking or whether they are about to buy.

But the world of online marketing relies on the written word.

The quality of the writing on websites therefore has to be high and that means no spelling or grammar errors.

But can a typo really have an effect on sales through your website?

According to a recent article on the BBC website, the answer is yes.

Spelling mistakes cost millions in lost online sales

Now if that sounds like scaremongering to you just listen to this.

According to Charles Duncombe (an online entrepreneur) when a spelling mistake was identified on the tightsplease.co.uk website, the revenue from the site was twice as high once the error had been corrected.

If you multiply that one example across all internet retail you could be looking at millions of pounds of business being in jeopardy through spelling or grammatical errors.

The importance of proofreading

No one is perfect and we all make mistakes from time to time but locating those errors before your copy is published is imperative.

The process of proofreading is a laborious one. Quite often you can read through a piece of copy 3 or 4 times and still find errors that you passed by earlier.

And we’re not just talking about spelling mistakes that your spell checker will pick up. There are instances where you’ll spell a word correctly but it is the incorrect word for the sentence. Typical examples of this are using ‘you’ instead of ‘your’ or the wrong which, there and here.

The ideal process is for one person to write the copy and then having it proofed by a couple of other people.

Trying to proof your own copy is possible but you must ensure you leave plenty of time between the writing and checking process. The main problem is you become ‘blind’ to what you’ve written. In your head you know what you wanted to say so it’s easy to insert words that aren’t there.

Perfect copywriting

As a professional copywriter I would love to say I never make mistakes.

I do.

That’s not an issue though because I check and re-check every piece of work to make sure, when it’s passed to my client, it is error free.

Usually my trusty dictionary is sat beside me on my desk so if I am unsure of the spelling of a word I can look it up.

Remember making mistakes isn’t a bad thing – not taking the time to read through your work and correct them is.

Over to you

How do you feel about proofreading?

Do you have any unusual proofing tactics?

Perhaps you’ve seen a piece of copy recently that had a blaring mistake in it – how did it make you feel? Did it stop you from making a purchase?

Please leave a comment below and share your opinions.

An imaginary simple life:

You – This TV is amazing, it blows its competition out of the water. Every house in the UK will own one soon so make sure you’re the innovator in your street and buy yours today.

Prospect – Fantastic, I’ll have one!

The real world:

You – This TV is amazing, it blows its competition out of the water. Every house in the UK will own one soon so make sure you’re the innovator in your street and buy yours today.

Prospect – It’s a bit expensive.

You – But it’s the latest technology.

Prospect – But I don’t really need all those features

You – But it’s cutting-edge.

Prospect – I’ll have to ask the wife

You – But…wait…its great…hang on…come back!!!!

It’s sad but true – writing great copy isn’t just about getting your customers to say yes, it’s also about stopping them from saying no.

So when you sit down with your client to take the brief for their web page, email, brochure etc., don’t just focus on the benefits of their product/service, you also have to find out the reasons why a customer may not believe your magic words and say no.

Yes, but…

In a face to face sales situation you really don’t want to hear those 2 words – or those that follow them.

But at least if you’re in front of the customer you stand a chance of being able to break down their objections.

When you’re selling remotely through copy, that’s not an option – your copywriting has to address their fears and wash them away.

Common objections

The 3 most common objections are (or at least the ones I tend to use):

• It’s too expensive
• I need to talk to someone else
• I don’t really need it

Let’s look at each in turn.

Too expensive

This is frequently used but seldom the reason for not buying. Normally there is another reason; price is just an easy one to target.

To get round this one you have to demonstrate the value of the product to your reader – show them it will actually save them money. The best way to do this is to refer to it as an investment. It sounds a bit grander than ‘cost’ and it implies there will be a payback of some sort.

Talk to someone else

They rarely do but it’s a nice let-out from having to make a buying decision.

By saying this they are implying they’re not convinced by your product so you can counter that through your copy with testimonials and case studies. These real life examples will give them the reassurance they need.

