Be a great copywriter!

It’s not just what you say...

It’s the way you say it!

Quality copy is powerful and distinctive.

You know it when you see it, even if you don’t know exactly why you like it.

It draws people in, creating desire for your product or service.

It leaves your audience in little doubt about what you can do for them.

And it conveys a positive impression of your company, helping to build trust.

Some tips

Here are a few tips for writing high impact copy:

Be clear – What you write might make perfect sense to you, but it might not always be immediately obvious to the reader what you’re trying to say.

It’s a good idea to read what you’ve written to someone. Ideally, this should be someone who isn’t in your line of business, as it allows you to see what you’ve written through the eyes of someone who doesn’t have your background knowledge.

Be concise – The more text a reader is presented with, the less likely they are to read it (however well written it is). It’s therefore important to make every word count.

A good place to start is with words and phrases like ‘very’ and ‘of course’. They are fine in conversational English, but often add very little to a copy. Kill them before they kill you!

Be reader friendly – Imagine you’re looking for a plumber because your boiler isn’t working. You probably won’t want to read through reams of text. What you want know is what the plumber whose website you’re looking at can do for you; things like:

• What products or services do they provide?
• What geographical area do they cover?
• What sets them apart from their competitors?

Good ways of helping to make your website reader friendly include:

• Using bullet points
• Having lots of headers that describe the text underneath them
• Having small paragraph
• Making what you write relevant to the reader’s needs.

Be natural – Would you prefer to deal with a garage whose website told you that it remedied automobile mechanical issues or one which simply said it provided car repairs? Most people would go for the latter – the wording is clear and unpretentious.

Many people are great when it comes to face-to-face communication, but struggle with the written word. A good tip is to imagine you were talking about your business to a typical first time customer, and write what you’d say.

Be grammatically correct - The importance of this cannot be overstated. A simple spelling or grammatical error can ruin an otherwise great website, causing visitors to focus on the error and not on your message.

Be inviting – Include a call to action that invites the site visitor to get in touch with you for prices or further information. Doing so could encourage them to do so.

Be confident – There is a time and a place for modesty, but your website is not it! It is your opportunity to highlight your strengths and get people excited about what you do. Back up your claims with hard facts where possible and don’t be boastful, but don’t be shy about telling people how great your company is.

Be humble - However great your website script is, there will be room for improvement. Rewriting or removing a script you’re proud of can be painful, but it’s essential if you want to write copy that sizzles. Don’t see it as a sign that you’ve done anything wrong. See it for what it is: an essential part of the creative process.

Be patient - Writing copy is fun and rewarding. However, as with any art, getting good at it requires time and plenty of practice.So don't judge yourself on your initial effort - instead:

• Take on board feedback - it's an opportunity to learn.
• Treat mistakes as something to be expected, not to get angry about.
• Have fun!

I hope you have enjoyed this article. Any comments welcome.