If you’re not even sure what copywriting is, who a copywriter is, or why you would need either, you’re not alone. I can’t count the number of business owners who give me a blank stare when I tell them I’m a copywriter. To be fair, it SOUNDS like copyRight.
English can be a tricky language.
Which is why copyWrighting is such a critical art. Language can be confusing at best, dangerous at worst. Language is about taking thoughts and feelings, putting them into words, then sharing them with other people. It can be terrifying! Everyone who has ever had their words misinterpreted or misunderstood knows what I'm talking about.
As a small business owner, the last thing you want is to send the WRONG message to your customers. You don’t want your customers put-off or turned-off by your words.
You spend WAY too much time, money, and effort on crafting a superb product or service, to waste it on a miss-worded message.
Copywriting is about storytelling. You need to take your customer on a journey. Let them feel pain, joy, excitement, honor and victory. Let them know you are an important component in their journey.
There’s a craft to it. Copywriting takes time, practice, and skill. The fact that you’re here, reading my content means I’ve succeeded in one way or another! YAY! And thanks for being here by the way.
Copywriters learn to write hooks, headlines, and body paragraphs. They research, analyze, and edit until they’ve refined their copy. They take their time to know the voice, tone, and personality of their client.
As a copywriter, I know you have a product or service of great value and a customer out there who WANTS to buy it. I want to connect you to one another!
How do you TELL your customers about your product or service? Through copywriting! Whether it’s your website, social media, emails, or landing pages. Each means of communication needs a carefully crafted, specific message.
Here are 4 areas where copywriting sneaks into your business.
Website
Visitors to your website are there for a reason. Typically, visitors are there to learn more about YOU. Yes they want to know more about your product, your prices, your location, etc. But these things are ultimately superficial.
Deep down, they’re really looking for a reason to invest in you OR looking for an excuse to NOT invest in you. Either way, they’re looking at you.
People care about and invest in other people. They want to connect with you and your brand on an emotional level. They want a shared vision, shared values, and human connection.
Think of a cause you feel strongly about. If you found a brand who supports the OPPOSITE cause, you would refuse to buy from them. You would not care how great their product is or how competitive their prices are.
If you runny a bunny foster home, you’re not going to buy from someone who actively kills bunnies! It hurt my heart a bit to even type that by the way, so I'm sorry for the visual. But you get the picture.
Does your website copy communicate human connection and reasons to invest in your brand?
Social Media
This use of copywriting is one of my personal favorites. It’s a favorite because it can be tricky, which means I get to enjoy the challenge and success of it.
Social media can be tricky because people don’t get on social media to BUY a product or service. In fact, users become quickly annoyed if a business gets "salesy". But wait! Businesses are on social media because they NEED to sell their product or service.
So how can your business sell to a customer on social media who’s not there to buy anything from you?
You use social media as a powerful tool to build connections, trust, and relate-ability. As customers get to like, know, and trust you, they will WANT to buy from you and support you.
Copywriting is necessary for communicating your voice, mission, and values on social media. Hooks, captions, closed captioning, and hashtags are all critical components in social media marketing.
These days, algorithms and finicky social media executives make it difficult to navigate the world of social media marketing. I spend much of my time staying up to date on trends, algorithms, and consumer patterns. All so you don’t have to!
Emails
Did you know emails have a $36 ROI for every $1 spent?! Have you tapped into this valuable opportunity?
The beauty of an email list for your business is the list is YOURS. FaceBook can take away your community, Instagram can limit your reach, and Twitter can ban or cancel you. But your email list is full of people who are VOLUNTARILY staying connected with you. AND NO ONE CAN TAKE THEM AWAY! How cool!
Nurturing your email list takes a careful strategy. Walking your customer through the buying process is a delicate dance.
You need to collect their email address ethically and voluntarily
You need to have a plan so your emails don’t feel “spammy”
You need to make sure the email subject line gives them a reason to open the email
You need to avoid content which triggers email domain AI bots and sends them to the spam box
You need to nurture and warm them to your product or service
And so much more!!!
Email marketing is the bread and butter of a copywriter’s diet. We know it’s one more area where you see value and potential, but you may not have the time or mental bandwidth to keep up with it.
Landing Pages
A landing page is a nifty, simple web page, with a single goal or purpose. That goal or purpose is usually to launch a new course, promote a special, or introduce a new product or service.
This means it’s SUPER important to get the landing page right. It should be crafted with copy and content which is consistent with your brand. It should be clear about the offer, product, or service it’s promoting. Finally, your landing page should draw-in customers to take action.
Your landing page should catch the attention of the RIGHT customer, should excite them to buy from you, and should direct them to make a purchase.
Landing pages are often created based on the TYPE of customer you seek. For instance, the landing page can be linked to the email campaign you’ve sent out to you subscription list. These are people who probably already know, like, and trust you, so the copy doesn’t need to do as much “convincing”.
If a landing page is linked to a google search or social media, you may need to spend more time walking the customer through your sales funnel. The customer needs to first warm up to you and your brand before they can be convinced to invest in you.
Wrapping it up
Hopefully you’ve gotten a good idea of who a copywriter is, what we do, how we do it, and why you need one.
Copywriting can show up in these 4 areas and even more areas I didn’t mention, but I think you get the idea.
Until next time, I hope you and your business are crushing it out there!
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