Don’t think I need it

Oh boy, if this one crops up it can mean only one thing – your copy hasn’t done its job because it’s not ‘sold’ the idea.

There’s only one this to do here and that’s to return to the drawing board. Take a look at your copy – have you told a story? Did you cover all the benefits? Did you explain how your reader will benefit (with facts)?

Also go back to the product/service and find out exactly what it does for the reader – not its functions and features, its actual benefits; how it will make your readers’ lives better.

Over to you

There will always be objections to overcome so make sure you list every potential objection before you start writing your copy.

If you can dispel those doubts you are much closer to getting the sales you (and your client) want.

What other objections have you come across and how did you overcome them? Leave a comment below and share your experiences.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter, blogger and social media addict

Yes, the age old debate rages on – is long copy better than short?

The simple answer is ‘it depends’. Your market, product and method of selling will all have an impact on the decision as to which is right for you.

Many people will argue against long copy saying that it doesn’t work because people just don’t have the time or inclination to read swathes of copy.

But the truth is long copy does work – quite often much better than short copy – but only if it is right for your product and it is written well.

The secret to effective long copy

Before I launch into how to write it, you first have to determine whether you actually need long copy.

The length of your copy is largely determined by:

• Your product
• Your audience
• Your context

Let’s take a look at your product first.

What is it that you want to sell through your copy?

If it’s expensive you will probably sell more through long copy. It’s not going to be an impulse purchase so your copy will have to carry a lot of benefits and persuasive, emotive language to convince your potential buyer they really need your product.

Perhaps you’re selling an information product. You’ve probably come across sites that sell the latest-get-rich-quick-without-putting-any-effort-in scheme. Your copy has to be stacked with benefits to make your reader believe it’s for them and, the more benefits you have, the longer your copy needs to be.

If you’re selling something that’s packed to the rafters with features you’re going to need a lot of copy to list them all and give the direct benefit of each of them. This could be a new type of computer, the latest TV or some other technologically advanced gadget. The more complex the product the more copy you will need to convince the reader they really need it.

Getting your long copy to work

It’s all well and good when the experts shout ‘long copy is better than short’ but unless you know how to write it you may struggle to make that adage work.

This is where your audience comes in to play.

Understanding who you are selling to is vital in any sales process but especially here.

Your audience will determine how you put across your information.

Now we’ve all seen those incredibly long websites that sell the aforementioned latest-get-rich-quick-without-putting-any-effort-in scheme. Just about all of them include red, bold, underlined and highlighted words.

Personally, if I see one of those I run for the hills.

Why?

Because I’m not interested in it – it could be the best copy known to man but I won’t read it.

Your presentation has to match the market you are aiming for. People who are looking for the next get rich quick idea will be used to seeing this type of format – it sold them on the last idea so it’s highly likely to sell them on the next.

But if you’re a major online retailer selling the latest high tech 3D TV and you use that format, you won’t sell a bean. In this case your language, copy and visual style must fit in with your brand and image. If it’s in your familiar style your readers’ are more likely to trust the information you are providing them with.

Don’t forget the context

So far we’ve seen that your product and your audience will have a huge effect on your copy. But, as alluded above, so will its context.

If you’re a high end retailer your copy has to fit with your image.

If the 3D TV retailer above decided to use garish colours and highlighted text their potential customers will be heading for the hills.

Your copy and its visual elements (images, diagrams etc.) have to fit with what your audience expects to see.

The final word

Of course, even if you produce some stonking long copy not everyone will read it word for word.

Some will skim it (so make sure you use descriptive sub headings), some won’t read it at all whilst others will hang on every word.

The only way to find out what works best for you is test your copy and refine it until you reach the optimum format for you.

Oh and if you don’t think long copy works on the web – it does.

Granted, not everyone likes reading from a screen (me included) but long copy works here because they can’t see or touch your products. Because there is no physical experience your words have to show all features and benefits.  Give it a try and see if it works for you.

Over to you

What has your experience been of long copy?

Have you have any particular successes or failures? Perhaps you have some other tips you can share?

If so please leave a comment below.