5 Tips for Writing Good Copy

In marketing, you have less than 10 seconds to make it or break it with your audience. You need to start your content with something that entices your audience. For example, if you are using a video advertisement, you have 5 seconds to let them know why they need to continue watching. Thankfully, for copy, you have a few seconds more, and that’s enough time to word something that will capture their interest. Here are 5 tips to write good copy. 

1. Identify Your Target Personas

First, you need to identify your target personas. You may be an awesome writer, but it’s crucial to understand who your message is being crafted for. Don’t make the mistake of hard selling your brand or product without an actual target audience. You might have more than one persona to speak to, and that is okay. You just have to plan your messages to ensure that they reach all of the targeted personas.

You can use Hubspot’s Make My Persona tool to try and create your personas.

2. Have a Personality and Voice

Nobody wants to read a boring, generic message. Ever read a user manual? That’s what a generic message sounds like. Don’t just write something for your audience, speak to them as a person. Know your target personas and speak in a more relatable voice, and use a tone or genre that is a suitable representation of your company. By being more human, you get to develop a level of trust with your audience, encouraging them to come back to read your posts in future. Also, don’t be afraid to try different tones of voices when trying to find the right one.

3. Focus on the Message

Help your customers understand what you have to offer. Are you providing a solution? Is there a sale going on? How is this going to benefit them? Make the message as clear as possible. Start with what you have to offer, and then go into a little bit of details. Imagine you are speaking to the least savvy person in the room, so it has to be as clear as day. Remember to treat your customers with utmost respect.

4. Start Strong and Keep It Simple

As mentioned earlier, you have less than 10 seconds to keep your reader interested. So, start with a bang, write an interesting entry, and try to keep it short and concise. Know your audience, so that you don’t end up using buzzwords or jargons that may be difficult to understand, subsequently causing your reader to lose focus. Ask yourself, can you use fewer words? If you can, do it. The important thing is that the message is effectively delivered. Oh, and don’t use long-winded sentences; they are the ultimate enemy of short attention span.

5. Plan Ahead

Good copywriting comes from good planning. Brainstorm your ideas and create an outline so you can plan your content ahead. List down keywords you need to use, and important points you need to include in your message. Arrange the topics of your content in an order that makes sense for better readability and flow. The outline doesn’t have to be super-detailed, just good enough so you don’t end up writing last minute, lazy copy.

Bonus: Hire a Copywriter

It’s absolutely fine to not possess the skills to write good copy because writing is not everybody’s cup of tea. If you think copywriting is not for you or any current member of your team, hire a copywriter. Have a look at their work and see if they fit in with your company. Don’t forget to brief your copywriter about your expectations and the tone of voice you prefer. Be open to suggestions, because more often than not, there will be conflicting ideas on what works and what doesn’t, and your writer might actually know what works best from experience.

Too many businesses overlook the importance of good copywriting so if you are a business owner, invest in good copy. You will see significant improvement in your marketing efforts.