Copywriting can either make or break your brand.
Have you thought about why copies of some famous brands like McDonald, Sony and Triumph have been trolled wildly and received huge embarrassment ?
Why were some of the ads and campaigns of these popular brands obliged to be removed ?
Well, these all are the consequences of having a poor copy. Whether it be an ad copy or a sales copy, with poor copywriting you are reaching nowhere.
Let’s start looking at the Home page of “Tag Team Signs.”
When you visit their website, you will notice how a benefit statement looks when it does not add any value to your product / service.
From this tagline “SIGNS DESIGN BUILD INSTALL,” it’s not at all clear what the company is selling.
When your target audience can’t understand what’s your product then how can they build any connection ?
Another worst case of poor copywriting was the moment when McDonald’s launched its Arch Deluxe with a secret mustard mayo sauce inside their burger.
With the tagline of “The Burger with Grown-Up Taste” , they tried to attract more sophisticated adult customers. Leaving behind the young ones.
The company spent $100 million on the marketing of this new one.
But it seemed like not only the young ones but also the adults rejected this Burger and went for the regular one.
As per the critics, the ad failed miserably because the tagline excluded McDonald’s half of the target audience (kids and the young ones) and made no sense to the adults (as they went for the regular ones again and again).
Check out the history of the Arch Deluxe Burger here.
Similar sort of situation occurred with Pretzel Crisps, a Snack producing company popular for giving a modern twist to the old flavours.
They received huge backlash when the target audience found one of their taglines to be too insensitive.
In one of their campaigns they used a tagline “You can never be too thin.” This raged a sense of body shaming and insensitivity among the audience.
The company had to remove the campaign as their negative response was getting furious.
One sentence, one phrase in just one ad can create so much bad impact on your brand image.
That’s why it’s important for you to understand what should be included in your copy so that you do not experience a similar scenario in the future.
But for that, at first, you definitely need to know what exactly we mean when we are talking about Copywriting.
Copywriting is nothing but your sales copy .…. Period !!!
Imagine, you have a perfect gallery section, great videos on your website but the copy does not connect with your target audience.
Meaning …..
- Your copy lacks in showing emotions.
- You have not mentioned any pain points.
- There is no sentence which states what benefits your users are going to get after using your product / service. The outcome is rather obvious.
You will have no traffic and no conversions.
Without copywriting you will end up having 0 sales.
The worst scenario ever you would imagine for your company!
Indeed images, videos, banners are a vital part of your website but they cannot compel your target audience to buy your product/ service.
Only a better sales copy has this compelling ability, which persuades the reader to take a specific action and generate leads.
67% of your business depends upon your sales copy.
Remember, a poor copy can destroy your brand image completely as in the case of Triumph’s Print ad.
Due to a confusing tagline the company faced great embarrassment and an international loss in their brand image.
Triumph is an international lingerie brand which launched an ad in 2015 for celebrating father’s day.
The team suffered cringeworthy failure when it printed an ad in the newspaper with the tagline “For the ladies.. who Pamper their dads!”
The use of wrong words created huge confusion and people started to destroy the goodwill of the company.
Just one ad, appearing in one print newspaper, promoting a one-day sale at one mall in Sri Lanka trolled them into wild controversies.
You must know how to think and write sentences so that you don’t end up writing anything like Triumph’s Father’s Day ad.
Therefore, here are 17 (15 + 2) copywriting tips which can improve your sales copy and help you in generating strong leads.
Outline
- What is copywriting
- Use simple sentences
- Craft a compelling sales copy with a clear approach
- Understand your ideal target audience
- Be direct and specific with your CTA : Do not give time to THINK
- Forget tacky phrases
- Be particular with Numbers
- Replace adjectives in your Sales copy
- Focus on Storytelling
- Super specific headlines
- Benefits > Features
- Create Urgency
- Use the 5C Formula
- Make it about them
- Use AIDA Model
- Replace your opinions with strong statements
- Avoid Tautology
- Give people a better reason for your statements
1. Use simple sentences
You, me, everyone is busy…..
No matter how great your content is, your readers are not going to spend hours of their time on your blog.
Readers skim read. They don’t even pay attention to each and every topic on your copy.
Within the initial 30 seconds of reading if your target audience is able to get what they were looking for, they will continue reading or else leave your blog and go.
Therefore, it’s important for you to grab their attention by creating a slippery slide in your copywriting.
This slippery slide will compel your target audience to keep on reading and eventually generate you a strong lead.
Simple and short sentences can help you out here. They improve the flow and clarity of your sales copy.
For instance,
In the above example, which one was easy to understand ?
Obviously the second one.
Now you got the difference, right ?
Here are 3 ways how simple sentences help you to improve your sales copy.
a) Short sentences improves Readability
Shorter sentences = easier readability
According to the American Press Institute, audiences get a better understanding of your storyline when they are short.
As per their research,
- 8 words or less, readers understood 100% of the story.
- 14 words, readers understood 90% of the information.
- 43 words, readers understood less than 10%.
Simple sentences avoid creating confusion via complicated verbs and tenses.
This brings fluency in your content and improves your sales copy.
b) Less is more for an impactful Copywriting
Simple and short sentences create a powerful impression with clear and concise language.
So even if you know nothing about the topic, reading that copy will give you a good picture of what exactly is going on.
