Copywriting is regarded as deep waters by too many. Why? Because they have false knowledge that it just can’t be learned.

Others go a further step and claim that copywriting is dying. I mean, there are podcasts and videos anyway now right?

Yes and no.

Copywriting isn’t showing the least bit of dying signs but has in-fact evolved into something much much bigger!

Think about it for a second…copywriting has developed from being a mere creative skill to earning a strong position in the business world. And not only that, but it managed to become a $300 billion dollar industry within the past few years!

Astounding isn’t it? This is because copywriting shifted from being a job taken by freelancers in their PJs to write ad and sales copy. (Copy are the words written to convince a customer to take action on a product or service, by the way)

What changed?

See, there’s this thing called the internet…

With it, all hell broke loose and it just wasn’t enough to know how to draft sales and Ad copy. You had to know (and write) SEO, PPC, social media tone and language, emails, cross-page sells, down sale pages, video scripts, FB ads, Instagram Ads, LinkedIn professor-type copy, youtube video descriptions, website copy, webinar scripts plus the funnels (separately), oh yes, upsell pages, tweets, squeeze pages, front and backend funnels, PLF funnels and so on and so forth…

So anyway, the copywriters had to get out of those PJs because royalties that came in the mail just wasn’t a thing anymore. Now you had to keep up and actually be a decent writer or else, no cash.

I understand this might have already pushed you away but hang on just a little bit and consider this. You need copy and not just any copy but darn good copy! Copywriters tend to cost a lot (for good reason, really) and this leaves small businesses at their mercy. Instead of bleeding out funds in order to sell your products or services, have you considered that there’s a way to actually do copywriting on your own?

That got your attention, didn’t it? Let’s get right into it!

COPYWRITING 101 (copywriting tips from an internet-age copywriter)

Ditch the rules of English

Understand this fact. School never prepared you for this. Those endless hours might have introduced you to the art but it won’t save you in the copywriting world. Copywriting requires the carefulness of a psychologist, the thoroughness of a sociologist, calculative methods and the skill of an enchantress.

Convincing people to buy certain products or consider services from a total stranger takes skill granted by the gods! Okay, I’ll calm down.

But the facts don’t lie. Copywriting costs 62% less than traditional marketing and yet converts 3 times more leads than what traditional marketing ever made!

Make it to the headlines

Catchy headlines are the rule of the day in the copywriting world. If your reader hates your first few words, then you’ve lost them forever. The key in copywriting is to stay refreshing and relevant. Good humor comes as a plus but it has its place.

Your first few lines need to answer these two questions: ‘Why am I reading this?’ & “What’s in it for me?”

Here are a few tips on how to draft those headlines that’ll blow them away.

Get to the point. No one likes a rambler. Your headline needs to focus on the juice of your piece. Nobody has time for your life history. Examples include headlines such as “Buy 1 get 1 free!” or “25% off all pastries, call us now!”. It’s straight to the point and it responds to all the relevant questions.
Give a reason why. Lists are fun and easy to read. With headlines such as “10 ways to drop baby fat” or “How I earned $7000 in one month”, add a list of reasons why to explain the statement.
Authority stands proud. This simply means making sure you have a call-to-action in your copy. This will compel the reader to take the next step in their buyer journey before they are fully converted to a lead.

Make it easy to scrape through

In as much as you’d have put work into every word you use in articles and other forms of copy, most people will likely just skim through it.

It’s a sad truth but you have to make it easy for your target audience to do exactly that. Write shorter sentences, avoid hard jargon and highlight all the major points.

Bullet points and listicles are also another way to go. Remember that they make up a huge chunk of the most read material on the internet.

Benefits, Benefits and More Benefits!

Keep in mind that your audience is interested in one thing only and that’s what’s in it for them. Don’t waste valuable time talking about your company and what inspired you to do what you do, unless it draws an audience. From experience, it rarely does so skip it.

Convey benefits whenever and however you can because human beings love getting things.
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By illustrating the gain in your product or service, you appeal to the human senses of love, greed, and sympathy. Nothing else converts than harnessing these 3 senses in your copy.

Draft it like this:

Benefits first
Features supporting benefits

Write as a human speaks

Easy to read copy sounds like having a friendly, comfortable conversation over coffee with a buddy. This style of writing makes room for humor and personality which are always a plus.

To incorporate this tactic, drop unnecessary business jargon but without losing that touch of professionalism. Trust this, you’ll still sound smart and knowledgeable. Remember to stay warm, polite and hit straight to the point.

Bad grammar and spelling are unattractive

And expensive! Wrong spellings are an eyesore and they leave your reader with too many judgments about you, the brand and your services/products.

Incompetent grammar is even worse because it makes it seem as if you don’t care enough about your product to speak properly about it. So why should they, right?

As you can guess, no sales will be made and definitely no calls will be received.

As you write, make a draft first which consists of everything you want to say. Don’t mind your tenses and vocabulary in this one.

The second draft is where all the perfecting of syntax(order of words), spelling, tenses, and diction are ironed out. Do this one thoroughly and hand it to someone else so that they can read it out loud whilst you listen for effect. The best idea is to seek out a Grammar Nazi for this final one!

As with every other field nowadays there are a plethora of online writing tools that you can make great use of.

I personally recommend Grammarly, Grammarcheck, and Hemingway. There are a gazillion other writing tools available online that’ll help you do other things such as finding cliche’s in your work.

So there you have it, folks! Copywriting seems difficult when you glance at it from an outsider’s angle but it’s this simple. More specific tips can be found on this blog for specific types of copywriters (yes, there’s that too!) Feel free to skim through our blog till you find one that tickles your fancy.