Do you struggle with writing a copy about yourself or your business?
You're not alone...
I'm going to show you some tips and tricks that will help you to level up your content on platforms such as your website, print marketing and digital marketing to get more leads.
Creating good copy inspires and excites your audience into taking action. It not only serves as a purpose to inform your audience but to also drive action, create interest and answers their problems.
When working with many businesses from large to small, all too often when the time comes to creating copy for your website or printed material you're met with a brick wall. Of course, there are companies to help you out with the end result, that is, printing services and direct marketing efforts can be taken up by them-only after you have finalized on the content. However, creating the content itself can be a tough task.
‘Where do I start?'
‘What do people want to know?'
‘Is it boring?'
Writing about yourself can be extremely hard, especially if you're discussing work that you do, day in day out. We often think about our work or our business in technical terms such as the day to day tasks that we have to achieve to accomplish a good job. An example of that would be:
‘I create websites using WordPress using a range of coding languages such as HTML, CSS, PHP and Javascript'.
The above informs the reader that, yes, of course you can complete some of the technical aspects. But if a non-web based business owner looks at this, would they know what that actually means? Maybe not, and if you do so what, right?
A good question to ask yourself ‘Why would they care?'
We must consider your audience first and foremost. Your audience has arrived at your website not because they want to know your daily rituals and be blinded by science, they have something they need, and you've got what it takes to provide it!
Ask yourself these questions:
What is a problem that I can solve?
Think about your products or services, what problems do they solve?
If you're selling rubber ducks, you could say that 'they keep your kids entertained'
OR that it ‘makes bath time fun',
Strange example, but we'll just go with it!
Who is the type of person I'm talking to?
Are you selling rubber ducks to kids, or their parents? Parents have different buying habits than their children. An adult will be thinking ‘is the rubber duck safe if my child tries to eat it?' or ‘will it encourage them to go in the bath when they're told'.
The kid may be thinking, 'will it squirt water in my dad's face?'
What are the benefits and features of my service or product?
A feature would be that the duck shoots water from its beak or that it's recycled and made with a special material that stops bacteria forming.
Benefits are that it makes bath time fun, it makes kids want to go in the bath and it's good for the environment.
How is this different from what my competition is doing?
Is your product or service unique in any way? Are you offering the same service as your competitors?
Try looking for unique differentiators that make you stand out from the crowd otherwise, it's down to price and competing on price can be a slippery slope if you're not careful!
How to structure your copy
Your copy should be structured in easy to read bite-sized chunks and formatted in a way that firstly, draws attention to your text, then offers hook and then copy that focuses on providing a solution to their problem. If you are creating the content for your website, then you may have to consider search engine optimization techniques while writing, too. This can help you combine consumer appeal with optimized keywords and content, making your website structured and bang on the buck.
For best results, consider using a hierarchy in your text. This focuses user attention and provides snapshots of information to create curiosity.
For example:
[headline]
Make bathtime fun again!
[sub-header]
Recreate hours of fun for you and your family with this classic rubber duck.
[website copy]
Do your kids struggle with bathtime? Or looking for a trusty bath-time companion?
This classic favourite children's yellow duck will bring hours of entertainment for all ages. Bathtime will never be the same again.
Using only 100% recycled rubber to create each duck using non-toxic materials to ensure our rubber ducks are not only great for the environment but safe for the whole family.
Header: This will draw your users attention to that section of copy.
The header needs to be short and punchy. Using our rubber duck analogy 'Making bathtime fun again!'. We are using nostalgia as a way to sell this product. The feeling of, 'I had fun playing with this when I was younger'. It also insinuates that it makes it more fun for the adult too!
Subheader: We're backing up our headline nostalgia here, with words such as 'recreate' and 'classic' making it feel like a timeless piece, a tradition to keep alive for their kids.
Copy: Starting with a question is a good way to provide a solution.
We're targeting this question to those who want it for their kids and ones who want it for themselves.
The copy is supposed to be tongue and cheek, and fun!
Try out these techniques in any of your copy, online or offline and let me know how it goes!
