Marketing and copywriting go hand in hand. You need to write copy for your website, your social media profiles, your sales materials.
Not only that, but it needs to be done well. Copywriting is an extremely important communications tools that directly affect how people perceive and feel about your small business.
It can be a daunting task – use these 9 tips to make things a little easier on your small business…
- If you suck at or severely dislike writing, don’t. Hire a copywriter. An important productivity (and happiness) rule is to do and focus on what you love and what you are good at. Outsource the rest.
- Write a draft and then hire a copywriter. You can cut copywriting costs by providing a draft – it turns the project into a polishing/editing endeavour, vs content creation from scratch. This is especially important if your spelling/grammar are poor and/or you need help with readability and flow.
- Don’t be stuffy and boring. Write in a conversational way. Many businesses make the mistake of being too professional sounding in their copy, trying to communicate credibility. It only just frustrates readers, especially if there is any industry jargon involved. Make your copy readable by writing like you talk.
- Talk to your audience. Use their language. Create a connection through the words and tone you use. If you’re hiring a copywriter, give them a list of adjectives that would describe your target audience.
- Break it up. Bullets. Headings. Bolding. This helps to make your copy easy to scan and digest.
- Use a thesaurus. Avoid repeating words. It breaks up the flow of your copy and is not very interesting to read. If you’re stuck, a thesaurus can be a really big help!
- Write a no-holds barred first draft. I personally like by starting with a copy free flow session. I just let all my ideas flow out and I get them ALL down. Afterwards I’ll pick through and find the gems.
- Don’t go to print (or publish) until you’ve had a proof read. Your brain sometimes sees not what is written but the message that you have in your head. Especially when you’ve been working with a piece of copy for quite some time. You simply won’t see the mistakes. Getting someone else, whether a pro or one of your staff, to give the copy a reread is very important.
- Have fun! Don’t take language too seriously. Think of it as a creative art. Use your imagination. Don’t be afraid to change things up.
Do you have any other copywriting tips to share? Would love to hear them in the comments!
Comments, likes and tweets are always appreciated! Did I mention that I LOVE your feedback?
Image source: healingdream / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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