Good copywriting advice can be the key to succeeding in many different businesses. It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is. You need to be able to get that over to potential customers if you’re to sell it to them. Good copywriting can be one way to do that.
And the good news is, you don’t need to be a skilled writer – or pay a top copywriter thousands of pounds to do it for you – because a few simple, straightforward copywriting tips really can make your own writing much more powerful and successful.
8 Easy copywriting tips to boost your sales…
1. Keep it simple. You really don’t need to come up with something clever and sophisticated. Readers frequently just pick through sales literature and, even if they’re smart, don’t have time or can’t be bothered to digest clever and complex arguments… So keep it all fairly down to earth.
2. Talk to your target audience in a language they’ll understand. Know your audience. Are they male or female? Young or old? What interests do they have? What jobs do they do? Are they airline pilots or plumbers for example? Put yourself in their shoes, and talk to them on their terms – not yours.
3. Think of the one single feature that makes your product different to or better than any similar product. Is it cheaper? Newer? Does it do something their product doesn’t do? Choose one thing and push it in your writing. (This is called a USP or unique selling proposition.)
4. Talk benefits. This is probably the single most powerful copywriting secret ever!
Talk about not what the product is or what it does. But what it can do for the customer. Will it save them money? Will it help them do a job faster? Will it make them happy? Will it make them more attractive?
Copywriters often describe this technique as ‘selling the sizzle not the sausage’! It’s a technique that works for almost any product you can imagine.
5. Solve your reader’s problems. This is probably the second most powerful copywriting secret ever! Customers buy solutions to problems not products. Think what problems your product is designed to solve and write about that. Will it take away their hunger? Will it sort out their leaky roof? Will it take away their aches and pains? Will it stop them being bored?
6. Have a strong headline. Something that makes the reader stop and read the rest of your copy.
Tip. Your USP or your strongest benefit often makes a very good headline.
7. Include facts and figures about the product. They make your copy seem more real, and more honest. (But don’t include too many pointless facts!)
8. Lastly, get the length right. The truth is, there is no right or wrong length for a piece of sales literature. There have been some great pieces of copywriting of just 100 words long, and some great sales letters of over 5,000 words long. Just write as much or as little as you think you need to sell the product.
Tip. Break up long copy with sub headings and bullet points. They’ll make it easier for your customer to read. (And, just as importantly, easier for you to write too!)