How do you balance creativity and clarity in your copywriting for e-commerce?

The first step to great copy isn't a great lead-in. Or one of those hooks you saw on LinkedIn. Nope. It's understanding your audience. You need to know who your target readers are, what their needs, goals, and preferences are. You must also understand how they search for and evaluate products or services before making a purchase. With this knowledge, you can craft copy that speaks directly to their needs. You should be able to tailor the language, tone, and even the length of your content to match the specific audience you’re targeting.

Without an audience, our writing is merely a scramble of words. By writing in a way that can be understood and read clearly, will always keep people captivated by your words. And words are merely a painted picture without the painting. It's an art form, and it is so important to learn. When you know your audience, you know how to reach their hearts. Providing valuable information, and call-to-actions will keep your audience engaged with your writing.

Start from the premise that you have no right to be boring. Don’t dare make readers wait until even the second sentence to say something that’s both on point and funny/engaging/etc. When someone else is paying the tab, you have no business submitting copy that would not make you say (honestly), “Yeah, I would read this.” Your professional reputation and, more importantly, your personal pride in your work are on the line. Act like it.

Yes, know your audience. Write clear, concise copy, tell your story with emotion and the rest, but one more thing. Nothing sells like energy, excitment, and enthusiasm.

A proven, back-to-basics way to help you understand your audience is to answer these three questions: 1. What do they think now? 2. What do we want them the think? 3. Why will they believe us? If you have several audiences, segment them and do the same for each. And use your own language to answer these three prompts. Don’t adopt the words of a policeman, estate agent, management consultant or drunken solicitor. Type it as you would say it. You’ll understand perceptions, motivations and it will create a brief that writes itself, guiding you on what to do next, and why.

Short words, no jargon, clarity above all ... absolutely! Also, use the active voice. And vary sentence length, which improves readability.

Draft for creativity, edit for clarity. It’s an approach that’s popular with novelists and screenwriters. Write for creativity with absolutely no limitations or focus on form. Walk away for a bit. When you come back, edit once for clarity and accuracy, once for flow and form, and once for grammar and spelling.

Clear and concise copy is without a doubt the most important element to any writing. Like a poem, painting or digital advertisement, it is the written version of art, and should be treated as such. Write as you speak, that is the golden rule.

Best way to write clear and effective copy? Strip the fat. Go through each sentence and cut the words in half. If that's somehow easy, do it again. The more you cut down on the amount of words in your copy, the more clear your copy becomes.

Delete weak or redundant words. You'll find 'that' can be removed from almost every sentence you write. If it still makes sense without that 'that'. Get rid. It will tighten and shorten your copy.

Storytelling + emotion > anything else. People buy into people. People buy into emotion and stories. People want to be inspired, yet they want to feel empowered by your words. Most importantly, people want to relate to you and when you are human, and do not filter a single thing, people find it easier to invest in your story.

Storytelling/emotional connection is important, but only in the right place and at the right time. i.e. during the marketing phase. Once the consumer is on the product page, that's when you go to the 'dry', factual content. After countless rounds of user testing on hundreds of e-commerce pages, there's one thing I found: once the consumer is on the product page, all they want to know are the facts - not more "marketing waffle". - What does it do? - How can it help? - The cost? The priority for the product page should be to give users the info they need to make an informed decision. Don't distract, confuse, or remove them from the journey. So yes, storytelling is important. But it needs to be used at the right time on the user's journey.

It is crucial to engage the readers interest with an arresting opening. As most people are reading websites on their mobiles, there are many intrusions such as incoming emails, messages, WhatsApp, telephone calls and social media posts. Therefore when selling a product or service, especially e-commerce, it is paramount to engage the readers interest within three seconds then keep them interested by using emotive language that resonates and demonstrates personal or corporate benefit. Always remember the reader has at the back of their mind: What's in it for me? As already stated the content has to make a direct hit, whilst being succinct and powerful.

Storytelling is powerful. But remember, like the opening chapter of any blockbuster novel or tabloid newspaper front page, the first words of your blog, presentation or proposal need to be utterly compelling. Underpromise at the start and you’ll never get a chance to overdeliver later.

When it comes to balancing creativity and clarity in copywriting, it's important to remember that you're not just writing for robots or search engines -- you're writing for human beings. That's why incorporating storytelling and emotion is so critical. By tapping into the power of human emotion, you can create a connection with your audience that goes beyond just selling a product or service. You're creating an experience, a feeling, a memory that will stick with them long after they've made their purchase. So, don't be afraid to let your creativity shine through -- it's what will make your copy truly memorable and effective.

When writing your copy, think of what people mention in favorable reviews of similar products. Is there a feature or something unique about the product that you could mention in a similar way in your copy? You're writing for the audience, and you need to think of what they are looking for when they are shopping for a product like yours.

Railing against the robots (under copy that was most likely written by AI) is probably futile, but writing for the algorithm is depressing and mundane. Yes, your copy needs to perform. But never confuse the functional needs of performance marketing with writing that inspires, enlightens, and delights.

Properly review and edit! Such an important step in any copywriting project. I like to use the W5 method to verify that all is captured and clear. (who are we speaking to? what is the key product or message? when to use or when is the event, where can I purchase/show up/find more info etc. , why does it matter - this is the POD!) Not all of them may apply but in my experience it’s helped us ensure nothing is missed and create a clear hierarchy of messaging.

Learn, learn, and learn some more. We need to constantly improvise, improve and revise. This is the only way to build the muscle. Copywriting involves doing, and you will learn most by just doing it and learning from your mistakes.

I’m paraphrasing, but Steve Jobs pointed out that his branding was never about features or benefits. It was about who they were as a company and where they fit in this world. For Apple, it was about their stance was anyone with passion can change the world. It wasn’t about memory, speed, or anything other than change. That was the big idea. So, that’s the answer. It’s a top of mind he funnel message. Not sure what the middle was, but the bottom definitely had the features and benefits. Hope this helps.