Copywriting Like A Pro: 12 Things To Know
By Nine Hive Digital
Effective copywriting is the backbone of online marketing. From ads, blog posts to your website, they all require you to tell a story. A good story is what captivates your target audience. Here are 12 things you need to know to copywrite effectively and tell your story.
1. Learn from the competition.
Before starting to write your copy, it’s important to take a look at what your competition sounds like. Take a look at their website and absorb how they’re utilizing words to carry a viewer through a journey. This will provide inspiration for your own copy.
2. Spelling and grammar!
This goes without saying. Proper spelling and grammar are one of the most important aspects of copywriting. If your reader catches mistakes, it will inevitably harm your credibility in their eyes. So, make sure to proofread, and even have someone else take a look at your copy.
3. Short sentences.
People have a short amount of attention span now since they’re inundated with information online. Every brand is trying to catch their attention. So, keep your sentences and paragraphs short and to-the-point. Avoid excessive fluff that doesn’t add strongly to your messaging.
4. Focus on the viewer's needs
As much as we’d like to think that other people think like us, that’s not the way things work. We are all driven by our own needs, wants and motivations. So, it’s important to turn the table and craft your copy to appease your desired reader. Make sure to respect their time by cutting to the point of things and, again, avoiding fluff.
5. Avoid fluff. Don’t waste their time.
Looks matter. Your copy can be tightly packed and appealing, but we’re all attracted to aesthetically appealing things. So, make sure the design is simple, yet elegant. Update the design on your website if need be. Play around with spacing between lines and paragraphs to give your reader enough space. Tweak the fonts to look inviting, yet professional.
7. Emotions can be powerful, if used correctly.
At the end of the day, your copy is reaching out to a human, and humans have emotion. Being authentic and appealing to their emotions can be beneficial for you. Relating to their anxiety, anger, joy, nostalgia can be powerful if used correctly. This helps you be memorable to them because they have attached feelings towards you, and your brand.
8. Take them on a journey.
Just like any book, your copy needs to take your reader on a journey. An interesting journey. If you don’t capture their interest through your copy, then you risk losing their attention. Be sure to think about a beginning, middle and end. The beginning should contain something relatable to capture their interest. The middle explains what your target message is. The end should usually bring it to a close and provide a desired call-to-action.
9. Be you.
This is very often overlooked, sadly. Think hard about who you and your brand are, then exude it through your copy. There’s no point in copying someone else, because you’ll never be as good at it. So, being authentically yourself is the easier, and the more honest path. This also provides credibility to you and your brand.
10. Don't forget the Call-To-Action.
The Call-To-Action, or CTA, is what usually comes at the end of the copy. You’ve crafted this effective copy with a clear message, but what do you want your reader to do at the end? Sign up a form? Go to another part of your site? Contact you? Be strong and clear in what you want them to achieve.
11. Active vs. passive voice.
An active voice is preferable to a passive voice when it comes to copywriting. Blog platforms, such as the one on WordPress, actually point out sentences that are passive and suggest that you change them into passive voice. You’ve probably studied this in English class, but let’s recap. An active voice clearly indicates that the subject performs an action with a verb. While a passive voice indicates that an action is being done onto the subject.
Example:
Active voice: Tom kicked the ball.
Passive voice: The ball was kicked by Tom.
12. Keep it simple.
Last, but not least. Keep it simple. Keep your sentences, messaging, design, paragraphs, and everything in between simple. There’s no point in overcomplicating things for your reader. You want them to absorb your message quickly and easily. Keep your choice of words easy to understand as well, which will appeal to a wide range of people. Use negative space in the design of your site to give your content more room.