Welcome back to my series of blogs focused on how to set your business up for success with marketing. Last week I started from the beginning explaining how to create a marketing strategy. So this week I welcome you to the world of successful copywriting.

I am definitely no literature expert, so whether you understand copy writing is for your own use or you decide to outsource this, it is good to understand the why.

Purpose

What is the purpose I hear you ask? Scribble down some simple words and people will know what they are looking at. Yes, you’re not wrong. However I want to show you some examples of successful copywriting for advertising so you can see its power. Here I have written 2 pieces of copy selling a drink:

“Curiosity Cola, the perfect way to quench your thirst on a hot day”
  Or
“Nothing beats the refreshing taste of a cold Curiosity Cola on a hot day. It’s the perfect way to quench your thirst and cool down in the summer heat. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also packed with essential vitamins and minerals that make it a healthy alternative to other sugary drinks. Plus, with so many different flavours available, there’s something for everyone. So next time you’re feeling parched on a hot day, get curious, get Curiosity Cola!”

Which one are you buying? For me it would definitely be the second. It evokes feeling of hot summer, makes you think of health and realise there are multiple options. Where the first is to the point, but too simple.

successful copywriting does need to tick of a number of fundamentals, depending on the medium, but the main elements are:

• Unique selling point – What makes you stand out from your competition (lucky you know that now after writing your marketing strategy.
• Appeal to the right audience – You have already identified your target audience, so this is focusing on how you use language to reach them.
• Provide value – Make the reader see the value in your product over buying any alternative.
• Call to action – Now you need to nudge your audience to do something specific, typically this would be to purchase the product or head to a website to read more.

Fundamentals of Successful Copywriting

There is multiple fundamentals to consider when writing copy, here we look at the top 3 for you to consider:

Collateral – This medium in which you are writing for. Places copy may appear include your webpage, brochures & leaflets plus email marketing.

Medium – This is another area that requires copy to make it possible. Video has become very popular and requires copy to typically go with moving images. Print covers us for the pre-mentioned collateral, but it could even cover the packaging on an item. Online is another area which also covers websites, but could focus on your product on a suppliers page.

Style – There are various ways to sell an item. These include. The hard sell which sees us being pushed to short lead sales to force someone to buy immediately. Scare tactic can also be used, taking something someone cares about and drives them to purchase it immediately or something bad may happen. Straight shot is fast and down the line, to the point that the customer understands why this thing is the best immediately.

Before starting make a plan

Spend 30 minutes researching your product, others products or what your competitor is doing. This will help inspire you and set you up for success. I always recommend writing at least these 3 as a minimum:

1. Write notes about your audience – Knowing who they are, remind yourself of what the like, dislike and save some notes to remind yourself what they want to hear.
2. List of collateral – Make sure you know what you are writing for.
3. Styles – Remember your reader is easily influenced by what you write, but they can easily be turned off too. So knowing the target audience, decide what type of selling you will be doing to them.

Header

Start with a headline, it is really important as this is how to draw your customers attention. You need to create a strong headline, build a rapport with the audience, create urgency and generate a need to learn.

Main Body

Writing the main body of work can be tough, we all have different ways in which we can do this. I am a planner, so for me I dream up the subject (as per my marketing plan, obviously). Then I work on a structure, I always write a few short bullet points.

Some fundamentals to consider:

• Scanning – Readers now like to flick their owns over a piece of copy to make sure it satisfies their need before they read on. Have plenty of sections, subheadings and bullet points.
• Paragraphs – Keep them short and sweet, otherwise the reader will get distracted and flick off. I recommend no more than 6 lines.
• Words – Sentences should vary from 13-20 words.
• Paragraphs – keep them short, depending on the subject, 3 paragraphs are recommended. 
• Images – These are the most powerful tools to complement your copy, so make sure to add plenty.

Now you are ready to, from your marketing strategy you know what you need to write about. You know how to structure your copy, some fundamentals to go with it and the importance of a punchy heading. So what are you waiting for, get practising.

Thanks for reading this week’s blog, next week I will be looking at the importance of Branding.