Effective Copywriting: 12 Tips to Succeed Online Today

effective copywritingEntering the world of effective copywriting might come off as intimidating. Initially, you might expect to be looking over a bullet-point list of product specifications and thinking of ways to cram all that information in a brief text with the aid of a word counter tool.

But then you quickly realize that there’s more to it than that, and you have to put in some creativity on top of it all. Effective copywriting is both an art and a process.

The creativity comes in to keep the audience engaged and leave a lasting impression. But there is also a process behind it that makes it less daunting to do.

Here are some tips that will help you achieve effective copywriting.

1. Effective Copywriting: Write According to Your Goal

Writing without a goal in mind is writing blind. Each copy has a purpose and an objective it needs to achieve. It could be to simply inform or spread awareness or give out a special offer.

Whatever the objective may be, you should tailor your copy to the goal you want to achieve and the message you want to relay.

2. Research

Before creating your copy, you must first ensure that you are giving substantial and correct information. When you’re copywriting, you don’t only have to look at the product you’re advertising, but also the competition and the market for that product.

Dig deep to ensure that you have all the information you need to write your copy.

3. Know Your Audience

You could write an objectively good copy, and yet, if it doesn’t appeal to your target audience, then it won’t achieve the effect you intended to have. Collect the demographic data of your customers and create a buyer persona.

Adress this persona and their wants and needs. Know what they’re looking for in a product and how your product can address these needs. Cater to them so that your copywriting will spark their interest and catch their attention.

4. Speak to Your Audience

Remember to speak to them and not at them. Make them feel included instead of isolating them. Try not to use “I’s” and “we’s” and speak in the second person instead.

For example, try replacing “our product can” with “with this product, you can” and see the difference. In the latter, you are making the customer the focus instead of the product.

You are showing them how this product will have a role in their life. You are making it about them, which would already establish a connection between the customer and the product you are selling even before they’ve bought it.

5. Have a Cohesive Idea

No one wants to read something that is messy and seemingly has no direction. Make sure that what you’ve written flows neatly from start to end. To achieve this, you must have a concrete and cohesive idea behind your copy.

You must strike the balance between being informative and keeping your readers interested. 

6. Capture Attention With a Good Headline

A lot of times, the headline is where you make it or break it. A well-written copy would be put to waste if it hides behind an uninteresting, ordinary headline.

The headline should be eye-catching. It should be something that captures the reader’s attention enough for them to keep on reading.

Audiences are unlikely to read a copy if the headline is weak. So start strong, but don’t forget to also make the content as engaging as the headline. 

7. Focus on the Benefits

When you’re trying to sell something, you have to emphasize the benefits it offers. You could list all its amazing features, but to the common buyer, these words might not mean anything.

Try to avoid merely listing down technical terms. Instead, show your potential customers how these features will be useful to them.

Make it sound less technical and more conversational. Answer the question, “what’s in it for me?” Think of how these features will benefit your buyer and why they should invest in that product.

For example, instead of just stating the battery power of the phone you are selling, mention how long it will last without charging since that’s an easier way of showing them how they will benefit from that feature you’re offering.

8. Highlight What You Have That Your Competitor Lacks

In conjunction with focusing on the benefits, you should also highlight the ways your product is better than the competition. Of course, you can’t just say that the competitor lacks these certain features.

Outright badmouthing the competition would discourage customers from supporting your brand. Instead, look at what your competition lacks and highlight how your product can address these needs.

This way, you’re letting the customers conclude that yours is the superior product on their own. 

9. Avoid Information Overload

Copywriting isn’t merely sneaking in as many specs as you can. Remember, you should always be mindful of the word count since a copy that is too long would lose the reader’s attention.

Copywriting isn’t just listing down all the bullet points of features and properties.

Don’t overload the reader with information about the product. As much as possible, only include relevant information that answers the questions “what’s in it for me?” and “why should I choose this over the competition?”

Don’t be caught up in the details that you lose the interest of your audience. 

10. Remember the 3 C’s: Clear, Concise, and Compelling

The 3 C’s are a good guide to achieve effective copywriting. It’s easy to remember and applies the fundamentals of copywriting. When writing, your copy should be clear. Avoid using vague or confusing words.

Your copy should be written such that it eliminates misunderstanding or confusion. It should be easy to understand for the common man. Keep it simple, and keep it concise.

There’s no need for hifalutin words. Include only what you need to keep it brief. But also make it compelling to read.

Your copy could be clear and concise, but it will do little to nothing if it isn’t compelling for the audience to read. Make it simple, brief, and interesting.

11. Have a Call to Action

Your copy should elicit a response from your audience. It should have a call to action and shouldn’t stop at the end of your copy.

The goal of advertising is to make the target market do something after having exposure to your advertising, whether it is to subscribe to a newsletter or purchase an item.

The call to action answers the question, “what’s next?” When writing your call to action, you should express a sense of urgency to your audience.   

12. Proofread

Once you’ve incorporated all these tips and are done writing your copy, do not forget to proofread your work.

Typographical and grammatical errors should be avoided at all costs since it sends the message of carelessness and could lead the potential customers to lose trust in the brand’s capability to deliver.

It might seem ridiculous that something so minor could have that effect, however, the market usually expects brands to have attention to detail and minimal room for error.

This not only goes for spelling errors but also to the information found in the copy.

Double-check the accuracy of the information featured. Make sure all the things you’ve written about the product are indeed true and updated. After all, you don’t want to find yourself advertising the wrong product.

Conclusion

In summary, to practice effective copywriting, you must know who you’re speaking to, what you should write, and the best way to present it that appeals to your audience while also selling your product or service.

And always remember to keep it short, simple, but of quality. There’s a process to copywriting, but never forget that it is, in a way, an art that requires creativity and fresh ideas. Strike that balance, and you’ll do great.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.