Improve Your Content Quality With These Copywriting Tips
Shane Barker
Founder @TraceFuse.ai | Amazon Review Expert | E-commerce Strategist | Influencer Marketing Specialist | Speaker
Every business, regardless of the niche, relies on words. They use them as the prime mode of communication and as an effective tool in marketing. You need words to convince people to make a purchase from you. This is the reason why copywriting is extremely important.
Although your copy shouldn’t seem pushy in nature, it still should be able to market your brand. This is why you need to be well-articulated in writing your content. It needs to be of high-quality on all channels including your website and social media. And well-written landing page copy can get you more leads.
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Writing a good copy for your business may seem like a tough task. However, with practice, you too can master the subtle art of copywriting. Meanwhile, here are some copywriting tips that can help you perfect your copywriting skills.
1. Set a Word Count
Before you get started writing copy, set a proper word count. While copywriting tips such as this might seem obvious, they are extremely important. When you set a word count for yourself, you will be able to plan your copy more thoroughly.
When you have a clear plan for your copy, you will be able to articulate it better and maintain a smoother flow. This translates into a better reading experience for your readers. If it doesn’t flow well, you’ll lose the interest of your reader and thus, lose a potential customer.
People don’t spend a lot of time reading copy. So your copy should be crisp and to the point. For this reason, your word count should not be too high. The content should explain everything clearly but concisely. That’s one of the best copywriting tips to help you frame excellent copy for your business.
2. Write Short Paragraphs
Whenever you’re writing copy, you should make sure that your paragraphs are short. Think of a long web page filled with long paragraphs and walls of text. You’ll most probably end up losing interest and abandoning the website.
To hold your readers’ attention, you should improve the readability of your content using copywriting tips.
Writing shorter paragraphs makes it easy for the reader to skim through your copy. It also makes the copy look shorter and not text intensive.
You need to learn to embrace the empty spaces and not fill them up with words. This makes it easier for people to read the content and process the information within a few short minutes.
As a rule of thumb, you should try to keep your paragraphs about 3-4 lines long. You should also print your copy to closely review it again. Draw a line after every unique statement that you have made, and separate them into different paragraphs.
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Better yet, turn some of those statements into bullet points wherever applicable. This will make your copy even easier to read. You should stick to these copywriting tips if you want to attract and engage your prospects.For example, take a look at the copy on my Influencer Marketing service page:
Image via Shane Barker
3. Write Crisp Sentences
The best copywriting tips emphasize the importance of writing short and crisp sentences, just as much as of writing short paragraphs.
Just like long paragraphs, long sentences can be a pain to read. The longer the sentence, the more complicated it becomes for the readers to understand what you’re trying to say. It is easy to get lost in a sentence that’s 2-3 lines long.
This is why it’s a great practice to keep your sentences short and to the point. Such copywriting tips ensure that your content is easier to read and that the information is easier to understand.
Image via Nielsen Norman Group
According to a Nielsen Norman Group survey, readers usually skim through the page in a random F-shaped pattern.
Shorter sentences will ensure that they do read at least a few sentences and understand their complete meaning. This is one of the most basic factors to consider in a content marketing strategy.
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4. Divide the Copy
Well-written copy with short paragraphs and crisp sentences is not enough. You need to simplify your copy even further.
You should divide your content by using subheadings. Each subheading should give the gist of what is elaborated in the section.
This is one of the most important copywriting tips that can help you make the reading experience even better.
Your readers can just read a single line and understand what you’re talking about under that line.
If it is interesting for them, they will read it. But if it isn’t, they can easily scroll to the next point without wasting time. This gives them a good reading experience.
Such copywriting tips can help you keep readers engaged with your content. They will not feel that they have to be dragged through it.
Image via Grin
Take for example how Grin separates different sections of their content using different subheads for each feature of their tool.
5. Use Facts
There’s nothing worse than writing things that are generic. You should make it a practice to substantiate every claim that you make with facts. This will give your content more credibility as well.
Obviously, you shouldn’t just add random facts. Make sure they’re relevant to the content and supported by reliable sources. Adding relevant facts and statistics to your content can be one of the most effective copywriting tips to help your content perform better.
You should even try to use numbers as much as possible in your copy.
For instance, “2000+ local businesses use our services” sounds better than “Thousands of local businesses use our services.”
Take for example, how Bitdefender showcases the number of users on their homepage copy.
Image Source: Bitdefender
Conduct thorough research while writing your content. These copywriting tips can give your content some credibility. You will be able to win the trust of your readers more easily through this method.
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6. Put Your Customers First
The best copywriting tips will stress that you put your customers before your brand. You must remember that you’re writing for your customers and not for yourself.
That is why you need to tailor your content according to what your audience wants to read. It shouldn’t be about what you want to say. It should be about what they want to hear.
You may have a certain message you want to get across through your content. However, you could end up talking excessively about your own brand. This isn’t the right way to go about it.