Therefore, famous brands always focus on using short-simple sentences or phrases to create a strong impact in their copywriting.
For instance
“Just do it.” (Nike slogan)
“Think different.” (Apple slogan)
“All you need is love.” (The Beatles)
“Eat Fresh.” (Subway Slogan)
Have a look over this example,
Powerful impression + crisp, clear and concise = generating strong leads
c) Grab Readers Attention
The motive of a perfect sales copy is to hold on to the attention of your target audience till the end.
Simple sentences place your ideas in the correct place and make your copy visually appealing.
This makes your copywriting interesting and ensures that the readers don’t lose their interest while reading.
Being crisp, clear and concise helps your target audience to remember your product / services benefits and compare them easily with your competitors.
Check out 12 Ways To Grab Attention With your Content as per Forbes
2. Craft a compelling sales copy with a clear approach
In copywriting, you need to have a clear approach towards your product / service which will compel your target audience to provide you a strong lead.
But…… “How to get a clear approach ?”
Well, with the continuous changes in the market 72% of the companies are now trying to focus on one specific point while writing their sales copy.
Whether it be choosing to focus on explaining your service/product or exploring the benefits of your product/service.
You must have a focus point on your sales copy.
Because it will be this focus point which can bring a clear approach in your copywriting segment.
Without a focus point, you will end up having a generic and scattered sales copy which will clutter the understanding level of your target audience.
With a clear focus point, you can build a perfect storyline which will emphasise the benefits of your product / service.
Providing your target audience a reason why they should take a specific action and make a purchase.
3. Understand your ideal target audience
Just tell us …..
What do you ultimately want from your business ?
Bring more and more sales, right !
And who can fulfil this ?
Obviously, your target audience.
But, before you can get your target audience on your side and get what you want, you must first understand 3 things –
Who exactly is your ideal audience ?
What motivates your audience ?
What are their pain points ?
Without answering these 3 questions, you can never move forward with your sales copy.
In short, understanding your target audience is the key element for creating an effective sales copy.
Around $37 billion is wasted every year in ads that actually fail to engage the target audience.
Therefore, here are 5 ways to perfectly understand your target audience and master your industry trends.
a) Conduct Market Research
For mastering your industry trends, it’s very important to understand the industry holes first.
Conduct market research to know your industry holes and where your product / service fits the best.
Along with valuable data and insights about your target audience, proper market research helps you to build a strong unique selling point (USP) for your business.
Using this information, you can create a sales copy that speaks directly with your target audience, as well as highlights specific pain points and needs.
Here are Hubspot’s 19 best tools for conducting market research for copywriting.
b) Analyse competitors
Famous designer and founder of OMC² Design Studios, Onur Mustak Cobanli quoted “Competitors understand your business the best.”
Never, Ever, Ever, forget this quote !
The best way to learn about your own business is to analyse your competitors.
You need to know –
- Who are the ideal target audience of your competitors ?
- What source are they using for marketing ?
- Online or Offline, which mode of sales do they use the most ?
- What is their focus point ?
- What is their messaging statement ?
- What benefits do they emphasise ?
With this, you will get a deeper knowledge of your own business position.
Thereby, you can create a sales copy with a perfect tonality and language which appeals to your specific segment of target audience.
c) Build User Personas
For a strong sales copy, you need to build better user personas to recognise the needs and pain points of your target audience.
For instance ,
Here are two user personas we created for one of our clients who served both commercial and residential verticals.
We have created their Sudo name, mentioned their pain points and needs, demographics (including: age, gender, location, income, and education), interests as well as their behaviour.
For getting a deeper knowledge, it is suggested to build at most 3-4 user personas.
But remember…..
By creating too many personas you can lose your focus on your primary sales strategy.
Therefore, try to build 1-2 well researched user persona which can help you to get a clear and consistent sales pitch.
d) Identify your Negative audience
Are you targeting children or just infants ?
Are you targeting all the women or just the housewives ?
Be super specific with your target audience.
There will be times when you get consumers who will be close to your target demographics, but may not match the behaviour or interest segment in your user persona.
Whichever scenario appears, try to be specific in determining who your audience is and who it isn’t.
Understanding who are your negative audience, is equally or more important than analysing your ideal target audience.
e) Use Google Analytics
Data driven copy is 40% more effective than a generic sales copy.
Google Analytics will help you understand the key insights of your target audience. This includes-
- What channels your target audience are using the most ?
- What content are they mostly engaging with ?
- What are their demographics and interests ?
After analysing these, you can easily track your page views, traffic rates, bounce rate and conversion rate.
i) Which age group of people are more active and spending more time on your blog
ii) Which URL / content is getting more views
iii) On which page people are spending more time on your website.
This ultimately helps you to analyse user behaviour, identify your popular content, areas of improvement, monitor your goals, and optimise your conversion funnel.
Using Google analytics to market your target audience.
4. Be direct and specific with your CTA : Do not give time to THINK
60% – 70% of your sales depends upon your CTA.
Without them, your target audience will have no clue what they have to do.
Whether you want them to sign up for a newsletter or download an e-book or visit your free seminar. They won’t do it unless you state it clearly on your copy.
Most of the businesses understand this and try to create different CTAs
But the problem here is that these CTAs eventually fail to give them leads.
