Did you ever see that movie, Hitch?
The one where Will Smith is a dating coach who helps men to woo women for lasting, meaningful relationships?
Well, that’s what copywriters do. But for businesses.
One of the best lessons I learned from my mentor at the start of my career was this.
The best product isn’t the one that sells. The product that sells is the one with the best marketing strategy.
I mean, think about it.
You’re on your way somewhere, you’re in a hurry, but you need to stop off and grab some breakfast.
You spot two cafes en route.
One of them has a bright shop front with words like Organic and Fresh. There’s a sticker in the window showing off about a 5 star rating on Trip Advisor, and a strapline that says ‘Nourish Your Body & Soul’.
Then there’s the other place.
It looks a bit drab. There’s a sign hanging over the door that says ‘We Make Breakfast’. That’s it.
Which one are you going to go to? No brainer isn’t it.
(It’s the first one, just to be clear).
At this point you haven’t tasted, smelled or even seen the food. But the words in the window have already roused your senses.
The words are enticing. They paint a picture in your head. They send a signal to your unconscious brain that the first place is good for you.
Now let’s look at two other businesses. Yours and one of your competitors.
Let’s call your competitor Bob. You both have a website. The digital version of a shop window.
Your product is better, your service is better. Obviously.
But Bob hired a copywriter.
A copywriter who optimised his SEO and wrote a compelling meta tag to get people to click on Bob’s site. A copywriter who created a home page that pops and sparkles.
A copywriter who understands Bob’s audience and spoke directly to them, sparking their imagination and piquing their interest.
With words that slip the message into their subconscious that Bob is the man for them.
And what about you?
You didn’t hire a copywriter. So when anyone clicks on your website, they see a block of text that tells them what you do.
That’s it.
They don’t feel inspired. They don’t feel hungry for your product.
They buy from Bob.
Damn Bob.
So, if you’ve got a business that’s not doing as well as it could be, and you know you’ve got something great to offer, there’s a good chance it’s not you.
It’s your copy.
Generic words are like drops in the ocean. Easily swallowed up and lost forever.
But the right words, in the right tone of voice, with a crystal clear message, will cut through the noise like diamond through glass.
But how? Isn’t it just words?
You see, copywriters are writers with specialised knowledge in marketing psychology. It’s our job to craft messages that stir up an emotional response. Every word is perfectly placed, every sentence carefully arranged.
Like an interior designer curating your living room.
And we’re not just writers.
We’re researchers. We do our digging and we get to know your target audience well before putting pen to paper. We find out the right words to use so that our message resonates with the right people.
We speak directly to your customers’ pain points and desires. Answering any worries they have and removing obstacles to buy from you.
The same goes for you.
We’ll get to know you and your company inside out. Your brand personality, your unique selling point, your value proposition. (And if you’re not sure of your brand’s personality, we’ll help you find it).
Then we’ll weave it all together into something that’s unique to you, and we’ll amplify it.
Easy.
So where do you start?
There are a whole host of things copywriters can do, and we all have different specialisms, from sprucing up existing copy to coming up with whole new concepts and campaigns.
But here are 9 things, just for starters, that a copywriter could do to boost your business.
Like, now.
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Branding and Tone of Voice
Have you ever visited a website and seen a wall of text that’s about as inspiring as a dropped pie?
Or received a promotional email that sounds so salesy you feel like you’ve just walked into a used car lot?
Do you want to call the company behind the uninspiring words? Do you feel like this is the kind of company you’d want to do business with?
And what about the email? Do you want to click to find out more? Or do you just press delete and block before getting back to what you were doing?
We’re betting you click away from that website, you delete that sales email, and you keep searching for a company that inspires you.
A company with personality. A company you wouldn’t mind being stuck in a lift with.
Because so much comes down to tone of voice.
Tone of voice can tell you so much about a business. Their personality. Their energy. Their values.
And people buy from people they resonate with, so it’s essential to get this right.
But it’s not about having a voice that pleases everyone.
It’s about having a voice that reaches and connects with the right people. Your target audience. The people who are looking for you.
Exactly you.
Ah. There you are.
2. Website Copy
Let’s go back to that dry, uninspiring copy we mentioned in the last section.
That wall of text, if you can get through it without falling asleep, might tell you what the company does on a practical level. It might say something like We deliver high quality services for customer satisfaction…blah.
But what does that even mean? What does customer satisfaction look like to them?
Why do they do what they do? What kind of people are they?
On average, people bounce away from a website within 10-20 seconds. So you don’t have long to grab their interest.
But what about when you visit a website and the words are warm and inviting? You feel like you’re talking to a human with a vibrant personality.
You start to think, hey, I like this company. I feel like I could work with them.
Your website’s homepage is your first hello.
A skilled copywriter will make sure it makes a great impression.
