Copy is one of the most persuasive tools your business has. You can have the best product on the market, but when it comes to selling it, you won’t get far without good copy. Customers purchase because you communicate the benefits of your products or services to them. Customers trust you because you build an authentic relationship based on your brand’s personality and values.
Whether online, in print, or on packaging, great copy is the tool you should use to achieve success. How can you make your copy work for you? Follow these top ten tips:
1. Know Your Aim
Before you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, know exactly what you want your copy to achieve. Whether you want to sell a product or get more Facebook likes, make sure that’s crystal clear before you start.
2. Know Your Audience
To write great copy, you need to know who you’re writing to. Who is your audience and what do they want? What problem are you solving? Get your ideal customer clear in your mind and write directly to them.
3. Know Your Unique Selling Proposition
If you’re not clear on why customers should choose you over the competition, your copy will be fuzzy. To sell something, you need to be very clear on what you are selling and exactly why customers should choose you.
4. Make the Headline Matter
Your headline is your one chance to grab your audience’s attention and hold it long enough to persuade them to read on. Craft those few words with all the care and attention you can give them.
5. Resist the Bells and Whistles
Humour and quirkiness are great in moderation, if your brand’s tone can carry it well. But resist the urge to lose yourself in how delightful and clever your copy is. Your message will get lost in all the written pyrotechnics, and you’ll risk losing the sale.
6. Keep it Concise
Good copy says what it wants to say with minimum fuss. You can write compelling copy that makes your brand personality shine without too much verbiage. It takes discipline and stringent editing, but the result will be copy with laser beam focus.
7. Sell the Sizzle
There’s a marketing adage “sell the sizzle, not the steak.” In other words, people buy benefits, not features, and so focus on benefits. For example, if you’re selling printing services, don’t focus on the type of ink, focus on why your services will get your audience’s brand noticed by their target market.
8. Keep it Interesting
Your copy should never be boring or dry. Whether your tone is formal or conversational, always take the extra time to choose and polish your words for a unique end result.
9. Be Unapologetic
Good copy should be bold. You don’t have to resort to hyperbole, but you shouldn’t whisper your message either. Simply let your enthusiasm for what you’re selling shine through.
10. Remember Your Call to Action
Good copy without a strong call to action is like an appetizer without a main course. Your copy should leave your customers with no doubts as they move to take their next step.
Good copy is one of your business’s best friends. Get to know it and get familiar with how it works, and it will serve you well. For even more tips on how to really make this year’s content stand out, go to http://ilink.me/extratips
New content for a new year – 10 tips to get you started