Therefore, here are Neil Patel’s smart ways to build your CTA which will not frustrate your target audience and will give you strong leads at the end.
a) Focus on creating Risk free CTAs
Imagine you visited a website for buying caps.
You have not seen the works of that brand, and know nothing about them right now.
While visiting the website, the first thing appears in front of you is the pop up menu to buy their product.
The pop up box continues to appear within every 5 minutes.
What will be your reaction ?
Frustrating, right !
Well, this is an obvious point. At this moment, when you know nothing about the brand then you won’t make any purchase there.
Free CTA adds perfectly in this scenario. They reduce the risk of frustrating your target audience and help them realise how effective and productive your product actually is.
This approach generates far more conversions on initial sign-ups than CTAs that demand higher risk. Totango, the Customer Success Software, even found that it can increase conversions from 2% to 10%.
For instance,
Have a look on this CRM software Pipedrive Ad
And the CTA of a Google Ad
b) Persuasive Header CTAs
If you don’t know what Header CTAs are, then here is an example from Neil Patel’s blog.
These CTAs can appear after some specific time without bothering your target audience.
Being consistent and visible throughout your website, the persistent header CTA helps you to increase conversions and drive your sales.
- According to HubSpot, here’s a list of best tools for adding CTA on your website to increase your conversion rate.
- HubSpot
- Wishpond
- Sniply
- ClickMinded
- Canva
- Imagefu
- ButtonOptimizer
c) Exit-intent Pop ups CTA
Remember ?
Sometimes when you visit a website, read the content and then decide to leave. At that moment, while your mouse cursor goes towards the “X” button on your browser; a pop up box appears asking you to take a specific action.
This is your exit-intent Pop up CTAs.
In 2016 a study was conducted to research the effectiveness of the exit-intent popups. There it was analysed that these types of CTAs capture about 35% of the people who are about to leave.
For instance,
Have a look on the Exit – intent Pop up CTA of Backlinko
And the one of Post-Planner
Remember, the moment you give your target audience time to think about their actions…..you are probably going to lose them.
5. Forget tacky phrases
Copywriting is all about using your words for creating a strong emotional connection with your target audience.
So whatever you write or create, words play a vital role here.
You need to be super specific and careful while deciding which words or phrases you need to use in your sales copy and which one must be avoided.
Here is a list of 6 words / phrases which you definitely should avoid in sales copywriting.
a) “Cheapest product” in the market
Not just because they create confusion but also sometimes they are responsible for your negative brand image.
For instance,
In most of the sales copies, you must have noticed the word “cheapest” right ?
While, it’s true that “cheapest” implies lowest price but it also conveys a sense of poor quality.
This will create confusion in the minds of your target audience by disturbing the messaging and tonality level of the copy.
Which ultimately will affect your conversion rate.
The overall effectiveness of a sales copy depends on the messaging and tone of the copy. And this you need to remember every time…..
b) Providing the best “things” in the market
Never, Ever, Ever use the term “things” in the headlines or subheading of your sales copy.
Using “things” makes your copy pretty much generic and does not add any value to your product / service.
We use the word “things” either when we don’t know the object or don’t know how to describe it.
So, instead of just writing “we provide the best thing” you need to state all the benefits your product / service provides to its users.
This will make your sales copy effective and super specific.
c) “Allow us to …..”
Seems like you are taking permission for serving the needs of your target audience.
You need to show why people should buy your product / service when there are hundreds of other companies providing the same thing.
Each and every sentence in your sales copy should be direct, crisp and clear. No space for creating confusion.
d) “We will try to …..”
The word “try” creates a sense of uncertainty in the minds of your target audience.
Imagine
A person lacking confidence who says he will try to complete his tasks but is unsure whether it will work or not.
Will you hand over your works to this person ?
A big fat NO, right !
Well, same is the case here, when you write “we will try to help you out”, or “we will try to resolve your problems” people see lack of confidence and decide not to believe you.
e) All the industry jargons
Remember
It is possible that your reader knows nothing about your product / service.
Therefore, it’s very important for you to have a sales copy which is understood by anyone and everyone.
Using too much industrial jargon and technical words can easily cost you a sale. When people will not be able to understand what you provide then there definitely will be no purchase.
Unless you are targeting industrial people who are already familiar with the technical terms, try to avoid such words or jargons.
Let your copy remain super easy to read and understand.
Here is the list of worthless words you need to cut down from your sales copy
f) “Free” product / service
How can a product / service be termed as “Free” when you are actually going to charge them later on for using the real benefits.
Using the word “Free” can bring you strong leads but it can also act negatively and decrease your conversion rate.
Every other website is using this term nowadays but charges their clients eventually. Therefore, people have started to avoid such items.
They believe it as a tactic to lure your clients for a sale.
So unless you provide something for free in real terms, do not put it on your sales copy.
6. Be particular with Numbers
While copywriting mostly deals with the correct choice of words and phrases, it always talks about stating specific numbers.
Afterall, your sales always depend upon the numbers you provide !
As per an usability expert Jakob Nielson,
“Because numbers represent facts, which is something users typically relish. Sometimes people are looking for specific facts, such as a product’s weight or size, so product pages are certainly one place where you should write numbers as numerals. But even when a number doesn’t represent a product attribute, it’s a more compact (and thus attractive) representation of hard information than flowery verbiage.”
While it’s a fact that online writing is always having a different approach to deal with the words, messaging and tonality of the content.
