Entries Tagged 'copywriting tips' ↓

There’s a whole world of difference between writing to pass on information and writing to sell.

When your emphasis is on information, whether a report, fictional story or newspaper article, your title gives a summary of what you’re writing about so the reader can weigh up whether they want to read it or not.

That’s not how sales writing works.

You don’t want the reader to take a look at your title and decide whether they want to read or not – you want them to read on.

Granted, you can’t force them to read, but you can encourage them.

How to write sales titles

In the world of sales writing your title is there to tease; it should evoke curiosity, it should fascinate, create controversy or urgency and hint at a mystery that can only be solved by reading on.

If your title tells them everything they need to know straight away, they’ll make a snap judgement on whether they need to read on or not without getting all the facts.

By teasing them and giving them a hint, you’re drawing them in to the copy where they get the full picture and your persuasive words can work their magic because it’s the body of your copy that will do the selling.

Using the power of sub headings

Sub headings help you structure your copy. They act as signposts to your reader, helping them pin point information, but they can also make great teaser-titles.

Let’s say you wanted to write a post about setting up a small business. You’d probably give it a title along the lines of “How to start a small business” or “First steps to setting up a business” or something like that.

But say you had 5 tips to offer budding entrepreneurs. Within your article you’ll probably reference them in a sub heading – “5 tips to getting started”. But why not use that as your headline?

“Follow These 5 Tips and Turn Your Hobby into a Business Success”

Intrigued?

What to know more?

So will your readers.

Remember, your title is there to tempt the reader whereas the body of your writing is there to sell.

Author: Sally Ormond, Copywriter, cyclist and mum.

This is something I’ve been harping on about for years.

Writing – in every form, but especially copywriting – should always be written in its simplest form.

The assumption that big, complex words make you appear more intelligent and wise is false. They have the opposite effect and here’s academic proof.

The study, written by Daniel Oppenheimer (a psychologist at Princeton), took a handful of writing samples and used a thesaurus to replace each noun, verb and adjective with the longest synonym he could find. Then these highly complex versions were given to 71 Stanford undergraduates to evaluate the writing samples

Although in an academic setting, this kind of “writing by thesaurus” is rife in the business world where writers believe it makes them sound knowledgeable and important in the false belief that using simple language will make them sound lightweight or unimportant.

It’s a constant battle I have with some clients. They insist on using dreadful managerial speak, talking about incentivising, touching base, holistic cradle-to-grave approaches, core competencies and blue-sky thinking.

No, no, no.

Your readers want straightforward English that simply tells it as it is, a view backed up by Oppenheimer’s study^*.

His experiments showed that people rated the intelligence of authors who wrote essays in simpler language, using an easy to read font, as higher than those who authored more complex works.

“It’s important to point out that this research is not about problems with using long words but about using long words needlessly,” said study author Daniel Oppenheimer.

“Anything that makes a text hard to read and understand, such as unnecessarily long words or complicated fonts, will lower readers’ evaluations of the text and its author.”

So please, when working with your copywriter, listen to what they are telling you and trust their judgement. They make their living writing and so understand what it takes to create something your customers will want to read and act on.

As Oppenheimer sums up: “One thing seems certain: write as simply and plainly as possible and it’s more likely you’ll be thought of as intelligent.”

Author: Sally Ormond.

^*Follow this link for Oppenheimer’s full study: Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly.

You know how offers work.

You have to hit the spot if it’s to have any effect.

But how do you make sure you find the right spot and hit it?

It all comes down to understanding your audience.

The following 7 tips will help you work out whom they are and what you need to say to make them want to buy.

7 ways to create an irresistible offer

1. Audience

If you don’t know who your audience is, your offer is dead in the water.

Let’s face it if you’re trying to sell acne cream, you’re going to have more luck with hormonal teenagers who are desperate to find a wonder product that will leave their skin blemish free, than if you were addressing senior citizens.

Understanding your audience, the problems they have and what it is they really want is essential when formulating your offer.

2. Value

The next thing to think about is the perceived value of your offer.

To make it irresistible it must be greater than the cost of the item. That’s why offers from companies like Groupon work so well. Who’s going to turn down a spa break that’s 80% off the normal price?

3. I want one!

Have you noticed that when the latest games console, iPhone, or designer outfit is launched there’s a sudden buying frenzy?

The reason behind that is twofold. Initially, you have the ‘I must be the first to own it’ crowd who rush out and queue up at an ungodly hour just to be one of the first to have it. Then, as all your friends who fall into that category use the item and tell everyone how great it is, you don’t want to be left out. After all, if all those people bought it, it must be good – right?

This is one of the strongest buying motivators – if hundreds, thousands or even millions of people have bought the product, the perception is that it must be good resulting in even more people buying it.

4. Take away their pain

Most of the time, people are looking for a solution to a problem.

But more than that, they also want to experience pleasure in its place. So not only does your offer have to take away the pain they are feeling, it also has to make their life better.

Holidays, as an example, just offer pleasure. But an offer for balding men to help them regain their lost lustrous locks and so become more attractive to women not only solves their problem (hair loss), it also comes with added benefits (extra female attention).

5. Keep in simple

The one thing you don’t want to do is make your offer so complicated it puts people off.

