If you’ve spent time in the online marketing sphere, you know throwing words onto a page won’t convert into sales. That’s where copywriting comes in. If you’re trying to build your marketing strategy, copywriting is the first step to success.
At Maggie Writes Copy, we write custom copy that supports your marketing efforts. Let’s jump right into what copywriting is and how it can help you create the best version of your business.
Copywriting is the act of using words to compel someone to take an action. This action doesn’t have to be a sale. It can be clicking on a link, joining an email list, making a donation, scheduling a consultation, or attending a function. Any number of different actions.
You may not have heard of it until now. But I guarantee you’ve been reading copy since you started reading in grade school.
This is probably not even half of what you can find copy in and on. It is everywhere you look these days. Because everyone is trying to influence you or sell you something. So copywriters are everywhere to provide these services.
Perhaps this is why finding a great copywriter can be difficult. But it can also be worth the investment when you do. Copywriters have a huge impact on your bottom line.
The last thing that someone sees before they hit buy is your product description. So you can understand how much they affect your business and sales.
Then think about how copy is sprinkled throughout your whole marketing funnel.
Copy will affect how many people enter your marketing funnel.
How many people make it to the end of your marketing funnel.
And how many people actually convert to buyers.
There are many types of copywriting. We are going to focus on online copywriting for this article.
If you’re building your online marketing presence, these types of copy can make you stand out from the crowd.
Email copywriting is a great way to stay front of mind with your audience. When your audience opts into an email list they are saying they want you in their virtual living room. Emails are one of the only ways you can reach someone in their own home with a direct message to them.
You can send out newsletters to keep people up to date with your company. You can also send out email sequences that perform a specific function:
Emails are great because they give you metrics and information about your audience. Social Media can also give you information about your audience.
Using copywriting to reach your social media audience can be very effective as well. With 4.89 billion people on social media in 20231, it is a very important space. Social media can be an entry into your marketing funnel if you use it correctly.
Generally, you’ll run a targeted, copywritten ad on your social media. The action your audience will take is clicking to your landing page or sales page. There you’ll introduce your product. Relying on organic traffic on social media can be tricky as Social Media SEO changes often. So paid advertising is currently your best bet.
Another organic method for having people enter your funnel is through copywritten blogs.
Copywritten blogs optimized for Google can increase your site traffic organically. The nice thing about blogs is they aren’t necessarily just trying to sell to your audience. They offer a lot of value as well.
Write about things that interest your audience. Or information they need to know to succeed. This can be a great way to become an authority in the niche you occupy. Building authority and trust with your audience makes them more likely to come back to your site.
It’s important to make sure you are offering content and copy though. What’s the point of giving a ton of value if you aren’t getting something back in return? This doesn’t have to be a sale. It can be an email signup. Or asking for information. It can be anything you want that you think will offer your company value in return.
Asking people for small things makes it easier for them to agree to future requests. Check out Cialdini’s 7 principles of persuasion to learn more about this.2
Blogs are good because they give you more opportunities to get people to your main website.
Copywriting websites tell the story of who you are as a company. The average time someone stays on a website once they get there is 53 seconds.3 You don’t have very long to impress someone once they stop by.
So if your copy isn’t top-notch, you won’t be getting your message across to them. And they won’t be sticking around to see more.
The most important thing you can do when you create web copy is to say who you’re talking to and why they need you. Getting that message across in the first two seconds is critical.
It can be hard to do this well on a traditional website. That is why people often funnel their traffic through a landing page.
Sales pages and Landing pages can return huge dividends for companies. Copywriters use direct copy on these pages, written and formatted to get people to ACT NOW!
There is no fluff on a sales page or landing page. Every word works to promote action. This is often what a social media ad will link to. Many calls to action ramp up the pressure until your audience is ready to opt in or buy.
Not these pages. The pressure is on from the start. There is no gradual build-up.
Sales pages compel your audience to buy. And landing pages promote an opt-in of some kind. All this leads to the end of the funnel though – the product description.
There are a lot of misconceptions about product descriptions. And often people assume that the photo is what matters. But if someone is on the fence about buying, they aren’t looking at the photo.
They’re reading every word written on that product page. Waiting for something to tell them why they need it rather than want it. This is why product descriptions are important. And why you shouldn’t undervalue them.
You’ve invested hundreds to thousands of dollars in getting someone to your product page. Don’t drop the ball at the most crucial part of the funnel. Well-written copy for a product description is the most important part.
By now you know that copy is crucial to your business. Let’s talk about the techniques your copywriter uses to take your business to the top.
You know those product descriptions we just discussed? One of the best ways to get people to hit ‘buy’ is by promoting benefits rather than features. What do I mean by this?
Features are often technical specifications of a product. Often they focus on things that the customer can already see for themselves.
Benefits describe what the product will do for the customer and how it will make them feel.
Let’s look at an example that almost everyone will relate to:
| Coffee | |
| Features: | Benefits: |
| Roast (Light, medium, or bold) | Will give you energy with just one sip, even when you don’t have time for a nap |
| Smell (fruity, sour, sweet, etc.) | The aroma that makes getting out of bed worth it |
| Flavor (nutty, acidic, floral, caramel, etc.) | Nutty goodness that goes down easy and lifts your spirits for the day |
| Body (smooth, gritty, light, etc.) | A smooth sip that’s so good it’s like sleeping on silk sheets |
| Aftertaste (sharp finish vs. heavy and lingering) | Let that last sip of coffee linger and carry you through the rest of your morning |
If each column was a product description, which would have you click ‘buy’?
