How To Increase Sales With Better Copy

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you enjoyed the Christmas break, are feeling healthy and ready to give 2022 a kick up the posterior.

This month we’re going to look at some simple copywriting tips that will help you connect with your target customer. If you’d rather leave your written content to the professionals (hint: me) then let’s get on the phone and have a chat.

My job as a copywriter is to not only make your content SING but LOOK good as well.

Why?

The average browser is bombarded with reams of text, scores of images and ‘shouty, flashy’ content all day long. Their concentration span is, understandably, pretty short (about 5.18 seconds, to be precise). They can only cope with so much stimulation, so their eyes will hop from post to post until they land on something shiny and enticing.

As a business owner, you’ve got a job on your hands to make your content stand out.

Here’s how you can do it:

• DON’T be tempted to squeeze in big words and lengthy sentences. Retain attention with short and snappy sentences that entertain AND get to the point. Leave the flowery prose to novelists.
• DO include plenty of white space. Visitors to your website want to see small blocks of text in a pleasing font. Why not intersperse with relevant images and video clips? They’ll stick around if you incorporate bullet points, headings and subheadings. They won’t if they encounter lines of tightly presented text.
• DON’T over do it. Never post for the sake of posting. Browsers want to read valuable content, not random musings that irritate more than they entertain. Plan your social media posts at least a week in advance, ensuring they reflect your business objectives. There IS room for fun though, but even fun posts need planning!

‘People buy from people.’

What does this mean?

Well, consider your own shopping habits:

• When you shop do you find yourself attracted to the people behind the product?
• Do you take their values and outlook into consideration before you purchase?
• Is their ‘About Us’ page your first port of call?

You’ll be glad to hear that small businesses often have an easier job connecting to customers than larger corporations. Shoppers like to ‘support local’ so build engagement by telling your story on social and on your website.

1. Describe WHY you started your business on your website and on social media. Telling people your story will help them relate to you more easily.
2. Focus less on the features and more on the BENEFITS of your product/service. If shoppers feel that you understand them and their needs, they’ll be more likely to buy from you.

Crafting persuasive copy doesn’t have to be complicated.

If you want to rise above your competitors, take the following 6 points into consideration when you market your business:

1. Grab attention

Browsers swoop from shiny thing to shiny thing in the hope something exciting will catch their eye. An attention-grabbing headline will lure the reader in and enticing copy will retain their focus. Combine compelling copy with fun visuals for maximum impact.

2. Focus on pain points

Your job as a business owner is to solve problems. Figuring out your target customer’s pain points (problems) will help you shape solutions that you can build into your copy. The same applies to your customer’s hopes, fears, goals and dreams. Creating an ideal customer profile will help you keep focus on your audience, not just your product.

3. Benefits over features

What advert appeals to you the most? The one that lists every feature of the gadget you want, or the one that tells you how it will change your life? Copy that reflects how your customer will save time and money appeals much more than content that drones on about endless (albeit wonderful) features. We all want an easier life, right?

4. Check your competition

What makes your product or service different from the rest? Getting to know your competition will help you stand out in a crowded marketplace. What are they doing on social? Who’s engaging with them online? Is your product or service unique? Tell everyone! Use creative copy to describe just how wonderful your business is.

5. Prove your product

People want to know if your product or service is worth forking out for, so gather reviews and testimonials and build them into your content. This will encourage browsers to shift from ‘interested’ to ‘customer’.

6. Finish with a call to action

You’ve gone to the trouble of crafting persuasive copy that’s sure to attract new customers but you haven’t added a call to action. What’s a call to action? It’s a prompt that tells the browser what to do next: whether that’s offering a handy link to a product page or an invitation to subscribe to your newsletter.  Rather than simply say, ‘click here’, consider using phrases like, ‘join our community’, ‘discover the (product or service) right now’ or ‘book a great night out here’.

So there you have it, a raft of free tips on how to craft great written content. I’ll end with this: if the thought of any of the above makes you nervous, I’m here to help. Just get in touch and I’ll do the rest