8 Powerful Online Copywriting Tips
By Miguel Alvarez
Writing profitable online copywriting is a challenge for many Internet marketers simply because they are better at marketing then they are at being a scribe! It is very common to experience difficulty and frustration if you are new at writing advertising copy. Even seasoned, experienced writers who have been at it for years find it difficult especially when the copy must meet a number of length, SEO and content perimeters.
If you are just starting out however, you may not be able to hire the services of a professional marketing copywriter (even though the services of some of those listed at guru.com and elance.com are quite cheap.) Here is a breakdown of the top ten things you need to master in order to create effective profit generating ads.
Copywriting Tip #1. Imitation is not only the sincerest form of flattery, it can also be extremely educational! This is especially true when it comes to writing advertisements. Before you write anything your first step should be to type a few keywords into your search engines and see what your competition is doing. What approach are they taking? Do you have a counterpoint to their point of view that would make a good selling pitch in your own ad? You can certainly derive a great deal of inspiration from studying the copy on other sites that sell similar things as yours. However if you do find a site that you like, make sure that you don’t copy their proprietary material. That is a big no no that could get you in a lot of trouble.
Copywriting Tip #2. Also make a point of studying the copywriting that you admire on sites that are not related to yours. Study the style of how this content is written. Is it lean and spare or full of long descriptions? Is it a hard sell or written in a more casual way, as if it was a letter to the consumer? Subscribe to their ebooks, newsletters and other materials to see how they are laid out and if it is possible for you to do a similar thing with your own business.
Copywriting Tip #3. Set an intention for your advertisement. Determine exactly what it is that you want your online advertisement to accomplish. Online copywriting that tries to accomplish to many goals at once often sends mixed messages to potential subscribers or consumers. Decide at the outset what mission this particular piece of copy that you are about to write should accomplish. Ask yourself if your intention is to qualify prospects, generate leads, increase membership conversion, create anticipation about a new product or serve, attract more web traffic or simply introduce yourself as a new player on the scene.
Copywriting Tip #4. The best way to organize your copy is to first think about why you would buy your product or service if you were a customer. Your first step is to make a list of all your key selling points and then all of your product’s features. Decide which benefit or feature fits best with the intention you have decided on for your advertisement. Keeping these two factors (your ad’s intention and your most attractive benefit or feature) in mind is a great way to escape that writer’s block when it comes to writing your own online copy. Make sure that this key benefit and your intention is also crafted in one superb headline and one superb first line in your first paragraph. This helps get your advertising message across even if the reader only ends scanning your ad as opposed to reading it all.
Copywriting Tip #5. The most successful online copywriting is more specific than it is vague. For instance rather than say you have the “best food” it is better to say that you have the “spiciest genuine barbecue pork ribs this side of North Carolina.” The more specific you are with your language the more likely you are to attract the eyes of your consumers. Keep in mind too that if you are writing copy for Google Adwords that your submission will automatically be rejected if you use words like “the best” or “superior” instead of active statements that take a more active form of grammar.
Copywriting Tip #6. Back up your claims with descriptions and proof. This means that if you make a statement be prepared to include as accurate of a description as possible for your product. If you claim that your service can improve a conversion rater, back up that claim with exact numbers, percentages and testimonials. If you are selling a product elaborate on its features and benefits by including exciting adjectives in your writing that describe its color, smell, feel etc. Don’t be afraid to refer to the five senses.
Copywriting Tip #7. Help your customers distinguish your product or service from that of your competitors’ by listing all the ways that your product is superior or different than theirs. However be careful about mentioning the product by name too often, or even at all as you could end up sending your visitors to the competition’s site to check out what all the fuss is about quite accidentally!
Copywriting Tip #8. Embellish your online copywriting with graphics and images to show off your product. This is particularly important if you have an online store. Make sure that every photograph or image that you include in the advertisement also has a caption as studies have shown that people are very drawn to reading captions beneath photographs.
Hopefully by incorporating these tips into your online copywriting endeavors you can avoid many of the mistakes that beginning marketers make when they first attempt to create the content on their own.
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