That’s why it’s important for you to know how to use numbers while online copywriting.
And for this, you can try out 3 styles –
- MLA style
- APA style
- Mixed style
a) According to MLA style,
Use words to express numbers in one or two words (i.e., one, five, thirty-six, ninety-nine, one hundred, etc.) and represent other numbers by numerals
For instance,
One, thirty-two, hundred, one-third.
But : 105, 1109, 3789
b) According to APA style,
While online writing, in this style, you must spell out just the numbers below 10.
For instance,
We have provided our nine different CRM services in 270+ countries for the last 12 years.
See….
Below 10, digits like 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 will be spelled out here. And the rest, (here 270 and 12) will be written in numerical terms.
Check the list of rules regarding the use of numerals in MLA and APA styles.
c) Mixed style,
Aside from these two above styles, most blogs today use a hybrid approach to numbers.
You can also use this mixed approach while playing with huge numbers, spelling the numerals and writing the digits together.
For instance,
2.4 million, 36 billion, or 4.7 million.
Adding numbers to your copy increases the level of belief for your brand among your target audience.
Whether you include numbers at the beginning, or middle or end of your copy, it always boosts your trust and authority level.
But as per Copyblogger, one of the best places to include numbers is the headline of your copy.
You can notice almost all the search results for your particular search show a specific number.
Have a look for my search on best ways to write a copy.
Almost all the search results include a specific number.
But remember, don’t just focus on adding numbers for specificity. Add a benefit too for optimal persuasiveness.
7. Replace adjectives in your Sales copy
a) As per WordStream,
Replace adjective with more noun
Example,
- Replace adjectives with verbs
- 11 verbs: collect, grow, drive, assist, get in touch, make, sell, increase, guide, send, invite.
- 4 adjectives: segmented, quality, right, exact.
- Example
b) As per Enchanting Marketing,
Eradicate adjective mumbo jumbo
When you have nothing to say, then eat adjective
It’s pretty clear that you need to avoid using adjectives and start replacing them with strong nouns or verbs or some powerful words, which add value to your product / services.
For instance,
You might use an adjective like “fastest installation” in the features segment to attract more visitors, but a simple phrase like “one day installation” and “24 hours” will create greater impact here.
Well, verbs also can be your copywriting saver.
Captivating verbs will help you to express yourself in less but effective words.
For instance,
Write a sentence starting with “We sell” and then replace the word “sell” with
- Eliminate
- Empower
- Level up
- Inspire
- Reduce
- Unlock
8. Focus on Storytelling
As per storytelling pros, a storytelling framework to conversion-focused copywriting, you can inspire people to action and keep them hooked in a long-term relationship with your brand.
In the terms of Neuroscience, storytelling is the ultimate persuasion hack.
It not only grabs people’s attention, it also convinces buyers to convert and gets them emotionally connected with your brand.
Which automatically fulfils your ultimate goal : boosting conversion rates.
So, as per the modern marketing thesis, here are 7 reasons why storytelling is important for every business
- Stories Engage Your Audience
- Create a Human Connection
- Stories Are More Memorable Than Numbers
- Emotionally Connect People to Create Loyalty
- Humanising a Business = Increased Profits
- Storytelling Offers a Competitive Advantage
- Create Compelling Marketing Campaigns
Here are 3 examples of popular brands using storytelling strategy for improving their sales copywriting.
a) L’Occitane
Here’s how they highlighted the facts,
“Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. If we do nothing, more than 3.7 million women would still live in a state of poverty. By supporting and empowering Burkinabè women, we can help lift them out of poverty.”
b) ghd
“By earning their own income and developing their activities, the women shea butter producers in Burkina Faso are able to improve their social status. They can contribute more to household expenses and help to pay for their children’s education. The whole family benefits!”
Redefining the meaning of hairstyling, ghd gave special attention towards the art of empowerment on their About page via their perfect storytelling strategy,
“In 2001, three hairdressers from Yorkshire put a radical new hair styling product into the hands of women across the globe. With the respect and loyalty of an army of devoted stylists, ghd quickly developed a cult-like status nationwide. A monthly trip to the salon was no longer the only way to have a good hair day – this could be achieved every day.”
c) Ford
“With an increasing population concentrated in cities, mobility has become increasingly complex with rising congestion and pollution. Ford Mobility is exploring innovative initiatives that aim to integrate connected vehicles, city data and infrastructure. Our aim is to deliver a cohesive and efficient urban transportation system.”
9. Super specific headlines
Do you guys have any idea about the “80/20” rule ?
Well…..
If not then you need to remember this for the rest of your lives if you want to have a great sales copy.
The 80/20 rule states that 80% of the people read the headline of your copy and only 20% of them read the copy.
Therefore, it’s important for you to have a super specific headline.
Super specific headlines are the ones which tell your reader exactly what they are gonna get.
Example,
Save more time the easy way
Here the super specific headline will be –
i) Save 2 hours per day with these 7 productivity hacks
ii) Have a look on this image showing various super specific headlines
Your headline should be super clear with what exactly the readers are going to get inside that copy.
Remember, you just have 8-12 seconds to grab your user’s attention. So you need to have a hook point on your headline which immediately creates a connection with the reader.
Here are 5 tips how to build a powerful headline for your sales copy
a) Be specific with numbers
Earlier also we talked about how effective your copywriting can become if you use particular numbers in your copy.