Readers may leave pages that only talk about a brand. Their only interest in the brand revolves around the solution or benefits the brand can provide them. So you should position yourself with your audience in mind.
If you are searching for copywriting tips to grow your brand, you should tailor your content to your prospects and existing customers.
To do so, you must know who you’re selling to in the first place. This means you should first define your target audience. You can do this by defining who your ideal customer is along with their interests, locations, and demographics.
This will give you a better idea of who your target customer is. And you can then tailor your content to appeal to this target customer. This is highly effective for generating high-quality leads for your business.
Your content should talk about how your brand or product provides value to your readers. Put yourself in the shoes of your readers and figure out their pain points and interests. Then craft your copy using these insights, addressing their needs and problems.
Take for example how ZoneAlarm follows these copywriting tips and focuses on their customers in their homepage content. They’re directly speaking to the visitor and telling them how their product benefits them – by keeping them safe.
Image Source: ZoneAlarm
7. Tell a Story
Storytelling is an art that is learned over time. But storytelling is not just for books. It also works well for business content.
You need to create stories that your readers can relate to. This will give you a better chance to position your product in a way that will resonate with your audience.
Storytelling makes your brand more memorable for the readers. You don’t need long copy to create a story. A few short sentences can be more effective.
You need to first create a hero and a villain in your story. These need not be real characters. They could be something as simple as detergents and stains.
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Take your readers on a journey and tell them a story. Show them that you’ll help them overcome a challenge using your product.Leveraging this type of storytelling is an effective copywriting tip that will help people relate to your product and better understand its value.
Take for example how Handy tells a compelling story by addressing pain points and mentioning specific situations that visitors will be able to relate to.
Image Source: Handy
8. Choose Your Fonts Well
Copywriting tips also involve improving the look of your content. You may come up with well-written copy, but don’t forget about the fonts. These are basically clothing for your content.
Your actual content matters, but so does its appearance. If your copy doesn’t look appealing, people may not even read it.
Not only should it be readable, the font should also help you come across as a respected brand. It should be consistent with your brand’s identity and shouldn’t look spammy.
The fonts used by Jenna Lam Events, for instance, are clean and elegant – perfect for a firm that plans weddings.
Image Source: Jenna Lam Events
You should skim through fonts and make a list of ones that seem most relevant to your brand. You can also check the websites of other reputable brands to see the kind of fonts they use. This will give you a better idea of what kind of fonts will work for you.
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9. Use Everyday Language
When you have a business, you need to reach out to as large an audience as possible. In order to do this, your content must connect with the masses. They need to feel that your brand is talking to them when they read it.
You don’t necessarily need to be cute, clever, or even a literary genius while writing content. You should write it in simple language. Try not to use complicated words that can make it difficult for a layman to understand.
A majority of copywriting tips emphasize two things – improving readability and making it easier to understand.
Image via Starbucks
Additionally, everyday language is more casual and can help make people feel more connected to your brand. Starbucks, for instance, talks to their audience in a casual manner using simple, everyday language.
In order to write this way, you should first write your first draft and then read it over. Omit the parts that seem like ones you wouldn’t use in day-to-day communication.
It helps to have a partner or editor to help you with this. This will give you even more insights into improving your copy. Such copywriting tips can help you reach a wider audience.
10. Avoid Grammatical Errors and Mistakes
The last thing that you want is your content to be filled with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. If your readers notice that there are many errors and mistakes, they may see your brand as sloppy and unreliable.
In some cases, they may even leave your website for your competitor’s. You need to take care of every single detail in your content. Thoroughly proofread your copy before it goes online.
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Image via Grammarly
You can also use online tools like Grammarly and the Hemingway App to spot mistakes and resolve them.
You should ideally have someone else edit the content that you’ve written. This can help you spot more mistakes and make further improvements.
Following this copywriting tip can help you protect your brand’s authority and credibility.
11. Write Original Content
The best copywriting tips also include checking that your content is unique and authentic. You want to gain the trust of your audience through your content.
It is only when people trust your brand that they may consider making a purchase from you. This is why it should be a top priority to be honest, authentic, and trustworthy.
Your web content should help you attract new customers and win their trust with your originality. But if you’re copying content from other websites, it can hurt your brand’s reputation.
You should also show your ethics behind your brand on your website’s “About” page. Tell your brand’s story and list some of the factors that make your brand unique such as your values and purpose.
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Conclusion
It may seem like a tough task to write compelling content. However, if you can follow the copywriting tips mentioned above, you’ll be on your way to writing more compelling copy.
Keep your content original and ensure that you write for your readers and not yourself. Simple, well-written content will help boost your business.
Do you have any questions related to the copywriting tips mentioned above? If so, let me know in the comments section. I’ll be happy to answer them for you.
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6 年Great tips, Shane! "The best copywriting tips will stress that you put your customers before your brand. You must remember that you’re writing for your customers and not for yourself." So many businesses miss on this point. You have to understand who your customers are and why they are taking the time to read. It is because of something they want to learn to make their life better. It isn't about you.? Excellent!