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If you’re struggling to find the right words to write about your business, then these 5 tips for better copywriting should help to get you back on track! Whether you’re just starting out with writing copy for your business, or you’ve been doing it for years, it’s easy to get into a rut with the written word! Don’t get writer’s rage every time you sit down to write your own copy, try these copywriting tips instead.

Write for your ideal customer

This one is the GOLDEN rule!

A common mistake is copy that is not aimed at a specific customer. It’s too generic it will lack impact, and it’s trying too hard to people-please. If you’re trying to write for everyone your words just won’t connect, and they certainly won’t have your ideal customer springing into action to spend any money with you.

Before you begin, get clear on who your ideal customer is (hint: you can have more than one). Spend a little time fleshing out that idea, give some thought to what their problems and challenges are, what benefits they might be looking for and how your product or service can deliver these.

Don’t just think about the tangible physical benefits here either, saving someone time or making someone feel great are both highly prized and sought-after benefits! I feel another blog article coming on…

Now you’re armed with the info you need to grab the attention of your ideal customer with by appealing to their exact needs.

Talk like a human being

Sounds a bit obvious but I see this one all the time. For some unknown reason when business owners start writing about what they do, they get the urge to ‘go all corporate’ and use words and phrases that would never actually come out of their own mouths. Very odd.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and place for ‘corporate speak’ (in a land far, far away..), but generally readers will respond better to copy that’s simple to understand. If it sounds like a normal person is talking to them then it’s just more relatable!

To achieve this, you need to try and write how you talk. Lose the jargon, this includes any industry-related terms, internal names for things or acronym-style descriptions as these don’t mean anything to your customers. Making them feel stupid is not the best start to a sale!

Try to avoid cliches, they’re lazy and will make your copy sound unoriginal. Sprinkling adjectives everywhere like confetti is not a good idea either – less is more! Something can be beautiful without being uniquely, wonderfully beautiful – you get the idea!

Matchmake their needs/emotions to your benefits

This one sounds a bit deep and meaningful but it’s really quite logical and practical. Very simply, it’s about showing your customers that you fully understand them and that you’re here to help.

Thinking about buying a product or service usually starts with a specific need. This could be an existing need like a problem that needs solving, or it could be an unexpected need that becomes apparent when they read your copy. Or the one that all businesses want their customers to have, that good old just-gotta-have-it (aka I WANT IT NOW) consumer desire.

Writing killer copy is all about identifying these needs and matching them up to the benefits you offer, all written in a way that makes your customers heart sing. What you’re aiming for here is the customer feeling like you’re speaking directly to them. If something resonates then BOOM – you’ve made that instant connection.

Depending on the nature of your business and what markets you serve this can sound very different, but the principles here can be applied in the same way to almost anything.

Keep the customer front and centre

This one can often be misunderstood as many businesses think that telling the customer about their stuff is keeping them front and centre – wrong! It’s about writing in a way that puts your customer first, very much in the literal sense. Let me explain…

If lots of your sentences start with I, me, our, ours then you’re talking too much about YOU and not focusing on THEM. This is a big turn off for readers and makes marketing copy read like the instruction manual for an Ikea flatpack. Switch it around by starting your sentences with them and then delivering the benefit that you provide afterwards.

Here’s a quick example:

ABOUT YOU: My copywriting course will instantly improve your writing.
ABOUT THEM: Improve your writing instantly with this copywriting course

It takes focus, effort, and awareness to write like this on the first draft, so it’s ok to get all your thoughts down on the page and then go back and make edits to switch the focus to the customer. In fact, that’s how many professional copywriters do it and that’s the method I would advise. That way you capture all your ideas first, then whittle out what’s not needed to create something with a sharper focus. Trying to start with less and make it more is much harder.

Edit like a ninja!

There is no magic formula to great copywriting but learning how be fierce with your editing will make all the difference. Editing will always improve your writing and you don’t need to be a pro to have a go.

Here are some practical tips on what to look out for:

• Keep sentences short and use punctuation
• Keep it simple – one idea per sentence
• Avoid long paragraphs and break copy up into sections
• Use ordinary words, lose jargon, and avoid cliches
• Use subheadings to signpost and break up copy
• Remove anything that’s not adding value (extra words/padding)
• Ask yourself is there a simpler way to say this?

If you find it hard to edit on the page or screen, then a top pro tip is to listen to it! Listening to what you’ve written makes it much easier to spot problems like clunky flow, missing punctuation, sentences that are too long and the worst culprit – waffle.

Use the read aloud function in MS Word or record yourself reading it with your mobile phone and then listen back to it. The bad bits will stand out like a red wine splash on your new white top, once you’ve got over the cringe factor that is hearing your own voice!

Editing really is your best friend when it comes to copywriting.

Hopefully these 5 tips for better copywriting will help you in your business, but if you still can’t face the task yourself or you need a shot of inspiration from a pro then get in touch!

On my services page you can find a full list of the many different types of copywriting I can help you with.