How to Write Compelling Copy in Your Marketing: Part 2
Top 10 Tips for Effective Marketing Copy
Compelling. Motivating. And definitively YOU. That’s what you want from your marketing copy. And we’re going to show you how to get it.
In this second article of our two-part series on copywriting, we’ll take a closer look at the ins and outs of how to write effective marketing copy. Our 10 tips will ensure that you’re connecting with your audience and nailing your message. Every. Single. Time.
If you haven’t read the first article of our series yet, hop on over here to learn why copy matters so much (trust us, it’s not just us!). And how to curate your own unique brand voice.
Top 10 Tips for Effective Marketing Copy
Good copy is a vital element of your business. It informs your readers, entertains and engages them. But it also gives them value that helps them solve their problems and improve their individual situations. Most importantly, it compels them to take action.
Our top 10 tips deal with each of these elements – and helps you to clearly inform, engage and compel your readers.
Tip 1. Focus on Your Authentic Brand Voice
We talked about brand voice in vast detail in article one and covered how to find yours. But, in a nutshell, brand voice is the first and most vital element to inject into your copy. It ensures that all of your writing and marketing materials are consistent, memorable and – perhaps most importantly – recognisable.
When you’re writing your copy it must all align with your brand voice. So, if you’re fun and casual, this needs to come out in your newsletters, social media posts and website copy. If you’ve got a professional, serious brand voice, that needs to come out instead.
Tip 2. Ensure Copy is Easy to Read
Good copywriting should be invisible. That might sound strange, but generally it’s bad writing that grabs a reader’s attention. And when the reader’s attention is taken up with thinking about the writing, then they might miss the actual message.
So, effective marketing copy should also be effortless to read and understand. It should allow the message to take centre-stage and assume the leading role. This means unpretentious words, concise sentences and short paragraphs.
A note about jargon. You might use this in your business every day. But think about your reader. Will they know what it is? Will they have to Google the term? Will its use make it harder for them to seamlessly hear your message? At the end of the day, most of the time, jargon is more problematic than useful.
Tip 3. Offer a Solution
Whenever you’re writing marketing copy you should know exactly the problem you’re working to solve. And how your product or service will solve it.
Talk directly to your customers letting them know you understand their challenges and their needs. Then let them know how you can make life easier for them. The focus here is on your audience not on yourself.
Tip 4. Show, Don’t Tell
It’s a pearl of wisdom that is often repeated in the writing world – whether for fact, fiction or anything in between. It’s particularly relevant in copywriting, however, when you want your audience to visualise the product or service being offered, as well as how they’ll feel when it makes their life better. Imagery conjures emotions – and that is exactly what we’re after.
Tip 5. Start Strong
If you haven’t grabbed the reader’s attention straight out the gates, it’s likely their focus is going to wander and your message will be lost. Start strong and aim to connect with your potential customer immediately. (Hint: What’s their problem?) This is one of the first steps in nailing how to write effective marketing copy.
Tip 6. Put The Reader First
Too often, businesses want to wax lyrical about what they do and who they are, when they should be focusing on their customers instead. Nobody is going to be interested in reading about your business until you first show them how you can help them fix their problems. This is particularly important in website copy. So instead of ‘us, we and our’, opt for ‘you, your and yours’.
Tip 7. Highlight Why You’re Different
What makes your company and product or service stand out from all the rest? Highlight these unique factors in your marketing copy as a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
For example, are your product ingredients organic or ethically sourced? Are your products made by hand or use a traditional method? Are your practices environmentally conscious? Do any of the profits go towards a good cause or give back to the community? Any notable awards, certifications and testimonials are also great to mention.
Tip 8. Back Up Your Message
Customers are growing increasingly frustrated by the way companies throw out marketing claims without any evidence to support them. Use citable research and data to support your message, wherever possible. This means quality, scholarly articles that use peer-reviewed research. If you choose to include a statistic proving something, always cite the source.
Tip 9. Encourage Customers to Take Action
Calls to action are vital in marketing copy and are key drivers of lead generation. They outline the steps a customer needs to take to solve their problem, and encourage conversion to sales. For example, you might like to suggest they sign up for a mailing list, visit a website, register for an event, follow the company on social media or add a product to their cart. You can also create urgency in your writing by including lines such as ‘offer ends soon’ or ‘while stocks last’.
Tip 10. Write for the Medium
Back in the day, marketing copy was only for newspapers and print publications. Next, we had radio ads and then TV, and now of course the internet. Writing web copy is vastly different to writing for print, for example. And so tailoring your approach for each medium is important.
Fortunately there are some formulas for how to write effective marketing copy online. For websites, search engine optimisation techniques will help to improve the search rankings for your copy. This will drive it higher in internet searches, and create more traffic to your website.