Have you ever walked into a store that has “For Sale” signs plastered all over the walls? You know, the ones that look like something out of a Tim Burton film and are filled with misspellings, bad grammar, and bad design?
That’s not how you write copy that sells anything. In this post, we’ll show you how to create high-converting marketing materials by breaking down some of the most important aspects of writing copy.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Understand your audience’s needs and desires. |
| 2. Craft a compelling and attention-grabbing headline. |
| 3. Highlight the unique benefits of your product or service. |
| 4. Use persuasive language to create an emotional connection. |
| 5. Provide social proof through testimonials and reviews. |
| 6. Create a sense of urgency to encourage immediate action. |
| 7. Clearly communicate the value proposition. |
| 8. Address potential objections and concerns. |
| 9. Use concise and easy-to-understand language. |
| 10. Craft a strong and persuasive call to action (CTA). |
What Is Copy
Copy is the text that exists in a sales letter to sell your product. It’s anything that isn’t your headline or subheads, and it’s known as body text or sales copy. This is how you communicate with your audience, by telling them why they should buy what you’re selling and why they shouldn’t buy from anyone else.
Crafting persuasive legal content requires a deep understanding of writing techniques. Learn how to enhance your skills in our guide to writing to persuade effectively in the legal field.
Copywriting Is An Art Form, But It Also Comes Down To A Few Basic Principles
First, understand who you’re writing for. Get to know their problems and desires so you can speak directly to them using language that appeals to their values and interests. Once you’ve done this research, start outlining what needs to be said about each benefit of using your product or service this will give you a strong foundation for writing great copy!
Why Is Copy So Important?
Copy is the first thing that customers see. It needs to be sharp, clean, and clear. If your copy isn’t good, you won’t get any sales.
Copy is what sells your product or service to the customer. If they don’t believe in the benefits of your product or understand how it works then they won’t buy from you!
Copy is what makes your product or service unique and different from everyone else’s – it’s about creating a promise for the reader that no one else can fulfill (except you).
Copy is an opportunity for you to show off how much knowledge you have about whatever topic it is that you write about (and give them some free tips along the way!).
Mastering the art of copywriting is essential for conveying your message convincingly. Explore our comprehensive guide on how to write copy that sells anything to harness the power of persuasive writing.
Who Needs To Know How To Write Effective Copy?
If you’re a marketer, blogger, or salesperson who wants to know how to write copy that sells anything and everything this course is for you.
If your job is to sell products and services and if you’re looking for ways to improve your writing skills to grow your business this course will help.
Even if you are not currently in the marketing field but want an advantage over others because of your ability to write persuasive copy join the course!
How Do I Learn To Write Better Copy?
Like any skill, the more you practice, the better you’ll be able to write copy.
Read a lot. This one’s obvious but important: read books and articles about writing, marketing, and sales copy so that your mind gets used to thinking like a writer (or even editor). The more you read, the better your vocabulary will be in terms of word choice and sentence structure and this can help improve your writing by leaps and bounds!
Write a lot. Writing is an exercise in self-discovery; it’s not necessarily what comes naturally at first but something that can be learned through practice. If you want to become an excellent writer of copy for anything online or offline (such as website pages), then write every day until it becomes second nature for you!
Take a course or get feedback from someone else who knows how to write well if necessary – You might need some extra help getting started for certain aspects such as spelling or grammar mistakes before moving forward with self-teaching methods here instead.
Prevent further errors later on down the road when attempting bigger projects without guidance from someone else who has experience doing similar work before so take advantage whenever possible because time wasted here means time wasted elsewhere on other tasks we could’ve gotten done instead!
The Basic Elements Of Effective Copywriting
If you want to write effective copy, the first thing to keep in mind is that people are more likely to take action when they believe they can. If you want them to buy something, they need to feel like they’re the ones who will benefit from it.
The best way I’ve found of doing this is by making sure your copy includes at least 6 instances per 100 words where you refer back directly to the reader with words like “you” or “your” (that means no passive verbs).
Here’s an example: “You’ll get [insert benefit].” In this sentence, everything after “you” is focused on what happens when someone buys your product or service the benefit. This method keeps the focus on what’s in it for them because it uses second-person pronouns like “you” and “your.”
Naming products effectively can greatly impact their success. Discover insights into creating compelling product names with our guide on how to formulate product names that capture attention and resonate with your audience.
#1 Start With A Magnetic Headline
What’s the goal of your headline?
To be specific. When writing a headline, you want to make sure it’s specific and relevant to your reader. If your headline isn’t specific, then they won’t know what they’re getting into and worse, they may not care enough to click through! Be clear about what you’re offering and who will benefit from it.
