How to Write Great Copy: Copywriting Basics for Small Business Owners
Great copy is an essential marketing tool for every business, big or small. Copy–or the written words used to explain your product, service, or value proposition–lives on everything from your website to your web app, from landing pages to social media bios. In other words, copy is everywhere. That’s what makes it such an important place to invest your time and creative energy. After all, those words are responsible for something very important: Selling your product.
So how do you master the art of copywriting? If there’s no scientific formula, how can you learn, and ultimately become better? The answer is practice. The more you tell your story, the stronger your writing will become. To get you started on the road to great copy, here are a few best practices to keep in mind.
1. Define your value. Before you can write great copy, you’ll need to break this down. What is it about your product that’s attractive to your current customers and target demographic? How does your product solve their pain point in a meaningful way? Essentially, this means having a solid understanding of the value you bring to a customer’s life. Take some time to write this out and keep it in mind every time to you write messaging that your customers will see.
2. Craft a narrative (with headlines). Even if you’re an amazing writer and gifted content creator, it won’t matter if people don’t read your words and and share them. An eye-catching headline is paramount for this reason. Many people browse social media channels like Twitter and Facebook to find interesting content. What do they look for? Yep, you got it–headlines. So making sure your headline stands out is crucial. In a feed of thousands of competing stories, the key to getting eyeballs on your business is a headline that is informative, clear, and provocative. In a short phrase, a customer’s interest should be piqued and they should know exactly the type of information they’ll get when they click.
3. Don’t forget about SEO. Everything you publish online can help people discover your business, so be sure to make your copy keyword-rich. Asking yourself a series of questions is a great exercise for discovering what words are relevant to your business. What product do you offer? Who would be interested in your offerings? When and why would they be interested? Armed with this list, you can then do some research to find the most commonly used keywords and discover what people are searching for.
4. Make your point. Be sure to keep your writing clear and concise. Ensuring your customers understand you easily is an important part of crafting compelling copy. In fact, brevity might help you be more creative, so bring simplicity into your writing by eliminating overly formal language and long sentences. Your copy should feel conversational so that customers enjoy what they’re reading without struggling to understand your point.
5. Test and refine. You’re not done yet! As with all marketing, copywriting is an ongoing process and your messaging will change over time. If you’ve different ideas for wording, try them out and see which descriptions have better outcomes. Do you have a better click-through rate with different headlines? You can try to figure out what type of wording attracts more people to your website.
Strategic thinking combined with creativity in your writing is an essential part of marketing your business. By showcasing your story in a way in which customers can easily discover and engage with you, copy will help grow your business.
