The Ultimate Guide For Creating Compelling Copy

As a business owner, it’s crucial to understand the huge impact that good marketing copy can make.

There are a lot of important choices to make in a marketing or advertising campaign, and the words you choose to include could be the difference between success and failure.

You want to knock your copy out of the park every time so your business can stand out like Beyoncé in Destiny’s Child!

But if you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry – First Page is here to save the day!

What is Copywriting

So, what is copywriting, really?

Copywriting is the art and science of creating compelling, persuasive, and interesting pieces of writing that persuade its readers to take some sort of action that benefits a business.

The actions encouraged could be to buy a product, click on a link, sign up for a service or event or register for a mailing list, for example.

It can be used to sell products, promote services, or simply generate leads. Copywriting is a highly specialised form of writing, and it takes both talent and practice to master it.

Once you have a firm understanding of the basics, you can start testing out different techniques and strategies to see what works best for you. But if you want to take the guesswork out of copywriting, we recommend reaching out to the experts to deliver powerful copy that truly ensures results.

What is a Copywriter

A copywriter is a marketing expert that specialises in writing words to persuade a chosen audience.

An important component of any marketing team, marketing copywriters create clear and effective content for marketing purposes, whether it’s in-house (for a particular company) or for a marketing agency.

What Does a Copywriter Do

Good copywriting is one of the most critical elements of digital marketing, which is where the expertise of copywriters comes in.

Copywriters articulate what your product or service offers while staying true to your brand voice and distinguishing your company from competitors in a particular industry.

What’s more is that great copywriting work can help attract more traffic to your website, convert leads and increase sales for your business.

Types of Copywriting

Here are some important types of copywriting that you should know about to be an effective marketing copywriter.

  1. Website Copywriting

As the name suggests, website copy involves writing the content that appears on a company’s website – from landing pages to contact pages.

It’s easier said than done, though. Not only do you have to capture the attention of your audience from the moment they see your landing page; but you also have to keep them engaged long enough to actually find out what your website is all about and take the desired action.

You want your content to excite your customers, not make them fall asleep!

Your marketing copy needs to keep your website informative without presenting your readers with information overload.

  1. SEO Copywriting

    Search engine optimisation (SEO) copywriting involves writing copy that is designed to rank highly on search engines, increasing the visibility of your webpage and ideally growing leads.

    SEO best practices should always be followed – which means you must include high-performing keywords that are relevant to your product or service while engaging your audience.

    That’s not to say that the goal is to manipulate the system and simply stuff your web copy with keywords.

    This method will actually kick you in the butt and hurt your ranking. Karma is real!

    Instead, you need to use keywords thoughtfully and sparingly, so that your content is still readable and engaging.

    In addition to using keywords, there are a few other things you can do to make your marketing materials more search engine friendly. Use headings and subheadings to break up your text, and include links to other relevant pages on your site.

    1. Product Copywriting

      Effective copywriting is necessary when describing products because it not only informs customers about what your product does but also persuades them to take action and buy it.

      Product copywriting should be concise, clearly highlighting the features and benefits that comprise your unique value proposition and serve their needs and wants.

      The key to product copywriting is to always keep your customers at the forefront of your mind. Think of how you can articulate your product in a way that is appealing to them.

    2. Ad Copywriting

      Although all creative copywriting will include promotional messages, ad copywriting specifically refers to the marketing copy used for physical or online advertising campaigns, including social media and Google ads.

      Using the right words and tone in your ad copy can make all the difference in whether or not customers respond to your marketing campaign and take a particular action.

      Remember that ads are a type of short-form marketing material – which means that you have fewer words to work with to capture the attention of your clients, so make it count!

    3. Social Media Copywriting

      From Facebook and Instagram to Twitter and TikTok, social media has quickly become a vital part of any successful marketing campaign.

      Our lifestyles have changed and nowadays, consumers are constantly switching between screens and applications, not always taking in what’s right in front of them. This can make it can be hard to get your message heard by the right people.

      That’s why great social media copy is essential. Your goal is to stand out from the rest and get people to interact with your brand.

      During content creation, always think of your social posts as a whole. Write copy that complements the visual aspects of your social media ads and posts to maximise the effectiveness of your written content.

      Copywriting for social networks is all about creating content that is designed to be shared. That means creating headlines that are attention-grabbing, using images and videos to tell a story, and crafting calls to action that encourage users to take the next step.

      Creating quality copy for social media posts requires a solid understanding of the social network you’re using because every platform has its own unique audience and features, including set word counts.

      For example, the maximum number of characters allowed in a Twitter post is 280, whereas Facebook is ideal for longer, more in-depth posts.

