Behind every great website, every great advertising campaign and any other great piece of marketing material is an idea that sticks. To communicate this idea in a way that resonates is with powerful copy. However, copy that communicates and copy that sells are not the same thing — it takes next-level skills to persuade someone to act in an instant.
So how about we share a few professional copywriting secrets that you can use?
Just promise not to tell anyone. ?
Consider The Reader’s Perspective
Whether it’s a piece of website content or a full-fledged advertising campaign, your purpose is to approach a problem and position yourself as the solution. With this in mind, you must be clear about what problem(s) you’re out to face.
To best address this problem-solution approach, you’ll want to consider the perspective of the audience. What’s preventing them from achieving their idea(s) of success? What’s that one thing that they’re missing, and how can you position yourself as that provider?
We’ll go a little more in-depth with this momentarily…
Know What You’re Selling
The best copywriting doesn’t sell products OR services. It sells ideas and desired outcomes.
Want an example?
Say you’re selling an electric or hybrid vehicle. The obvious selling point being that you’re saving on fuel efficiency, meaning you’re getting more value for your initial purchase. Of course, this is a huge benefit that you won’t omit.
BUT…
You’ll want to take this a step further. The fact that your audience is inquiring about an eco-friendly vehicle surely means yours isn’t the only one. With that said, your competitors are certainly offering them something comparable. This is something you have to assume, even if it isn’t necessarily the case — just to be safe.
In this instance, you’ll (have) to tap into the emotional appeal of the sale. This is the only way to truly tap into their human side and stand out from those with a similar (and in some cases, a better) offer.
For this example, you can assume your audience is, at least (mostly) environmentally-conscious. They care about their surroundings for likely a multitude of reasons. Positioning your product as a selfless difference-maker is one way to take them out of the competitive mindset. Here, you’d be selling the idea of your audience joining something bigger than themselves — community. You can’t sell community, the same way you can’t sell love, or friendship.
By pivoting your position, you’re allowing your audience to feel good about what they’re doing, beyond ‘getting a good deal’.
Want another quick example?
Look at athletic brands like Nike and Under Armour. The vast majority of their ads don’t sell on the specifications of their products. They sell the idea of competition, of commitment and most of all, of victory. This also creates the sense of community and, in many cases, the sense of belonging. Consumers often yearn for an identity — something they can say they belong to, or at the very least, identify with. The way they position their sales using their products, makes them an athlete.
That’s the trick ?
Although, easier said than done. Because there’s nothing worse (or funny) than a poorly-executed ad or piece of copy.
Put Your Words on a Diet
When it comes to the best copywriting, less is more. There are several reasons for this, but we’ll outline the most important ones.
✔️ The average consumer has a goldfish-like attention span, particularly on mobile devices. For this reason, you’ll want to convey your point as quickly and efficiently as possible so you can grab and maintain their attention.
✔️ The use of unnecessary excess words (also known as ‘word vomit’) looks inherently sloppy and non-polished. This doesn’t only reflect poorly on your brand and offer, but it also opens the door to potential miscommunications. It doesn’t take much for an online consumer to scroll past an ad or bounce off of a landing page – so don’t give them any reason to.
✔️ Conveying your ideas faster is simply more efficient and gives off the appearance of confidence and accuracy. After all, if you can’t explain an idea to a small child, you don’t really understand it.
(Really) Know Your Audience
There are two (really) important fronts to consider when it comes to understanding your audience.
First, you’ll need to know the basics of your audience, both as a consumer and as a ‘person’. This can be accomplished fairly well by building and maintaining a buyer persona, which is essentially an avatar of your ‘ideal customer’. More times than not, this information is built through demographics, interests and online user behavior.
Next, and we briefly touched upon this earlier…
You need to understand the connection between your audience and your offer. In other words, how (specifically) is your product or service solving their exact problem? This is how you position yourself and carve out your niche.
You’ll want to start by establishing the core benefits and pain points. The benefits being what they have to gain by taking you up on your offer — and the pain points being what they have to lose by not taking you up on said offer. In the world of persuasion, applying pressure to their pain points is just as, if not more, useful than highlighting any perceived benefits.
Wrapping Up
In the world of copywriting, it’s a matter of getting the sale, or falling short. So with that in mind, you can roll the dice by writing your own copy or you can work with an agency who’s been there and done that.
Active Web Group has been helping brands of all sizes and industries stand out and yield profitable campaigns for over 20 years. Contact one of our experts for a free Digital Marketing Analysis or give us a call at (800) 978-3417.
