Hang on a minute; writing is writing, right?
It doesn’t matter what format it takes – advertising, marketing, fiction, and academic – its just words on a page or screen.
Oh boy – that’s the kind of idea that’s responsible for all the terrible sales copy out there.
Why?
Because everyone thinks they can write.
Few companies have experienced copywriters on their team, so they use juniors or ‘marketing experts’ to create their content.
I don’t want to offend anyone, but that is such a bad idea.
You either end up with a frustrated-would-be-fiction writer who secretly hopes their prose will be picked up by a literary agent somewhere. Or, your ‘marketing professional’ opts for one of two approaches: the bland, buzzword-laden hyperbole that’s mind-numbingly boring; or über creative gibberish in the hope it will win them a marketing award.
The truth is, you don’t want either of these.
What you want is natural content that’s entirely focused on the needs of your customers, showing them the benefits your product/service offers them and how you’re going to make their life easier.
OK, that’s dealt with the flamboyant part, what about the unsanitary bit?
Unsanitary copywriting
How many websites have you landed on in the past week that starts almost every sentence with ‘we’?
The in-house writer has told you:
- We are market leaders
- We are innovators in our field
- We have offices in Europe and the US
- We take a customer-focused approach
That last one’s a lie for starters! None of those sentences focuses on the needs of customers; they are all shouting about the company.
Guess what?
Your readers aren’t interested in you. They want to know if you can solve their problem and how you’re going to make their life better.
That’s it.
A website that’s full of ‘we’ is a vanity site. It’s not going to show your customers how they’ll benefit from buying from you. It’s not going to show them you care about them. All it shows is that you’re in business for yourself.
Tell them what they want to know in a natural way
Professional copywriters understand the power of natural writing.
Everything they write will be in the second person, addressing the reader directly.
They won’t use flamboyant language, buzzwords, empty marketing jargon or stylistic flourishes.
Their language will be unpretentious, their sentences and paragraphs short and simple, their style friendly and approachable.
Why?
Because that’s what readers want. Even if they are the most intellectual and well-educated audience in the world, they still want simple facts and clear benefits showing them how you’re going to improve their life.
Use a professional copywriter
If you want great copy, there’s no substitute for hiring a professional, freelance copywriter.
So make sure the one you use has:
- Years of experience
- Written for numerous industries
- A great portfolio
- Testimonials to die for
You see, a copywriter lives and breathes copy. They are not a Jack-of-all-trades. They write. That’s it. Nothing else.
It’s the only way your content will be sanitary.
Sally Ormond has been creating sanitary content for over a decade for her clients around the world. Give her a call to make sure your content hits the right mark.