Many people know that copywriting is a crucial aspect of marketing but how many
of those same people actually know the ins and outs. Many beginners in the world of
copywriting don't know where to start as they fear that their lack of experience means a lack of expertise. In this blog we will cover 10 basic copywriting tips for beginners.
What is copywriting?
In a nutshell it's writing content that sells a product or service to potential customers. This includes everything from ads on TV and social media, to emails that look like they came from friends instead of businesses. As well as any other type of written work meant to sell.
Here are 10 basic copywriting tips for beginners
Know your audience
This is the first and most important thing you need to do. Who are the people that would be interested in buying your product or service? What makes them tick? This means that your copywriting will target a specific audience and speak directly to their needs, wants and desires. For example if you're selling makeup products you'll want to target women who wear makeup and talk directly about their concerns and current practices.
Be conversational
People don't like it when they feel like someone is talking down to them or speaking over their head. They also don't respond well to overly formal language so keep things simple with your writing.
Keep it concise
Don't be wordy unless it is absolutely necessary and try to avoid business jargon that people outside of your industry might not understand. Use enough words so that what you say is clear but don't use too many just for the sake of using more than necessary. This also applies to sentence length, if you feel like your sentences are getting too long try breaking them up into smaller ones. You can do this using bullets or numbers in between the different points.
Answer all question readers may have
People need to know that they're buying something before they buy it. So make sure
that there's no question left unanswered about what it is that you're selling. If your product or service comes with a price make sure to include pricing information in the
copy of your ad, or email, or product description. So people know before they click on something. If there's some kind of process for buying or subscribing, explain everything clearly and step by step so that there are no hiccups.
Use active language
Talking about what people do instead of things that just sit around doing nothing is more engaging and memorable. For example, don't say the dog barked, say the labrador barked its head off.
Sell benefits not features
People don't buy products based on how they're made or what the label says. They want to know that it's going to improve their life somehow and provide value for them. Explain your product in terms of its usefulness and why people should care about it instead of just listing off its specifications.
Use convincing copywriting
Just because you don't want to sound like a used car salesman doesn't mean that you can never use any superlatives or forceful language in your writing. People are more likely to respond well when they feel confident about the product being sold. So use words like perfect and amazing sparingly but effectively.
Emotional copywriting
There's nothing wrong with using feelings to sell a product as long as you do it in moderation and don't go overboard. If someone feels sad or discouraged about not having the money for a product, remind them that it will improve their life and give a good reason why.
Be specific
This is especially important if you're trying to sell something online or over the phone where people won't be able to pick up on nuance as easily as they might in person. If someone asks about your shoe sizing say our shoes run small, if you wear a men’s size 7 we recommend ordering a men's size 8. Don't just say it runs small because
people will be left guessing and it'll take longer for them to make the decision about whether or not they want your product in the first place.
Be positive
If you say that something might be the case it will come off as far less persuasive than if you said that it will or even just is. People like to feel in control and empowered by their decisions. So give them lots of reasons why they'll be happy with what is being sold, make them feel confident in their purchase and you'll have a customer for life.
We've covered the basics of what it takes to be a persuasive writer so now all that's left is practice. Don't worry about making mistakes just keep writing as much as possible and see how quickly your skills improve with time. In conclusion the key to successful copywriting is knowing your audience. The more you know about what they want and need the better off you'll be when it comes time to write that persuasive text.
Writing is one part, publishing and getting your content out there in another. Use TypeStack to take care of publishing for you. Write and publish your content using TypeStack, it auto optimizes your content for technical SEO and much more.