3. Blogs & Articles
So, you’ve got your website with all the bells and whistles. Your products and services are sparkling.
The customers you do have absolutely love what you do. You’re nailing it. But what about the ones who don’t know who you are?
Yet.
Blogs and articles are a brilliant way to expand your reach.
First up, they establish you as an authority in your field. They show off your expertise.
Did you know that people are 131% more likely to want to buy from a brand once they’ve read that brand’s content? It has to be quality content though. Not just any old thing, or any old words.
And when you share them across digital platforms, they get your name out there. Someone types a question into Google, up comes your blog and hey presto, you have a potential customer.
They also nurture existing relationships because you’re providing your current customers with extra value.
And they’re great for bringing people to your website. Because blogs that have been optimised for keyword searches are a sure fire way to boost your search engine optimisation.
Which brings us nicely onto…
4. SEO
Google wants its users to have the best experience. Because, you know, they’re Google.
That’s what they do.
When someone types something into a search bar, Google will want to bring up the most up to date, authoritative information.
It does this by constantly crawling and indexing everything on the web.
Your website pages, blogs, articles, product descriptions, ads and landing pages. Everything.
There are many ways to boost your search engine optimisation, much of which goes beyond the scope of this article. But one of the ways it finds the answers to questions is by searching for certain keywords.
So, one of your must haves is in-page optimisation via keywords and meta tags.
But I don’t understand all this stuff! I hear you cry.
You don’t have to.
A copywriter will do the research to find out which keywords your prospective customers are typing into Google. Then we’ll weave these into your copy so that Google has a better chance of finding you as the solution to a search.
A copywriter will also write you a meta tag.
These are short descriptions that show up in search engine results. Letting Google, and your prospective customers, know who you are and what you do.
Simple.
5. Social Media
You’re smart.
You know you have to leverage social media if you want to reach a wider audience.
But where to start? And what to write? How often?
Aaaaah, I’m not an influencer!
You don’t have to be.
A copywriter will produce content for you.
Whether you need an ad for Instagram, or an informative and engaging article for Linkedin.
Enter the copywriter.
6. Product Descriptions & Brochures
If you’re in eCommerce, you already know about the benefits to an online store.
But unlike a physical one, prospective customers can’t touch and hold your stuff. All you have are photos and words.
So, when people browse your products you need to do a bit extra to get them to sparkle and pop.
You need words that get your customers to feel what they would feel if they were holding the thing in their hands.
We have all sorts of tricks up our sleeves for doing this.
Have you ever read a travel blog that made you want to book an impulse trip to Alaska?
A copywriter did that.
7. Landing Pages
Think of the last time you were gripped by a story.
Perhaps you picked up a book and couldn’t go to bed until you’d read one more chapter.
Or maybe a news headline popped up on social media and you just had to click on it to find out more.
That’s what a landing page needs to do.
You’ve grabbed their attention with an ad, but now you need to keep it.
Did you know that 60 – 90% of people click away from landing pages after taking initial interest in an ad?
You need a landing page that keeps people reading, wanting to know more, gripping them like a tense thriller, so they can’t help but click through to the next stage of your marketing funnel.
Your landing page needs to pack a punch and keep the momentum going.
With engaging, enticing, hypnotic copy.
8. Email Marketing
Let’s go back to the salesy email from the beginning of this blog.
You want to close it down.
You want to block the sender.
You should probably disable your email account for good measure.
But what about those emails that have you clicking through to a sales page and taking up a discount before you’ve even noticed what you’re doing?
Remember that rejuvenating collagen boost subscription you signed up to last summer on a whim?
Yeah. Like that.
What about that time you signed up to that audiobook service because they made you feel excited about audiobooks, and emailed you with a compelling, time limited offer?
Those emails were written by good copywriters.
9. eBooks & Newsletters
Another member of the high value content family.
If you’ve got a list of subscribers and you want to bridge the gap between ‘subscriber’ to ‘paying customer’, an eBook can do a lot of the heavy lifting.
An eBook shows prospects you have the required expertise.
You can be trusted to handle the situation.
You’ll get the job done.
eBooks can also be great lead magnets for building your subscriber list in the first place.
Throw a hook out there in the form of an eBook and before you know it you’ve got a thriving subscriber list, all chomping at the bit for your next offering.
And just like the rest of your copy, eBooks need to be engaging.
They need to be consistent with your brand’s personality and tone of voice.
They need to be written by a copywriter.
So there you have it.
9 ways a copywriter can help boost your business. And these are just for starters.
Unless you’re a writer yourself, I’m betting you have enough to get on with. There are other things you do best.
Well, this is what we do best.
If your car broke down you’d call a mechanic, right?
Don’t let Bob win.
Screw Bob.
We know your product is better. Let’s go tell everyone.
Yes please! Let’s cook up some ideas