Creating copy for your marketing that is interesting, relevant and that sells isn’t always as easy as it sounds.
You must think about your audience, why you’re writing, what you want to achieve from it and that’s before you start looking at it from your customers perspective.
The easiest way to explain how to write compelling copy is to look at it from a ‘questions point of view’— put on your journalist’s hat and follow me…
W-W-W-W-W-H
Who?
Who is your product going to help?
This will identify your target market and help you develop the right tone and voice through which you’ll convey your message.
What?
What am I writing about? What will it mean to my customers?
This will help you identify the main benefits of your product or service. After all, it’s the benefits that will persuade your reader to buy. It’s all about what it will do for them.
When?
Will your product help them now or in the future? How long will your offer last?
Timing is crucial, especially with your offer.
Where?
Where can they order or buy your product?
If they don’t know how they can get hold of it, how can they buy it? This might sound obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many people forget this simple detail.
Why?
Why should they buy it?
Yes, we’re back to those benefits again. Why is it going to make their life better?
How?
Make sure you let them know how it works, how much it costs, how they can buy it etc.
Once you’ve covered all of those points you must also:
- Keep it simple – write in simple language, with simple sentences. Don’t use jargon, as that is a real turn-off.
- Call to action – remember always to tell your reader what you want them to do (call now, buy now, sign up now, etc.) otherwise they’ll just walk away.
- Honesty – it is the best policy. If you make claims about your offerings make sure they are genuine. You want to build a relationship of trust.
- Offer – if you want your offer to appeal to your market make sure it fulfils their needs. To add extra impact, make it time limited or limit it by number.
The main thing to remember when writing copy is always have your reader in mind, tell them what they want to know, make an offer that will appeal to them and leave them in no doubt as to why their lives will be enhanced by it.
Listed as one of the 182 greatest copywriters of the internet age, Sally Ormond is a copywriter based in the UK. Through her business, Briar Copywriting Ltd, she works with a vast range of companies, from SMEs to blue chip companies around the world.
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