Copywriting seems simple, until you actually try it. From the outside looking in, what can be so hard about writing a few lines on a website, a newsletter or a blog? Sounds like a walk in the park to some. But you’ll know better than anyone if you’re a beginner copywriter that there is an art to it. You know the old saying — “Actions speak louder than words” well in the world of copywriting; words are the only tool you have at your disposal, so you better make sure they’re pretty loud.
Copywriting is essentially trying to sell something through the power of text; you sometimes have to appeal to a wide range of demographics and ultimately, it can be extremely difficult if you aren’t equipped with the right knowledge. If you’re just starting out in your copywriting career, we have some tips straight from the minds of Gloss to get you copywriting like a boss.
Do your homework
Research, research, research. Not the most exciting prospect in the world, but is essential if you want to nail a piece of copy for a client. The majority of your time as a copywriter shouldn’t actually be spent writing.. sounds stupid, right? But hear us out. The bulk of your time should be spent researching the client; what are their goals? What is their tone of voice? What is their current/previous copy like etc. We would say at least 70% of your time should be dedicated to research, this makes the remaining 30%, which is now your copywriting, so much easier.
Short and sweet
Try to refrain from using long sentences. Keeping it punchy helps your reader follow along without getting bored with a full stop nowhere to be seen. At some points you’re going to need to explain something quite technical. Long words and convoluted information is almost impossible to avoid. That doesn’t mean your sentences can’t do with trimming some fat though. You’re doing research right now by reading this blog post, but you don’t want to be working through it. That’s exactly what a reader has to do with long, winding sentences. Let your reader flow through the sentences, not trudge through them with their eyes getting tired.
Personality over looks
You might often come across copy that looks great. Really fancy words are around every corner, grammar is on-point and you feel like you’re reading an academic piece worthy of a masters degree. However, this is an absolute whopper of an error if you have no personality in your writing as well. People often focus on sounding clever with their words, instead of thinking of if the reader actually cares about what is being said. Think of people when it comes to relationships, most people would go for personality over looks. You can be model material all you want, that isn’t going to keep people sticking around if you’re no fun. This is exactly true when it comes to copywriting, focus on putting some personality into your copy, then make it look good.
Speak the language
As a copywriter, you have to alter your copy to cater to the audience you’re writing for. For instance, if you’re writing a newsletter that is to inform people of a University freshers party, you want to try and use language that people of that age would be familiar with. Keep it casual, keep it fun. Whereas if you’re writing copy that is going to go on a website informing people over 60 that they’re eligible for free eye tests, you’re going to want to use their lingo. It seems pretty obvious, but we can often fall into the trap of using language that we are comfortable with. If you’re a young copywriter, you need to try to understand that the slang you use isn’t going to be appreciated by all walks of life. Alter the language, see results.
Keep swipe files
We all need inspiration at times; that’s why keeping swipe files is essentially necessary for copywriters. Swipe files are basically logs of memorable content that you see that make you think “wow! I wish I thought of that” or basically just something that catches your eye, because if it catches your eye, it probably is doing the same for other people. This gives you something to look back on for pretty much every occasion once you have built up your swipe files considerably; so when you need to write an advert copy for a vitamin brand for example, you can look in your swipe files and draw inspiration from other work.
Solve a problem
Ultimately, copy needs to solve a problem for a reader. Most of the time, users aren’t going to a website because they think it’s a fun use of their time, they’re going to a website to solve a problem. Make sure that your copy is solving a problem, not just sitting there on a page looking pretty. If your copy solves a problem for a reader, the chances of them coming back to your site or buying a service/product dramatically increases. Think of your audiences’ needs and try to cater to them.
SEO is vital
You can write the best piece of copy in the world, if it isn’t optimised to show up on Google etc, then nobody is going to see it. SEO stands for search engine optimisation, and basically determines how well your blog/website copy/advert shows up on search engines. You can get in touch with Gloss here to delve deep into the intricacies of SEO, but in a nutshell, SEO involves the use of keywords, building back-links etc. A poorly optimised piece of copy neglects these factors and more and therefore will show up on the dreaded page 2 of Google, or even worse.. Page 3 or 4. Huffington Post once stated “The best place to hide a dead body is page two of Google.” Take their word for it!
We’re here to help
Of course, we can’t get through every little bit of advice in this blog post, copywriting is an artform that requires a lot of research and a lot of practice. Do not hesitate to get in-touch with us here at Gloss. Get in touch with us here by filling out the contact form on the right. Then just wait for one of our Copywriting experts to get back in touch with you as soon as they can.
