5 Tips That Will Actually Enhance Your Copywriting
Many creatives love to write, and a great way to make money and build your portfolio is through copywriting. You can use copywriting to improve your website’s SEO, convert new customers and boost sales. Read more about these handy copywriting tips!
In order to enhance your copywriting, apply some science to it. You heard me right. Marketers and advertisers tend to apply psychological phenomenon to their marketing efforts, and with good reason. It works.
And copywriting is no different.
I’m going to explain more in a minute, but hear me out.
Marketers study psychology statistics and apply the science.
Copywriting is a marketing strategy because it’s creating content that can potentially convert consumers into buyers. Get it?
Website Copywriting Tips for Better SEO
Copywriting is powerful, and plenty of business owners and PR/marketing strategists know it.
So here are the tips they use to enhance their copywriting to convert readers into fans, subscribers, customers, you name it.
1) Your first sentence of copy should be short and grab your reader’s attention.
Have you ever read a newsletter or a blog post where the first sentence was 5 words or less? There is a reason why the writer did that.
People have short attention spans, and I mean, really short. The first sentence could be your only opportunity to get a reader to stick around and read the rest of your copy.
A shorter sentence takes less work to read, and if it’s good enough to capture the attention of your audience, they’re more likely to stick around and read the rest of your copy.
That first sentence is extremely important. Make it count!
2. When you use statistics, convey them in terms of people, instead of numbers.
Percentages dull people, but you still need to use them to show facts and statistics.
You can make a statistic sound more realistic by explaining it using people. Here’s an example of what I’m referring to: According to Fox Business, 69% of Americans have less than $1,000 set aside in a savings account. (Source)
To make this statistic more relatable, write it like this: Fox Business states that nearly 7 out of 10 Americans have less than $1,000 in a savings account.
3. When discussing personality traits, use “we” for the negative traits, and “you” for the positive traits.
Sometimes your written content is going to convey feelings. Those feelings will either be positive or negative.
Either way, there are going to spark an emotion in your reader. Be careful what you write.
When talking about negative traits, use “we.”
For example, “Sometimes we wake up on Friday morning, and realize we weren’t very productive this week. We know it was because of pure laziness.”
Using “we” in situations like that will make your reader feel like they aren’t being judged, and that they’re not alone in facing their challenges.
On the other hand, incorporate “you” into the positive traits.
Make your reader feel confident, and let them know that their positive trait is going to help them reach success.
It’s a subtle difference, but it’s effective.
4. Use words that stimulate the human senses in your copy.
The five human senses are smell, touch, taste, sight, and sound.
A good writer is going to tune into the human senses to stimulate a reaction out of the reader.
Adjectives and descriptive phrases will provide a meaningful description of a product, service, or brand. Give your readers a “sensory experience” that they won’t forget.
Think of it this way: your audience can’t experience your product first-hand (unless they buy it, of course – use your copywriting skills to convince them!).
Your copy is most effective when you tune into the human senses.
When your audience is reading your copy, they should be able to imagine what it would like to smell, touch, taste, see, or hear whatever it is you’re trying to sell.
5. When you’re finished writing, read your copy out loud.
Reading you copy verbally is the best form of self-editing. It sounds tedious, but this tactic actually works!
In order to catch grammatical errors and poor sentence structures, you should read your copy out loud.
Read it to yourself or to a friend. In order for your copy to sound more human, you have to read it out loud to yourself.
If a phrase doesn’t make sense verbally, it’s not going to make sense in the written form either.
When you read your copy to yourself, you will also be more in tune with how empathetic your writing sounds.
Why does that matter?
It’s important because you want to touch your readers’ emotions as well as their senses.
You aren’t going to be able to see their reaction while they’re reading your content.
So, your next best option is to read your content to yourself, and see how it makes you feel.
Remember that writing takes practices.
You won’t become a great writer unless you practice every day.
There are plenty of opportunities out there for you to zone in on your writing skills, like guest blogging.
While you write, keep these tips in mind because they are useful and will take your copywriting skills to the next level!
Do you have any copywriting tips to share?
Originally published on June 5, 2017. Updated March 7, 2021.