To be relevant. Your copy also needs to be relevant: what benefits does this product provide for me? Why should I care about this product in particular?
To be clear (but not too brief!). Both potential customers must understand what exactly they need from a given product without spending too much time figuring out how it works or reading through pages upon pages of content about its benefits before actually reaching the product page itself so keep things concise but don’t forget anything important either!
The 4th-grade level reading level is always best when writing copy for any type of platform.”
#2 Use The Word You At Least 6 Times Per 100 Words
Your copy should include the word you at least six times per 100 words. The more you can use “you” throughout your content, the better. When it comes to creating gripping headlines and subheads, most writers will tell you that using “you” is essential for grabbing their audience’s attention and keeping it.
When writing headlines and subheads, ask yourself: what does this information mean to my reader?
If we’re talking about a product or service I’m selling, then I want to make sure that my headline includes what exactly benefit customers will receive by purchasing said product or service from me. In other words: if someone reads my headline (and hopefully clicks on it), what benefit am I offering them?
#3 Keep Your Copy Simple And Conversational
Keep it simple.
Use plain language.
Use short sentences and paragraphs.
Use subheads, bullet points, and examples to break up your copy (more on this later).
Use humor! Make sure there’s at least one joke per story or post. It makes people more likely to read through the entire thing without getting bored or distracted by other things on their phones/laptops/desktops/tablets etc.
This is especially important for online content since it’s easy for people to get distracted by something else that catches their eye if they aren’t fully engaged with what’s being presented right now–and even if they are engaged in an article or blog post.
There are still plenty of websites competing with yours so any advantage you can take over others will help keep people reading long enough until they buy what you’re offering (or click away feeling like they’ve wasted their time).
Understanding the distinction between copywriting and content marketing is crucial for effective communication. Dive into the nuances of these approaches with our article on the difference between copywriting and content marketing to refine your strategic messaging.
#4 Always Look For Ways To Make Your Copy More Concise
The KISS principle means keeping it simple, stupid. This is a great idea for copywriting because it helps you cut through the noise and get straight to the point.
The “three-second rule” says that if you can’t describe your product/service in three sentences or less, then you haven’t thought deeply enough about how to do so.
The “two-minute drill” forces marketers to condense their message into a few sentences that are easy for customers to digest in two minutes or less (or whatever time frame makes sense).
The “one-minute drill” is similar but shorter than its older brother it gives marketers 60 seconds instead of 120 seconds to talk about their products or services.
The one-sentence rule states that all copies should fit into one long sentence that explains exactly what the product does and why people should buy it (and nothing else).
#5 Write In The Second Person (You, Your)
The “you” word is the most powerful word you can use in your copy. The average person reads about 200 words per minute, so that means your prospect sees the word “you” 6 times per 100 words. This makes it one of the best ways to grab attention and keep it focused on what you want them to do next.
If your headline doesn’t contain this word, try adding it into your description or subtitles before sending out links via email.
#6 Make Your Writing Active, Not Passive
Writing in the active voice is something you should be doing regardless of whether or not you’re writing copy to sell anything and everything. Let’s start with an example:
I Threw A Rock At My Brother
This sentence uses the passive voice, which means that it’s unclear who did the action you or your brother? If you want to make sure everyone knows exactly who did what, then change it to “I threw my brother,” or even better yet: “You threw me!” Now we know exactly what happened here (even though this probably isn’t going down in history as one of our proudest moments).
We can apply this concept to copywriting by writing our sentences in the active voice whenever possible. This makes them much clearer and easier for people reading them to understand.
In addition, using simple phrases like “Buy now” instead of “The seller requests payment as soon as possible” will keep your readers engaged because it gives them more details about what they need to do without language that feels overly formal. Using these techniques will help convey important information quickly without sacrificing clarity!
#7 Increase Clarity And Readability By Writing Shorter Sentences And Paragraphs
One of the biggest mistakes I see copywriters make is over-complicating their writing by using long sentences and paragraphs. This makes it hard to read and understand what you’re trying to say.
If You Want To Increase Clarity In Your Writing, There Are Several Ways To Do This
Use shorter sentences: Longer sentences are more difficult to read than shorter ones because they can be harder for readers’ brains to process at once. It’s best if your average sentence length is between 15-25 words (this helps with comprehension) but even if it’s a bit longer than that, try breaking up long sentences into two or three shorter ones instead of one long one.