Numbers build a sense of trust and authenticity among your target audience.
Several research studies have shown that headlines with numbers tend to generate more social shares and engagement.
Here’s an example from Buzzfeed
According to the Content Marketing Institute, our brain acts differently when we see an odd number.
Actually odd numbers trigger our brain cells more effectively as compared to any even numbers.
Also, they have researched that headlines containing the number 7 in digit form receive a 20% boost in their click through rates.
For instance,
Instead of writing “seven steps to improve your SEO copywriting” you need to write your headline as “7 steps to improve your SEO copywriting”
17 best tips for your daily skincare routine
b) Give a powerful reason
Along with numbers, focus on giving a powerful-unique reason why people should read your copy when there are hundred more websites explaining the same niche.
Headlines create the first impression of your blog among your target audience.
Therefore, you need to focus on having a headline which is completely unique than your competitors.
You can utilise unique rationales for creating a reason.
According to our Copywriting guru, Neil Patel, here are a list of some of the rationales that you must include in your headlines-
- Tips
- Reasons
- Lessons
- Tricks
- Ideas
- Ways
- Principles
- Facts
- Secrets
- Strategies
Here are some examples of rationale in action using in Ubersuggest blogs :
- 5 Tips to Write Blog Introductions Like a Pro
- 15 Lessons I Learned the Hard Way as a 3-Year-Old Blogger
- 8 Principles for Designing a Perfect Landing Page
- 17 Facts About Content Marketing That You Didn’t Know
- 6 Insights to the Future of Search Engine Optimization
- 3 Secrets to Make Your List Post Sing
- 4 Headline Writing Tips to Make Your Titles Soar
c) Call for attention
Remember,
Your target audience are the ones with thousands of ads, blogs, articles available on multiple social media platforms for every single day.
So, as said earlier you just have 8-12 seconds to grab the attention of your target audience and compel them to read your copy.
And headlines are the perfect for this role.
The first sentence which your audience is going to read on your copy, will be your headline.
Whether you are a small or a big business owner, one of the best ways to acquire and retain your customers is to engage them with great content.
Just focus on these 4 special strategies by Neil Patel to create a sense of attention on your headline
- make the headline unique
- be ultra-specific
- convey a sense of urgency
- provide something useful
d) Place “YOU” on your headline
The technique which involves addressing someone throughout your copy is called “flagging technique.”
This is the best way to write your copy or blog posts.
This not only grabs your attention immediately but also creates a strong sense of engagement among your target audience.
The best example of Flagging technique is using “You” in your copy.
Have a look on several examples which actually worked after implying this Flagging technique on the headlines
e) Include Emotional words
It always works better for your brand if you can create an emotional engagement with your target audience.
This not only helps you in generating more leads but also improves your goodwill into the market.
And….
The best way to create emotional connection is through your content.
Therefore, you cannot treat all the words the same way while practising copywriting. There are specific words you need to focus on if you want to create an emotional impact in your sales copy. These words are called the “Power words.”
Have a look on some Power words which you can use in your headlines
For instance, you can go with,
- How to conquer writer’s block in 6 simple steps
- Hope never dies : 13 amazing upcoming web series on Netflix
- The Best ways to write from your Heart and connect with your customers
Point to Note:
You need to use at most 1-2 power words in your headline otherwise Google may count it as “keyword bombing” and you can lose your Google ranking.
Check out 212 Power Words To Create Attention-Grabbing Headlines.
10. Benefits > Features
Great sales copy is created not just for selling your product but also focuses to build an emotional engagement with your target audience.
Therefore, clear and concise presentation of the benefits as well as features of your product / service plays a vital role here.
Where stating the features helps you to set your product apart from your competitors, benefits on the other hand builds emotional connection with your audience and compels them to make a purchase.
It’s pretty clear that both benefits and features together build a better buyer journey or user experience.
So, certainly you need to include both of them in your copywriting.
But the point of confusion is – which one to focus more on ?
Well, to answer this question first you need to understand the difference between them.
Benefits Vs Features
b) As per Hubspot,
While, on the other hand, benefits state why features matter and what your target audience are going to get from them.
Here’s an example,
Ultimately, benefits are the ones which compel the audience to make a purchase. It paints a picture in the minds of your audience of what their lives will look like once they start using that product / service.
Therefore, while writing sales copy it’s always better to go with a Benefit- heavy approach.
There are many ways to follow this approach but the best one is called……
“ASKING SO WHAT”
It’s as simple as it looks. No worries.
Just you need to keep asking yourself “SO WHAT” after writing each and every sentence.
The SO WHAT trick works really well in any industry.
For instance,
- We provide modern technologies for your kitchen. (Ask yourself SO WHAT ?)
- You don’t have to spend much time in your kitchen.
- Makes your life easier
- You get time for your extra works
- We provide high converting sales copy services. (SO WHAT ?)
- You get more traffic on your website
- Boosts your conversion rate
- Increases your revenue and profits
- Saves you from burning your money
Another example which got our attention was from enchanting marketing.com
On a serious note, you really need to get this point clear for having a persuasive and high converting sales copy.
Here are a few more examples for you. Have a look.
- HubSpot Academy
See….
HubSpot gives its customers the opportunity to learn new skills and get certificates.