      By understanding the nuances of each social network, you can help your content get the results you want.

    4. Email Copywriting

      There’s nothing worse than being inundated with emails from brands that don’t seem to be providing any relevant content to you. We’ve all been there and have probably unsubscribed from countless mailing lists for that very reason.

      When it comes to crafting marketing emails, first impressions are everything!

      The subject heading has to be attention-grabbing enough to ensure that customers don’t scroll past your email or worse – unsubscribe from your mailing list. Dun dun dun…

      Accompanied by eye-catching visuals, the body of your email should expand on the heading and be followed by a clear call to action to move the readers along the buyer’s journey.

    5. B2B Copywriting

      B2B copywriting is all about creating content that speaks directly to other businesses. This could be in the form of white papers, a blog post, or even website copy.

      When composing B2B marketing copy, it’s essential to avoid a hard-sell approach that only works to promote your own products or services. You need to show your potential clients – from small businesses to large companies, that you care about the pain points that are affecting their business and want to help resolve any issues.

      Taking this approach to B2B copywriting can help to build trust and credibility with other businesses which will help your own in the long run.

      Without doing this, customers will have as much trust in you as they do in a 6-year-old driving a car – none at all!

    6. B2C Copywriting

B2C copywriting is all about creating content that speaks directly to the needs of your specific audience.

Faced with an influx of marketing messages through various mediums, you need to ensure that your copy stands out from the rest so that your company stays in the minds of your target consumers.

Keep your language simple and relatable, and focus on addressing the pain point that your product or service can solve.

In addition, make sure to use strong calls to action that motivate readers to take the next step.

Essential Copywriting Steps

Copywriting isn’t a simple one-step writing process; it involves a lot of thought and research to do it well.

1. Target Audience

Before you begin, you need to know who you are writing for.

If you don’t have a clear target audience in mind, it will be difficult to write copy that actually makes a difference and turns potential customers into loyal clients.

Remember; it’s not just about what you say, but also how you say it. The particular audience you target will guide the tone of your sales copy – whether it’s professional, casual or something in between.

2. Objective

Copywriting is all about writing with a purpose. Now that you’ve figured out your audience, you need to determine the objective of your copy beyond the general goal of encouraging action from your customers.

You’d ideally want to see an increase in sales or subscriptions for your business, but how are you going to get there?

You’re not just writing for entertainment – you are writing to generate action.

3. Research

To be a good copywriter, you need to understand what makes people tick and then craft a message that resonates with them and makes your business shine!

Even if you aren’t specifically creating SEO copy, it’s worth doing keyword research to understand what consumers are using to find businesses like yours. This insight can help ensure that the copy that you are is always relevant to your customers and your product and service.

4. Write Your Heart Out!

For many copywriters, this is probably the most exciting part!

Make sure to write your copy to match your objective, appeal to your audience and ultimately convince them to take the action you want.

5. Check the Competition

A little competition doesn’t hurt! In fact, you can use it to your advantage by checking your competitor’s websites and social pages to see how competitors communicate with customers.

By seeing what competitors are doing you can determine what you need to do to make your content stand out from the rest!

6. Proof Read

The cherry on top of good copy is proofreading. While it may not be the most exciting part of marketing, it’s nevertheless an essential step.

Ensure that your writing is easy to understand and that every grammar and spelling mistake is taken care of.

Compelling Copy Checklist

To get this show on the road, we’ve created a compelling copy checklist so that you can ensure that your content marketing is on track to achieving your goals.

  1. Relevancy

You’ll hear it time and time again, but that’s because it’s important! Always ensure that your copy is relevant to your target audience and accurately reflects your product or service’s message.

  1. Convincing Call to Action

    If the overarching goal of copywriting is to generate action, it means that a good call to action is crucial, whether you are urging your reader to register to your mailing list, make a purchase or something else.

  1. Social Proof

Don’t expect every customer to simply believe your message straight off the bat. They might research reviews or ask friends or family for their experience product before committing to a purchase.

Including social proof is the key to increasing your credibility and positively positioning your brand in the minds of consumers.

If a customer has provided feedback or a positive review for your product or service, include that in your copy to give potential customers an idea of the benefits they can enjoy by making a purchase.

  1. Readability

Make sure your copy is easy to read, avoiding too much technical jargon.

Professional Copywriting Services

The team at First Page is fully loaded with the copywriting skills your business needs to grow. Whatever your needs are, we have the ammunition to create copy that converts.

As Australia’s leading full-service marketing agency, we are proud to provide a dedicated content writing service led by the best marketing copywriters in the industry.

Contact us today to take your copy to the next level.