Writing copy can be easy if you’re good at it, but only if your copy is compelling enough to capture your readers’ attention and ultimately, their money. If you’re not a seasoned copywriter who already knows the tricks of the trade, pay close attention to these tips on how to write compelling copy that encourages your readers to buy from you today!

What Exactly is Copywriting?

Copywriting is a technique that uses written content, either for print or digital purposes, to market goods and services. The primary goal of copywriting is to promote sales by improving your customers’ understanding of what you have to offer. 

However, it isn’t always about big-ticket items—it can be about promoting yourself as an expert in your field or encouraging people to sign up for your newsletter. Copywriting doesn’t just apply to marketing products directly; it’s also used in job listings, web pages, brochures, magazines articles, and even advertisements. If you want to get better at writing effective copy for your marketing materials, there are some key elements involved: Know Who You’re Writing For: First and foremost, figure out who you’re trying to reach with whatever piece of copy you’re writing. 

If you’re writing website copy targeted at attracting high school students, then use words they’d understand and speak their language. Focus on Benefits: Next comes figuring out how to communicate key benefits without overwhelming your audience.

Why do you need a solid brand identity?

A good, solid brand identity can help differentiate your business from others in your field. It will help you stand out and give potential customers a quick impression of what it is you do. When it comes to marketing, brand identity is one of your best tools for differentiating yourself from competitors. 

Your brand should communicate who you are, who you serve and how you serve them better than anyone else does. The stronger your brand identity becomes, and more people recognize it—and believe in its value—the greater share of mind you’ll enjoy with your audience. And that means more people will turn to you when they need what you have to offer—whether that’s expertise or information or products or services—the kind only businesses like yours can provide.

What is Brand Identity?

Your brand identity is everything that represents your business. It’s not just what you say about yourself or how you market yourself—it’s also made up of every single element of your business’s presentation, from its mission statement to its website design.

This means your brand identity extends beyond marketing materials and slogans; it includes your company’s logo, office decor, even office attire. So when potential customers look at your business (online or off), they should see an image in line with who you are and what you sell: clean and professional in a financial planning firm, young and trendy in a clothing boutique, artsy in an art gallery.

The point is: Make sure everyone who looks at your business has a clear idea of what type of place they’re looking at!

You can see your current brand identity by doing a little online research. Check your business’s Google listings to make sure you don’t have several different spellings of your name or no information at all about who you are or what you do, etc… Also, make sure any social media pages are filled out correctly.

Tips on Writing Compelling Copy

Before you begin writing copy, there are a few tips that can help take your sales copy from lackluster to wildly successful. By thinking about what your customers want and need, you’ll be able to create content that will not only reach your target audience but have them quickly take action once they’ve read your words. 

Here are a few tips that will help you write compelling copy:

1. Make sure that each section flows into each other; readers don’t like having their train of thought disrupted by distractions. Use any and all techniques at your disposal (bullets, bolding and italics) to make it easy for readers to move through your page with ease.

2. Be direct. Any good piece of sales copy needs to tell readers exactly what’s in it for them, so be clear about why they should care about your product or service.

3. Convey value. Regardless of whether your site sells products or services, if potential customers feel as though you’re only looking out for yourself then chances are they won’t return to your site anytime soon—or ever again. This means being careful not to sell yourself short when crafting headlines or subheads—showcase exactly how valuable something is without overselling its benefits so much that potential customers don’t trust you anymore.

4. Create an emotional connection. According to HubSpot, emotions play a major role in purchasing decisions. One study showed that users who experience positive emotions before using a website are 1,200% more likely to purchase than those who do not; other research reveals that customers making purchases online typically do so because they want to solve some sort of problem. The takeaway? If you can create an emotional connection between your website visitors and your brand, then people will naturally come back because no one wants to resolve problems alone—that’s where you come in!

5. Be social-media savvy. The internet has created unprecedented ways for people everywhere to connect socially. That means that brands must become adept at marketing themselves on Twitter, Facebook, and any other site that consumers frequent. You might even consider creating promotional material specifically designed to spread via social media (and encourage followers to pass along).

6. Give concrete examples. Back up claims with details illustrating how great something is—why would someone buy your product or use your service if they aren’t sure of its merits? Plus, including real-life stories adds another layer of credibility; use testimonials liberally (with permission), giving due credit whenever possible.

7. Keep your message simple. It’s tempting to blurt out everything you know about a particular topic but focus instead on keeping your message simple—one thing your readers will remember above all else.

8. Keep tabs on competitors. Similar to keeping tabs on industry buzzwords, tracking keywords in your competitors’ ads will give you an idea of what works and what doesn’t in terms of getting web surfers to click through and convert. Just like in magazines or newspapers, knowing which words perform well (such as free, new, or percent off) can give you ideas for copywriting ideas—after all, competition breeds innovation!

9. Tell a story. Why is your product or service better than everyone else’s? How did you come to be in business and what does your future look like? People respond to and remember stories, so sharing a bit about your company’s history can go a long way.

10. Keep an eye on evolving technology. Google AdWords and other PPC opportunities can help bring customers in—but what if they don’t like what they see on your website (perhaps because it doesn’t work with their browser or phone)? Constant upgrades that keep pace with changing technology are important for businesses that rely on social media and PPC advertising to drive sales; if people land on a broken page, they will leave in droves and never come back.
11. Bonus: Check out listiller.com for writers looking to write great blog posts, copy, email sequences and much more on your behalf.

How can you tell if your digital marketing campaign is effective? How can you improve your site traffic, conversion rate, or customer satisfaction with the resources at your disposal? It’s not always easy to measure these things in real-time, but it’s easier if you have these 10 new ideas for digital marketing to think about when building out your strategy for next year.