Benefits vs. features have many elements of emotional copywriting.
Whether we want to admit it or not, humans are emotional beings. You may prefer to think you use logic and rationality to make decisions. But usually, it’s emotions that lead you in decision-making.
Whether it’s quitting that job because your boss made you feel angry. Or proposing to that person because you feel like you can’t live without them. There are a whole host of emotions that can lead to your actions. And this is also true for purchasing products and services.
Maybe you had an exhausting week at work. You’re likely to choose the coffee description that screams *energizing* at you. Rather than the one that just lists off facts.
You can see how your emotions have a direct impact on your actions. Emotions are one tool that also gets used in storytelling.
One reason storytelling is so effective in copy is it connects with a person’s emotions. It can evoke fear, surprise, anger, delight, and many other strong memorable emotions.
Not only does storytelling evoke these emotions. But storytelling also connects the writer and the reader through them. These are now shared emotions. You are connected together by your feelings. Connection is powerful. As humans, we thrive on connection and need it to feel fulfilled.
A good storytelling copywriter will have you believing you’re besties with a company. And as everyone would rather buy from a friend than a stranger, this is an extremely powerful tactic.
Another powerful tactic is persuasive copywriting.
Persuasive copywriting blends emotional techniques with logic to inspire you to buy a product. Using a mix of logic, authority, and emotions can be powerful.
With persuasive copywriting, you tell them how the product will benefit their lives. And you make them feel good about it as well. You’re also giving them examples with hard data to back up these claims. And you may be using social proof to do it.2
Persuasive copywriting is a mix of many different techniques. Until you find the right blend for the widest audience. Meanwhile, direct-response copywriting is a lot more forceful.
Direct response copywriting is one of the most effective and challenging forms of copy. The goal of Direct response copywriting is to get you to ACT NOW! Without a moment’s hesitation.
A copywriter who has mastered direct response copywriting is going to charge a lot. And because they are going to drive so many sales for your business, they’ll be worth it.
Direct response copywriting is often used on landing pages and sales pages. You’ve already invited people into your funnel. Now you want them to complete it fast.
You know direct copy is working if you are getting quick conversions. This type of copy is powerful. And it’s important to use it ethically.
Many copywriting techniques are designed to cause people to buy products without thinking. This is why it is so important to use ethics when designing your copy strategy.
Not only will it make you sleep better at night. It will also impact people’s opinions of your company in the long run. If your product doesn’t back up your marketing it will come back to bite you with lots of angry customers.
Eventually, your funnel will fall apart from social proof alone. If your products deliver what they promise, copywriting can help your company tremendously.
Even though we’ve discussed a lot of sales techniques used by copywriters. It’s important to remember that copy does so much more for your business than sell things.
Good copy can create cohesiveness across all your marketing platforms. Making sure you’re spreading the same message and vision is so important.
Once your website is set up and your design is set in place, the voice of your company comes across through words.
Writing copy with a consistent tone builds up your brand rather than fracturing it. This can go a long way toward building trust. This leads you to keep your audience.
Once your initial copy has captured your audience’s attention, it’s important to keep it. People aren’t going to keep coming back to your site for more if there isn’t more there to see. This is where blog copy combined with email copy can help.
Provide more value and relevant information and then tell people it’s there. This is crucial to keeping an engaged audience. Continuing to show up for your audience will have them continuing to show up for you.
This eventually leads to sales.
We talked a lot about copy techniques above that were focused on driving sales. But you need to remember, just putting content in front of your audience won’t bring sales.
One of the most important aspects of copy that I’ve barely touched on, is the Call to Action (CTA). Regardless of what other copy techniques you use, you need to have a call to action to make your content copy. This is the main factor that separates copy from content.
Creating compelling CTAs is important. It lays out what your audience’s next step is when they’re done with a piece of copy. It can increase your email list or turn your browsers into buyers. Those are buyers you wouldn’t have had otherwise.
And even though you are asking for something from them, you’re also giving them something. Which is very important.
Copy should always be well-researched to bring value to your audience. When you provide copy about old or new topics in new ways, your company will become an authority.
No one is going to show up to a site that isn’t teaching them something new. Or in a way that is more easy to understand. Copy can do that for you when it’s used correctly.
People also won’t show up to your site if they can’t find you.
Having great copy on your site is one thing. Having people show up on your site is another. If you aren’t using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in your web copy you fail yourself and your audience.
SEO determines whether your site will show up in search results or not. Seamlessly integrating SEO into your copy is important. You want your website to make sense to your users. Don’t write for Google and no one else. Knowing how to best optimize your site without ruining the user experience is key.
SEO can greatly reduce your ad costs as it brings you organic traffic. One SEO-optimized blog post can bring organic traffic to your site for years.
The more posts you have, the more they build on themselves. This builds your authority with Google and your audience.
Your copy can make or break your website. All aspects work together to determine whether your audience will stick around.
A present, engaged audience is what marketing should drive your company towards. And the good news is, that copywriting can get you there. Sometimes very quickly. If you’re looking for a great copywriter to help with your marketing. Reach out today! There’s no time like the present to increase your bottom line.
1Social Media Marketing Statistics – Sprout Social
2Principles of Persuasion – Cialdini
3Website Statistics – Website Builder Expert
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