Stick with the good old ‘2 for 1’ or ‘become an expert at the Waltz in a week’ – something that is easy to understand.

6. Guarantee

Your offer is nothing without a great guarantee.

Money is tight, so people will be more inclined to buy your product if they know they are covered should it turn out not to be what they wanted. Plus, it will help build trust. After all, if you’re happy to give a no quibble money back guarantee you must have confidence in your product.

7. Incentives

The buying public are a canny bunch and might need a bit more persuasion to part with their hard earned cash.

That’s where incentives come in. There are 2 main types:

• Exclusivity – only a certain class can afford it
• Scarcity – stock is limited in number, or the offer is only available for a certain time period

Both of these have the effect of dangling a carrot in front of your audience, giving them the final nudge they need to buy.

Coming up with a winning offer takes a lot of thought and research and key is how well you understand your audience.

Author – Sally Ormond, copywriter, mum, cyclist, chief dog walker and cook.

How do you write?

That’s not a trick question.

The way you write will have a big effect on how well your marketing is received by your audience.

Some people find writing with personality a breeze, others find it more of a challenge, but that’s not really surprising. All through school, college and university you are taught to write in a bland, academic way. This forces out any trace of your personality as everyone strives to churn out the same old stuff.

Writing great marketing means you have to forget everything you have been taught up to now and start writing in a way that naturally reflects your personality.

The problem is when something is so engrained within you, it’s very difficult to break free from it and just be yourself.

Hopefully, the following 5 tips will help you find your inner voice and allow your personality to run free.

1. What do you like?

Reading around the subject is something you spend most of your school and college life doing. Well it doesn’t stop there. If you are creating marketing copywriting you must read lots and lots of stuff for inspiration.

It will also help you develop your own distinctive voice.

Read stuff that you enjoy. It can be anything from fiction to magazines, just so long as you like it and it makes you want to read it. When reading your favourite blogs take note of how they start their articles, the language they use and what it is about it that keeps you hooked. Although you shouldn’t try to emulate their exact style, it will give you some clues as to how you can improve your own writing.

2. Forget business

One of the best ways to develop your own voice and style is by freewriting. All you have to do is open a Word document and start writing about a favourite topic that’s unrelated to work. Let your imagination and creativity run and write as if you were talking to someone. Allowing this free, conversational style to develop will help you create a distinctive voice for your marketing.

3. Stay focused

If you lose the focus of your message your writing will start to ramble and lose it’s impact.

Concentrate on one key message and make sure everything you write is focused on that. If necessary, write it on a post it note and stick it to your monitor so it’s constantly in your eye line.

4. Thesaurus

Using a thesaurus will help you come up with new and interesting ways of saying things, but use it with caution. Most people have the tendency to believe that marketing copy must contain complex words; it doesn’t. In fact the best writing uses a simple vocabulary.

5. Out loud

How often do you read your content out loud?

Probably not very often, but you should.

Reading out loud will give you a much better feel for what you’ve written (as well as highlighting mistakes). It will show whether it’s easy to follow, if you’ve repeated yourself (or words) and whether the rhythm flows.

It’s well worth practising these techniques and developing your own unique style. If you want people to read your marketing, articles and blogs you’ve got to somehow connect with them and the best way to that is by letting your personality shine through.

It may take time so persevere; it’ll be worth it in the end.

Author: Sally Ormond, Copywriter at Briar Copywriting Ltd and avid reader.

Trust.

You can’t sell without it.

Customers only buy from companies they trust and like and one of the best ways to promote trust is by including testimonials on your website or landing page.

But sometimes, that can do more harm than good.

Why? Surely testimonials are the best form of social proof there is.

Normally I would agree with that, but there are some companies out there using testimonials that harm their business.

Harmful testimonies

How many times have you come across a website or landing page that lists testimonials but doesn’t attribute them to a person, or just show “Mrs B from Scotland”?

Would you trust their authenticity?

I wouldn’t.

How to make the most of your testimonials

If you’re going to put testimonials on your website they must, as a minimum, be attributed to a real person showing their full name, position and if possible a photo.

It’s also a good idea to have them address specific concerns, for example, ease of use, great customer service etc. After all, if that was something that stood out for them, the chances are it’s a concern for others too.

Getting testimonials and endorsements from celebrities or prominent people in your industry would be great, but not everyone is in a position to do that. So the other option is to use testimonials your customers can relate to. An example would be that if you sold waterproof cameras, a testimonial from a scuba diver would carry more weight than a wedding photographer.

Another thing you can do is to include video testimonials.

Don’t always concentrate on the positive

I know, an odd thing to say, but if your testimonials and reviews give a balanced picture, potential customers are more likely to believe them.

I don’t know about you, but if I’m considering buying a product and all the testimonials are glowing, I will head off to do a bit of independent research. The danger with that is (apart from finding someone who slates your product) I may come across a better deal elsewhere. So give your potential customers a balanced view and prevent them from leaving your website.

All in all, testimonials are a valuable tool for online marketers. They give a real life view of your products and service that should allay many of the fears potential customers may have.

But if you’re going to use them, make sure you follow the tips above and build that all important trust.

Author: Sally Ormond, copywriter at Briar Copywriting Ltd who cycled 300 miles in 24 hours last year.