Here, they have listed out three benefits which will compel their audience to think how completing this course will be worth their time.
- OrganiGrowHairCo
This is a perfect ad to show how the team will help their customers to get back their beautiful hair.
It explains all the things you must do for developing your hair health. It alleviates all about the dandruff, decreases breakage, and cleanses.
Giving it a benefit and compelling power explaining why people must try their washing formula instead of their competitors.
Including benefits in your copywriting makes the message much clear, drawing a reason for your audience to make a purchase.
11. Create Urgency
Do you want your customers to make an immediate purchase ?
Do you want to increase the perceived value of your product / service ?
Do you want to increase your sales ?
If yes, then you definitely need to get our 11th point on this list sharp and clear.
For fulfilling all those above desires, you need to add a sense of urgency in your sales copy.
According to Indeed Career Guide,
“Urgency in sales is a technique that professionals use to create the sense that their audience and prospective customers must act immediately if they wish to purchase your product or receive it for the best price. Creating urgency helps motivate customers to buy now rather than later.”
But, you might be thinking the obvious question….HOW ?
How to create Urgency in Copywriting
Well, here you need to deal with 5 particular points. They are –
a) Include time limit for creating actual urgency
Countdown is another interesting way to increase your sales.
Including a time limit will continuously remind the audience to buy your product / service before the time passes out.
It creates a sense of rush among your target audience which 70% of the time compels them to make a purchase.
For instance,
15% discount on all the baby products till 20th May
70% off on electronic items on Big Billion Days sale by Flipkart
35% weekend off on summer clothes
b) Focus on your words
As already said thousands of times, WORDS play a vital role in copywriting.
While creating urgency in your sales copy, some specific words like “act now”, “book now”, “time is running out” can really help you out.
With these words you can give people a clear idea that for getting the actual value of your product / service, the current time is the best.
c) Create Scarcity
The best way to create urgency is to limit the products available.
For instance,
You are looking forward to becoming a copywriter but have no idea about SEO. You got to know about some courses but the courses have limited seats.
What would you do ?
You would run and purchase that course ASAP, right.
Same is the scenario in every industry. Scarcity makes people think fast and eventually they end up making a purchase.
d) Focus on instalment payments
People usually feel payments in instalments makes their lives easier.
People are 38% more likely to purchase something when there is an option for instalment payments rather than immediate full payment.
Among them as per Forbes, 17% are Gen Z and 21% are millennials.Â
Making the product more affordable in this way develops a sense of urgency, since it may allow your customers to get the product easily and quickly.
e) Find your ideal audience
To create Urgency in sales, you firstly need to find your ideal audience.Â
Without them you can never imagine to boost your sales by any means.
Once you find them, you need to show them the real value of your product / service. They need to know what value your product is going to add in their lives.
If you win in making them understand this point then you can compel them to make the purchase immediately without a further ado.
12. Use the 5C Formula
99% of the businesses fail to generate leads because they know what to do but don’t know how to do that.
Looking forward to this mass problem, here is the internet’s favourite topic to remember while writing your sales copy.
Time to come across the 5C Formula which stands with Clear, Concise, Credible, Compelling and Call to Action.
These 5Cs will make your copywriting task easier and will help to make every page of your website a “selling page.”
Because at last selling will be your ultimate goal, right !
a) How to make your copy CLEAR
Well, this is not rocket science. You just need to follow a few points to make your copy crisp and clear.
Here they are –
i) Make it easy to read
Do you think that a great copy is always the most impressive one ?
Nooooo !
A great sales copy is the easiest one.
While reading your copy, the readers shouldn’t need to stop reading to make sense of what you are saying.
The easier flow your copy has, the more clear it conveys your message to the audience.
You don’t have to use fancy or any sort of complicated words. Make it as simple as you can.
Take a look at Harvard Business School copy, targeting smart college grads.
ii) Use keywords not just for SEO
Never use keywords for just SEO purposes.
Point to remember is that keywords are the exact terms which your target audience uses when they talk commonly about your niche.
Keeping the language of your copy relevant to your target audience builds a sense of belongingness among them.
With this, your copy can clearly convey the value of your product / service easily to your audience.
Check out this example by Wordstream for getting a better understanding.
iii) Add direct questions
The common question which moves inside the brain of every buyer continuously is “what’s in it for me ?”
The best way to solve this problem is to put direct questions in front of your audience.
If you are reading till now, then you are certain that Copywriting is all about making sales.
And this is only possible when the buyer will be fully convinced about the benefits of your product / service.
Putting the relevant questions directly and then answering them, leaves no sign of confusion and the buyer tends to think your product / service better than your competitors.
Whether be your Home page, landing pages or FAQ section, you need to frame questions which are relevant to your target audience.
iv) Use bullet points
Bullet points for listing your features, benefits, locations you serve, and for almost every detail information are the best way to make your audience remember what they read.
Pretty clear that bullet points will help you to avoid confusions in your copy. Making it the top wonders of the Copywriting world !
But, for strategic listing of items you need to be super careful while adding the initial and the final point.
Because, according to the Serial Position effect, people tend to remember the first and the last items of a series the best.
Here’s an example
b) How to CONCISE your sales copy
A simple definition of concise is : using less but effective words.