#1) Launch a Twitter Chat

Twitter chats are a great way to start learning about your industry and connecting with fellow professionals. If you don’t know where to start, look online and find a chat that’s relevant to your category in the trades. You can either contribute to an existing conversation or create one yourself, depending on how well-versed you feel about the topic. Chats are usually recurring—meaning they’re scheduled at regular intervals—so it’s important to be consistent in both attendance and participation.

#2) Explore Instagram Advertising

Don’t think of Instagram as just a place to showcase your eye-popping completed job photos—it’s also a platform to advertise your business. Since Facebook began allowing brands to advertise on Instagram, the platform has opened up new digital marketing opportunities for contractors, giving them more opportunities than ever before to interact with users.

While most businesses are focusing their efforts on social media giants like Facebook and Twitter, it doesn’t hurt to explore different outlets where you can expand your reach and find potential customers.

#3) Utilize Local Search Ads

If you’re a local contractor, utilize local search ads. According to Search Engine Land, 75% of customers start their purchasing process by searching online. If your company isn’t actively advertising and building its online presence in these searches, you’re not only missing out on potential sales, but also opportunities to reach customers who might not otherwise know about your company or products.

With an internet-savvy consumer base, it makes sense to take advantage of new marketing techniques that can help grow your brand. That includes participating in social media, digital marketing and other means that are effective for developing an online presence.

#4) Start PPC Advertising on Google

Google is, hands down, one of the best social media platforms to advertise on. It’s also one of the most cost-effective methods in terms of online marketing if you know what you’re doing. The key with PPC ads is not just throwing money at it but being smart about your ads and knowing when to call them quits when an ad campaign isn’t working.

And that knowledge comes from practice—which means throwing a lot of money into a campaign that may or may not work. Start small. Test various PPC campaigns until you know how to optimize them for maximum ROI (return on investment). With time, your ROI will increase so much so that you can scale out bigger campaigns—but only after you’ve honed in exactly what works and doesn’t work.

#5) Promote Through an Influencer’s Account

You can still get great exposure by teaming up with an influencer. If you run a local hardware store, for example, search Instagram to find an influencer who shares photos of DIY projects or home improvement tips. When you reach out to them, ask if they’d be willing to mention your business in one of their Instagram posts next time they do a remodel.

They’ll probably say yes. (And it’s even easier if your company offers products they use). Note: This is obviously much easier when you’re promoting something that appeals to a broad audience (such as branded apparel) than when you’re selling something specific like vacuum cleaners.

#6) Create Graphics That Stand Out in Google Image Searches

If you want your website to show up in Google image searches, it’s crucial that you create attractive graphics that are eye-catching enough to appear at or near the top of search results. Some content marketers are smart enough to do what they need to do but, unfortunately, many aren’t.

So take advantage of other companies’ mistakes by creating graphics with original designs and clear messages so Google will show your website in its image search results. You should also add captions and alt text to all of your images so that visitors who don’t have JavaScript enabled can still understand what they’re seeing.

Additionally, add location data to any images taken from a mobile device so web crawlers can determine where each photo was taken.

#7) Increase Website Traffic through YouTube Ads

Whether it’s to promote your business or share something funny, Facebook is a great way to connect with people. People-based advertising allows you to take that connection even further by showing relevant ads to your friends, which can lead to more clicks and conversions.

The ultimate goal of every digital marketer should be increasing engagement with their target audience; people-based advertising on Facebook can help you reach your goals! Advertisers have been spending money on YouTube Ads for years now, but not as many contractors have tried using them. YouTube has a lot of options when it comes to advertising products or services to people who may be interested in them because they viewed other related videos.

By targeting users based on what they have watched previously, contractors can build brand loyalty by exposing users to similar products and content through sponsored video content. This kind of sponsored content could work extremely well if connected to previous promotions or offers.

#8) Engage Employees in the Social Media Efforts

People-based advertising allows you to target people based on their Facebook interests. As a home builder and contractor, you can use these interests to create custom Facebook ads. For example, if you’re building a community of 1,500 condos in downtown Miami, an ad targeting people who have resort as a Facebook interest would be appropriate.

If you build luxury homes in Manhattan, an ad targeted at people interested in galleries or museums would make sense. By narrowing your audience based on location and interest—instead of age or gender—you’ll find that your conversion rates are better than ever before!

#9) Measure Results with Segmentation Analytics

Facebook is much more than just a place to post selfies and viral videos. It’s also one of today’s biggest advertising platforms, which makes it crucial to stay up-to-date on what you can do there. Facebook ads are an easy way to reach specific demographics with tailored content—perfect for reaching your ideal customer base.

Try using demographic segmentation analytics tools like Followerwonk or Crowd Analyzer to create custom audiences based on audience characteristics like location, interests, behavior, gender, etc. Then use them in tandem with Facebook’s powerful audience targeting options. Make sure your tracking tool is optimized so that you can accurately track results, including likes and clicks.

Doing so will give you data-driven insights into what works and what doesn’t in terms of digital marketing strategies. You may be surprised by how much information about targeted marketing emerges from Facebook alone! Finally, once campaign performance has been evaluated within a selected timeframe, communicate test results clearly to decision-makers.

#10) Use People-Based Advertising on Facebook

Did you know that Facebook is now one of Google’s biggest competitors? Sure, it’s an advertising platform and not a search engine, but it offers all kinds of custom targeting options and can help bring in new business. For example, you could run a campaign specifically to reach people who live within 5 miles of your office, or who work at major corporations such as Nike or Pepsi.

Facebook has plenty of ways to promote posts organically, too. Use Promoted Posts: Promoted posts are easy to create using targeted interests and keywords—and they look just like any other post on your page.

In Conclusion

With new technology and social media trends changing frequently, it can be hard to stay on top of digital marketing.

This article originally posted on darrenslaughter.com