Despite what many people on social media and online forums might have you believe, there is more to copywriting than just making sure you can tell the difference between ‘there’ and ‘their’ and ‘they’re’.
For businesses, especially, copywriting is about connecting, about drawing a potential customer into your words and making them feel at home, as if those lines of text were written about them and that somehow you know them.
Here are a few tips that take you towards copywriting that converts into customers.
Tell them why they need you
So you’re trying to sell your personal training business to potential clients. You could sell them a list of the things you can do for them, and tell them you’re qualified in all the latest Les Mills classes and up to date with the latest nutrition research.
Or you could tell them how much better they will feel when they work with you, how your tailored sessions will leave them feeling invigorated and ready to face the day. You could go into exactly why a kettle bell session with you will give them toned muscles and help them to become strong and lean.
See what I mean? They can visualise the results and see themselves where they want to be…with your help.
Build Trust
You have to use a tone of voice that inspires trust; make the reader believe that you have their best interests at heart and feel as if you’re speaking directly to them. Let them know you care about their concerns, by researching them first. Imagine your ideal client and see yourself talking to him or her about their lifestyle.
Work out what would appeal to them most, and make that the focus of your copy. So, for example when you want to appeal to mature women with a skincare range, get into the mind-set of a mature woman who is concerned about her skin. Imagine what would encourage her to invest in the product, using language that appeals. Convince her that you understand her and you care.
Don’t overdo the wordage
There are added complications for copywriters trying to comply with SEO and make sure that a website doesn’t end up on page 54 of Google. There’s no need to write huge swathes of words – keep it brief and break it up. Use bullet points, short paragraphs and snappy captions to win over your potential clients and don’t, whatever you do, write long paragraphs of unbroken text that go on and on.
People won’t read them. Cover the important points, build interest, sell the benefits and don’t fill the page full of keywords – Google hates that!
Remember that people won’t read every word
As I’ve already mentioned, people get turned off by massive rambling ‘walls of text’.
You need to structure your copy so that it’s easy to read and your customers-to-be don’t miss anything important. Do this by using bullets and lists, attracting attention with bold headings for important messages and adding images to break text up and make the page pretty!
Never make it all about you
When you’ve got a client in front of you, it’s easy to show them you’re genuinely interested in them, by asking questions. Of course, text is a one way street so you’ve got to make a bit more effort. You can do that by making your writing chatty and engaging. Tell a story with you words, and you’re your reader’s attention.
You should already know what’s important to them, if you’ve done your research, so you can get them on board by writing about newsy topics that relate to them, in a way that makes them feel as if they are reading an email from a friend rather than a sales page!
For help with your copywriting and blogging, get in touch!