Some Simple Tips & Tricks To Improve Your Copywriting

>> Read Part 2: How To Structure Your Copywriting <<

>> Read Part 3: Copywriting Techniques to Improve Engagement << 

Copywriting isn’t rocket science, but it can make the difference between your marketing or campaign’s success or failure.

The key to keeping your customers engaged really is to keep it simple, write to your customers as if you were talking to them. If you don’t understand, neither will they! Keep it short, keep it sweet and keep it simple.

Forget sesquipedalian. Don’t know the meaning of sesquipedalian? Exactly. Neither will your audience.

“Sesquipedalian – Adjective – Latin for ‘a foot and a half long’.

1. (Of a word) polysyllabic; long.
2. Characterized by long words; long-winded.”

In this first blog we will be outlining some key tips to take your copywriting to the next level through both your writing structure and your choice of wording to help you engage with your customers better.

Less really is more when it comes to communicating with your customers.

Great copywriting plays an integral part on your website, campaign landing pages, direct or email marketing, blog posts, case studies, whitepapers, printed marketing collateral – to name just a few! You want to make sure it works hard to have a big impact, and often writing simple, persuasive language is the foundation of meeting those demands.

You can be quick to think that people want creative, marketing jargon. If you can’t understand it, it must be sophisticated, right? No, this really isn’t the case. Your customers are just like you, they want you to tell them the answers to their questions simply and quickly so they are able to scan your text and pick out the parts most relevant and beneficial to them.

Don’t make the customer work hard to get what they need.

We have devised 4 simple tips and tricks to help you get the most engagement from your audience through your copywriting.

1. Use numbers. Numbers engage with the human brain. People find numbers easier to understand and process, therefore always use 1 not one, 2 not two, 3 not three… and so on. They are associated with lists, which have been proven to be more engaging than any other type of copywriting. Claudia Hammond outlines the 9 psychological reasons we love lists in her article for the BBC:

• We know exactly what we are getting
• We don’t like missing out
• They feel less taxing on the brain
• We like to think we’re too busy to read anything else
• They are easy to scan for information
• We always know how much is left
• It’s fun trying to guess what’s on the list
• We love being proved right
• A list feels definitive

2. Ask Questions. Always ask questions to keep your audience engaged and persuasive to your messages, this will help continue your conversational tone of voice. However, the success of the question depends on how much your audience cares about the topic, this highlights the importance of only writing about something your audience really cares about and if they don’t, you have the wrong audience!Simple yes or no questions can help to nudge the reader to subconsciously answer, keeping them involved. If you use open questions your reader will reflect and relate to their own situation – this is where you strategically place your product as the solution to the question. Rhetorical questions however should be used with care as if your audience isn’t fully engaged they would see it as irrelevant.

3. Think about your consumer’s needs and pain points. Your consumers don’t care about what you have to say unless you are benefitting them and / or it involves them.

Use the simple rule of 80% you and 20% I/we.

This helps you write to help your audience not to sell you. Also write as if you are speaking to one person, this will make them feel special with all of your focus on them. Think about what you’re saying and how you can turn it around to help your audience. Focus on the benefit not the feature of your product, describing why and giving a reason – this gives a sense of urgency.  Why should your customer invest? And why now? This is how you drum up your audience’s emotions, where you outline the issue they are having and reassure them you have the solution for their problem. Ensure it is all about THEM, if they feel special they are more likely to invest with what you have to say, once you have got their attention and investment you can convince them whatever you’d like.

Features	Benefits
A list of cardio and strength exercises.	10 exercises that will tone your muscles whilst melting your abdominal fat away.
Free home delivery.	Save time, money and enjoy a better shopping experience from the comfort of your home.
The Famous Apple example: Storage for 1GB of MP3s.	1,000 songs in your pocket.

 4. Check for poor grammar. Sounds obvious doesn’t it? You’d be surprised how many businesses fail at this one simple rule. Always ask a colleague to look through your work, they will be able to spot any mistakes far quicker than you, who might have been working on it for hours and your brain will autocorrect any errors so you only see what you want it to say. Another great trick is to print your copy and read it on paper – you often see a lot more on a hard copy than on screen!Poor grammar looks messy, you will lose your sense of professionalism and people won’t be able to take you seriously, because the chances are, they will find the issue before you do!

The easiest way to write your copy, is to put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Think about what information you would want from the subject and how you’d like to read it – keep it simple, keep it logical, keep it quick.

If you’d like more advice and support on Content Marketing and how you can engage with your customers better, contact us today, or click to find out more about our Content Marketing Consultation.