Whether you are writing an ad copy, email copy, or blog post you can use these pointers to present your copy effectively in front of your target audience.
i) Remove the empty adverbs
Let me first show you what empty and desperate adverbs are, as per WordStream –
These types of adverbs sound more desperate than being authoritative.
Well, this point does not suggest you to remove adverbs completely from your copywriting.
You just need to use them wisely. Have a look here,
ii) Be Blunt
See, here “Video Editing Software. Free Download. Easy Motive Editor.”
Catchy. Quick. No-nonsense.
Three simple sentences but just to the point. Plus, “free” and “easy” are the words which compel people to open it and see what’s inside.
c) How to make your copy CREDIBLE
What makes your copy trustworthy ?
Is it your benefits, services or content ?
Well, it’s none of them.
The one thing which makes your copy worth trust and authority is your testimonial section.
You need to remember the fact that it’s just a copy you are writing here, you are writing a sales copy and for that you need to build trust among your target audience.
In this case, a testimonial like “GreatBe was great. I would highly recommend them” will be a blank testimonial.
Instead you can ask your clients to send you a similar sort of testimonial as below.
Or you can go with before-after-what they would tell strategy with the testimonialÂ
For instance, Â Â
d) How to write COMPELLING copy that sells
i)Use Data
If you want to compel people to make a purchase, show them data.
According to NeuroScience Marketing, people become more attentive when they read some sort of data.
Even if the customers don’t know you, showing numbers grab their attention and will compel them to make a purchase.
Here’s an example from Cybereason,
ii) Read minds of your target audience
What’s the term “compel” related to ?
Minds or Brain. Obviously.
Therefore, for compelling your target audience to purchase you need to read their mind accuracy.
You need to know how they think about your product / service, what their doubts, assumptions, hopes and fears are about your brand.
Thoughts work the best for writing compelling headlines.
For instance,
Start capturing all the real thoughts of your target audience, and create an immediate personal connection that draws them in.
iii) Try Catchy Statements
The biggest part of your copywriting is increasing sales and building emotional connections.
Trying with catchy sentences can really help you out here.
For instance,
Check out this page benefit statement of Airtable
Another example is from Visme,
e) Call to Action
You need to include, stop scrolling and read this post, Click on my ad, Buy my product.
Having a clear and concise call to action is very important for asking your target audience to take the next step exactly what you want.
Listing here the best CTAs of popular brands
- KlientBoost
- CXL
- Travel WisconsinÂ
- Hot JarÂ
Here is a list of 20 best CTA for your copywriting by CXL.
13. Make it about them
If you notice this entire blog then you will see that 90% of the time the copy includes “you” to address the target audience instead of “we” and “our.”
Creating a sense of belongingness is a vital part in copywriting. Without this, even if your target audience likes your product, they will not love it.
Look how Appcues have used “you” to address their target audience.
“You” is used almost eight times.Â
Enchanting marketing has also done a similar thing of using “you” in their headlines. Building more engagement and connections.
Every brand from any industry or niche is using “you” to boost the sense of familiarity and affection in their blogs. Whether you go for headlines or the blog body, using the term “you” can be a saving point.
14. Use AIDA Model
Marketing framework is a complicated process which every brand tries to break down for easier understandability and implementation.
This breakdown is done with a model called the AIDA Model. Almost all internet marketing guides, including Hubspot, marketing360, Smart Insights, and ubersuggest, recommend this methodology.
Here,Â
- A stands for Attention
- I stands for InterestÂ
- D stands for DesireÂ
- A stands for ActionÂ
These four stages will be the pillars of your sales funnel.
Whether it’s for your new blog post or an email outreach, AIDA Model can be used anywhere to grab attention and finally close a lead.
For a better understanding, here is a perfect explanation with Dos and Don’ts of each stage.
a) Grab Attention
With a catchy headline you can grab the attention of your target audience within seconds.
After the headline you immediately need to add 2-3 sentences in such a way that creates a hook.
Creating a hook gives you a bonus point in compelling your audience to read further. For deeper insights about Hook and how to create one, look into this blog.
To start grabbing the attention of your target audience, you need to think about what your users care about, what are their pain points, what they really need, what motivates them the most, their industrial interests and their background.Â
Here is a list of Dos and Don’t of the first stage analysed by siegemedia
b) Interest
Once you get something, it’s important to maintain that thing for a longer existence.
Similar is the case here, once you get the attention of your target audience, you need to maintain that attention.
You need to think about what will make them stay on your site, what will compel them to read the entire blog.
Compelling your audience to stay longer on your site is an important part of SEO copywriting.Â
And…. the best way to do it is “Personalisation.”
Personalisation is a great way to connect with your target audience. With this, your prospects will know that you genuinely care and understand them.
The simple trick of personalisation is adding “you.” Including “you” instead of terms like “we”, “our” develops a sense of belongingness among the audience.Â
But remember, you don’t have to pile up all the information at once. No word booming.
Here are the Dos and Don’ts of Siege Media.
c) Desire
This is the stage where you need to apply the Benefit – heavy approach.
You need to focus on listing the benefits of your product or what value they will add in the lives of your target audience.Â
Provide relevant data to support your benefit points. Let your target audience know how your product / service is going to make their life easier.
Along with stats, you need to include the testimonial section here. The best way to deal with the testimonials is already explained above.Â
Where Interest focuses your audience to keep on reading your copy, Desire on the other hand, will compel them to give you a strong lead.