Break up paragraphs into smaller chunks: If you find yourself writing multiple paragraphs that take up several lines each, consider breaking them into smaller chunks so they’re easier for readers’ eyes and brains to absorb at once.
This also makes the content less intimidating since readers get little bites of information instead of having everything thrown at them all at once (which could cause them not only confusion but overwhelm).
Building a supportive network is essential for growth in the copywriting profession. Explore our resource on building a support system to gain insights into the experiences and challenges of a copywriter’s journey.
#8 Focus Attention On Benefits, Not Features
Do you know the saying “the devil is in the details”? Well, it’s true, because we can’t sell our product or service without explaining its features. But we also have to explain how those features benefit our customers’ lives or businesses.
So, what are the benefits? Benefits are what your customer wants and what they’ll get if they buy your product or service. Benefits are not always obvious:
If you’re selling a binder clip that you think will be used by accountants to hold papers together and make things easier on them (feature), but your customer just needs to keep their desk tidy so they can focus better at work (benefit), then that’s where you need to focus your attention. Features aren’t nearly as important as benefits.
Here are some examples of features and benefits of two different products:
#9 Use Subheads Often To Break Up Long Blocks Of Text
Subheads are a great way to break up long blocks of text and tell your readers what to expect. They can be used to tell a story, highlight important points or simply highlight the main benefits of your product or service.
Imagine this scenario: You’re looking for a product on Amazon and all you see is dense, unbroken text that reads like an essay.
You’ll probably stop reading immediately and go find another option because it’s not friendly or easy to read. In contrast, if there is a well-written subhead in that same spot on Amazon with information about what’s inside the book/product/whatever else, you’ll likely buy it!
#10 Avoid Using Hype, Superlatives, Or Exaggerated Claims. (It Will Weaken Your Message)
Examples of Hype:
“The best… ever!”
“New and improved!”
Superlatives
Unparalleled, unrivaled, peerless, unsurpassed. If a writer can’t find a better word than unrivaled then they may be missing a better word altogether.
The word ‘unrivaled’ occurs in several places in the document but is kind of redundant if you use it every time you see an example of “the highest quality”. Using hyperbole makes your content feel insincere and desperate – which is not good for business.
None Of The Above Pointers Can Be Mastered Without Practice
None of the above pointers can be mastered without practice. Even if you’re an experienced copywriter and you adhere to all of these tips, you’ll still need to practice before your writing becomes truly effective.
Practice makes perfect, they say and they’re right! Think of how many times a professional athlete practices their moves before stepping out onto the field as compared with how many times they perform them in real-life competitions.
The same thing applies here: if you want to master copywriting, then develop your skills by practicing every day. It’ll make all the difference in your success rate at writing copy that sells anything & everything!
Conclusion
If you want to be able to write effective copy, it’s important to practice. There are many different ways you can do this. One technique is to look at existing ads and copy and see what makes them so effective.
Another way is by rewriting some of your content to improve it or perfect it before publishing on the web or sharing elsewhere with others who may be interested in what you have written about their industry or topic area.
You might even try writing an article from scratch without using any other sources as inspiration but instead focusing on what information would be most helpful for potential buyers/readers/viewers of such material!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources to further enhance your understanding of writing persuasive sales copy:
Mastering the Art of Sales Copy: Explore in-depth insights into crafting compelling sales copy that resonates with your audience and drives conversions.
Writing Copy that Sells: Tips and Techniques: Discover effective techniques and strategies for writing copy that persuades and compels readers to take action.
Creating Effective Sales Copy: A Comprehensive Guide: Dive into a comprehensive guide that walks you through the process of creating sales copy that engages and converts potential customers.
FAQs
What are the key elements of persuasive sales copy?
Persuasive sales copy often includes a compelling headline, clear benefits, social proof, and a strong call to action. These elements work together to convince readers to take the desired action.
How can I create a sense of urgency in my sales copy?
To create urgency, you can use phrases like “limited time offer,” “act now,” or “while supplies last.” Highlighting the scarcity of the product or service can motivate readers to make a decision quickly.
What role does storytelling play in sales copy?
Storytelling adds a human element to your sales copy, making it relatable and engaging. Sharing relatable stories can help your audience connect emotionally with your product or service, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
How can I address objections in my sales copy?
Anticipate potential objections your readers might have and address them within your copy. Provide solutions or counterarguments to alleviate concerns and build trust.
What’s the significance of a strong call to action (CTA) in sales copy?
A compelling CTA guides readers on what action to take next. Using action-oriented language and emphasizing the value they’ll receive by acting can encourage them to follow through and make a purchase.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.
