ABCs of Copywriting
If your copy isn’t performing, there’s a good chance it lacks. In terms of copywriting, refers to your ability to understand the reader—to know what she’s thinking and what she needs—and to build trust based on that understanding.
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Here’s a practical guide: The ABCs of copywriting.
Is Your Current Copy Empathetic?
Lack is pretty common in ordinary copy. You probably see it a lot, actually. Like with websites written from the seller’s perspective instead of the buyer’s. When this happens, you tend to see a lot of we-centric copy:
We pride ourselves on our quality craftsmanship.
At XYZ Company, our top priority is speedy service.
If you have we-centric copy on your website, blogs, brochures or in your emails and video scripts, it doesn’t mean you actually lack for your customers. But it does mean you’re doing a bad job showing it. The fix is fairly easy and painless when you update st
- acknowledges the needs of your customer sale copy with text that:
- emphasizes the benefits your customers get from buying from you
- builds trust
You can also show by reaching out to prospects and customers according to their personal preferences, and that means delivering information in a number of ways—from short blog posts and webinars to in-depth articles and how-to videos.
3 Steps To Writing With
If you’re the DIY type, you can audit your own copy by keeping the following three things in mind:
Step 1: Write a list of all the benefits associated with your product or service.
You can write down features first, if that’s easier. But turn them into benefits by asking yourself what’s in it for the customer. For example the feature “24-hour customer service” might better be expressed as “expert support any time you need it.” Ultimately, your goal will be to replace that cold, bulleted list of features you always lean on with the benefits your customers are looking for.
Step 2: Visualize your ideal customers.
Speaking of customers, it’s easier to empathize with a person (even a fictional one) than it is to empathize with nondescript, abstract group of customers. So visualize your ideal customer and write to that person. Some marketing folks call this process creating buyer personas. If you identify a number of different ideal customers, write for all of them.
Consider a resume writing company creating landing pages for each of the ideal customers it identifies. The owner will likely want to appeal to a graduate entering the job market for the first time, a professional seeking work after being let go, and a mother or father re-entering the workforce after taking time off for family.
Each of these different personas have different challenges, different goals, different fears, and different emotions compelling them to search for a professional resume writer. So it makes sense to understand them all, doesn’t it?
Step 3: Connect to your customers’ emotions.
Finally, a professional freelance copywriter will tell you to write copy that connects with your customers’ emotions. When drafting copy for a new graduate, you might appeal to his sense of pride and desire for a new (and well-paying!) adventure. However, a mid-level employee who just lost his job will want a resume writer who understands his fear of the uncertain and his need for a quick and smooth transition to a new job.
About the Author
Emily Suess is a freelance copywriter located in Champaign, Illinois. She specializes in digital marketing copy and works with small and large businesses and non-profits.
