7 tips for writing copy with impact
Small business owners and entrepreneurs are constantly looking for ways to improve their SEO rankings and give customers free value. One of the best ways they can achieve this is by writing copy with impact.
But what exactly is copy? Copy comes in various forms – this could be social media content, website copy or even blogs (yes, you’re reading copy right now)!
Here are Brand Sugar’s 7 Tips for Writing Copy with Impact.
1. Use a Great Title.
People scrolling through their social media news feeds are constantly bombarded with both paid adverts and organic content attempting to re-direct them to some form of copy. Copy is everywhere! With so much competition it is critical that your copy title has the punch to stand out from the competition.
Like this title, the key to success is to ensure the reader gets a clear understanding of what the copy is about and what’s in store for them. The potential reader should be both intrigued by the title, enticed by a topic that they are interested in, whilst gaining a clear picture of what knowledge they will obtain from reading.
Another important reason to have a great title is that helps with search engine optimization. By aligning your title with commonly searched words, phrases or topics, you can help more people find your content and increase your click rate!
2. Do your SEO Keyword Research.
SEO – the mythical unicorn of copywriting. We’ve all heard of it, but we’re about to let you in on a secret – and that is how to tame the beast! Firstly, take some time before you start writing your copy to do some research on what are the most used keywords that people search for in relation to your product or service. This will improve the potential reach and engagement in your copy.
Given that Google is the world’s largest search engine, the best keywords to search for should be central to that platform. As such, we recommend that you search for the most impactful keywords for your copy, starting at Google Analytics.
Google Analytics: www.analytics.google.com
Once you’ve got your words, try to jam them in as many times as possible, whilst striving to keep the word flow natural.
Q: How many times do you think the word copy (or copywriting) is written throughout in this article?
A: 34!
3. Spell Check.
Spelling is an important skill when writing copy with impact. Apart from conveying an impression of professionalism, it is important to make the experience of reading the copy as easy as possible.
One of the big advantages that copywriters have nowadays, is that most programs, like Pages or Microsoft Word, have built in spell check tools. One important thing to remember is to ensure that your language settings are set to your target location as different countries can spell the same word differently.
If you need a little extra help you can use external spelling and grammar checking sites to make sure your copy is 100% perfect, such as Grammarly.
Grammarly: https://www.grammarly.com/
4. Meet your Audience on Their Level.
Any copy should be adapted and targeted to the audience. This includes in terms of tone, language, education level and so much more! You should consider who your target audience is and what is the basis of the copy you are writing and match the language to that level.
By adapting your copywriting style to suit your audience, you are more likely to be successful in connecting with your audience because you are really getting to the root of their needs, wants, desires and preferences. It’s about getting into their head and knowing what will resonate.
As an example, if you were writing copy about the latest medical procedure you would probably be targeting a highly educated audience and the language would need to reflect that. Likewise, if you were writing copy about how to grow your own vegetable patch, then the language would be toned down to a more generic audience base.
5. Compact Paragraphs
When you are writing copy for impact as a small or medium business or entrepreneur you should ensure you do not write an essay or thesis on each point. As a given rule it is best to keep each paragraph to no more than two sentences where possible.
It’s proven and tested that compact and concise tends to generate more engagement from your readers.
6. Add Weblinks
Weblinks are a great tool to add value for your readers as well as improving SEO rankings for your copy. One of the most important weblinks to add in any copy is your own website or landing page.
Within this copy you will notice two weblinks – to Google Analytics and Grammarly. Both of these sites are high engagement sites, they add value to the copy and also help improve the SEO search credibility of your copy.
7. Add Free Value.
The most important lesson for creating copy that has impact is to give as much free value as possible. People want to learn and be educated and that should be your number priority in writing your copy.
Where possible, try to minimise your sales pitch. We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again – selling doesn’t sell! Instead, try to build authentic relationships with your audience, by offering valuable insight that is informative, educational and most of all… HUMAN!