Siege Media analysed there Dos and Don’ts
d) Call To Action
The last stage of this Model is the most important one.Â
People coming, reading, and just leaving without giving lead is just a waste of your time. No value added at all.
Sometimes people love your post and wish to learn more but do not get a way out. In confusion, they just leave and go.
Therefore, you need to make sure that you place your CTAs in the appropriate location. Where it will be easy to find and fill.
Don’t confuse them with tons of vague options like “Let me know what you think.”
Make your CTA bold and direct. Ask your target audience straightforward what you want them to do next.
The point you gave your prospects time to think, you lost them then and there itself.Â
Have a look on the CTA of AdEspresso ad by HootsuiteÂ
Listing Siege Media’s Dos and Don’tsÂ
AIDA Model implementation with example
Using AIDA for email outreachÂ
For blog post,
Relevant Blog :Â 13 ways to improve your SEO Copywriting
15. Replace your opinions with strong statements
As said almost thousands of times, copywriting is all about sales.
Therefore, you cannot give opinions here. Your target audience needs a definite and bold statement asking them to take the next step.Â
Opinions give people time to think and hence creates uncertainty, which you absolutely don’t need in your sales copy.
For instance,Â
Imagine you are a kitchen technology company. You would probably list out one of the benefits as “fast installation.”
But instead of this if you write a bold statement with definite results, it will create more impact among your target audience.Â
So, instead of “fast installation”, you can go with “installation within 24 hours” or “one day installation” in your copywriting.
Seems better, right !
Check out these power words that will help you to sell.
Bonus Points
Well it’s true that for getting a strong lead you need to deal with various items. It can be your marketing, promotions, branding, ideal audience identification, building emotional connections, and many more.
But among them one of the most important elements is “developing your online presence.”
80% of the businesses are nowadays moving towards a hybrid model. They are focusing on both, offline as well as online business.Â
But for both of these, you need to have a better copy because this is the first thing your customers are going to check.
Your sales copy will decide if you are going to get any lead or not.
Therefore, this blog is entirely upon developing the skills to have a great sales copy. Taking it a little deeper, here are two bonus points for you.
16. Avoid Tautology
Did you just said …..uhhhh, what logy ?
Well that was the same with us when we heard of this word.
So before moving forwards, let’s understand exactly what Tautology is.
Imagine,Â
You have been given a task of writing 1000-1500 words on a topic you have zero idea.
You asked your friend. He told you a para about it. That’s all you know.
What are you going to do ?
Well…..Â
Probably, you are going to write the same paragraph again and again with some different words and phrases.
This is known as Tautology.
According to Merriam Webster,Â
“Tautology is needless repetition of an idea, statement, or word.”
Some of the examples of Tautology which will help you gain a better insight.
- “He was a man of few words, and he spoke succinctly.”Â
Here, the words “few” and “succinctly” are redundant as they both mean the same thing.
“She was so excited she could hardly contain her enthusiasm.”Â
Using either “excited” or “enthusiasm” will create more impact than using both words at the same time.
- “The weather was hot, and it was scorching.”Â
Here, both “hot” and “scorching” have the same meaning. So, this sentence can be changed to something like, “The weather was scorching” or simply saying “the weather was hot.”
- “She always arrived on time and punctual.”Â
Here, both words “on time” and “punctual” mean the same. If you want to be precise, then you should go with either “punctual” or “on time.”Â
- “The meal was so delicious it was mouth-watering.”Â
Similarly, “delicious” and “mouth-watering” are the same. To make the sentence more concise, “delicious” should be used instead of “mouth-watering.” This word also has a more positive impact.
Researching this topic, got us to the finest example of Tautology as per WordStream.
If you notice, there are almost 120 words and still you get zero idea about the concept.
Instead of just gambling around, this could have been written asÂ
See….
Clear. Precise. Impactful.
17. Give people a better reason for your statements
Look, you have to accept the fact that you are not the only one in the market.Â
There are many brands. Very serious about their work. Providing the best product / services. Have reasonable prices. Doing great.
So, there is a 99% chance that your audience can get shifted to your competitor’s account.
Unless you give a solid, powerful reason for them to stay with you.
Each and every sentence in your sales copy should include a benefit. It must be so bold that reading them compels your target audience to finally make a purchase.
For instance,Â
Check out how Enchanting Marketing has included a benefit in their CTA section.Â
The other compelling one is from Crazy Egg
WordPress never disappoints. Have a look at how they have converted their features into benefits which are more impactful.Â
Conclusion
In every copy, there always should be a balance between result – driven and engagement – focused. That’s where sales copywriting comes into role.Â
It not only manages your marketing funnel but also improves your connection building capability with your target audience.
So, whether you are sure about your marketing strategies and branding tactics or not, you definitely should have a clear idea on having an ideal sales copy to boost your conversion rates.
Especially when 80% of the businesses are shifted towards online or hybrid models, you need to be crisp, precise, and impactful with your words and phrases while copywriting.
54% of decision-makers say they spend at least one hour a week reading thought leadership, so it’s certainly a way to reach people who are likely to take action.
Therefore, your sales copy must include benefits over features, should have listings of all pain points, focus on needs of your target audience, build user personas, be crisp, clear and impactful.
All these will help the decision maker to understand what value your product / service can add into their lives.Â