Hands up anyone out there who actually knows what a copywriter does? Go on, be honest.

If you are a little unsure then allow me to enlighten you. A copywriter is a business sales writer. Basically what they do is produce persuasive copy for all those brochures, leaflets, sales letters and websites that you see.

You could really call them the Uzi submachine gun of the marketer’s arsenal. It is through their mastery of the writen word that new customers are brought into the fold.

Do you write your own sales copy? A lot of businesses out there do. There is nothing wrong with that if it is working for you. But are your marketing materials really performing as you would want them to? Is the copy on your website drawing traffic to it and the right kind of traffic? Basically what I am asking is are you frustrated by the lack of success of your marketing efforts?

If the answer is ‘yes’ then you need to find yourself a good freelance copywriter. What they will do is produce a portfolio of effective copy (emails, newsletters, web copy, brochure copy etc.) that will increase your sales, create continuity in your marketing and therefore create an image of trust and credibility in the eyes of your customers.

Perhaps you haven’t gone down this route because you think it is too expensive. But just think for a moment. How much of your time have you spent trying to write good copy? How much is your time worth? Surely it would be better spent doing what you do best?

Good marketing writing will pay dividends. The initial outlay will be recouped by the increase in sales. Just think about that for a second…makes sense, doesn’t it?

By using the services of a copywriter you will give yourself the edge over your competitors. Remember, if you don’t use one, they will.

Sally Ormond is a professional website copywriter, SEO copywriter and advertising copywriter with extensive experience in B2B and B2C copywriting markets. She can be contacted at +44(0)1449 779605 or sally@briarcopywriting.com for any copywriting project you may have or for a complimentary webcopy analysis.

Before you start shouting at the screen, I’m not being rude or trying to teach you to suck eggs. Just think about it for a second. A copywriter writes to sell a product or service – that’s about as glamorous as it gets. But you have to understand your product or service before you can sell it.

All too often you see writing about a particular product that is focused on what it is rather than what it does. But that is only natural, after all if you work with washing machines all the time you will end up thinking about them a lot. If you make high-end market shoes, you’ll tend to think about them a lot too.

The problem is that this leads to descriptive writing not powerful sales writing. You’ll be so in love with what you do it will be the only thing you will be able to talk about. So with our washing machine example all you’ll be able to write about is how they wash clothes – great, but a sales writer would see them as a specifically designed labour saving device.

The same goes for the shoes. If you are too close you’ll sell them as high quality, stylish shoes (which I am sure they are). But your sales writer will bill them as the must-have for the woman-about-town that will make her irresistible to all men.

I hate to say it but no matter how much blood, sweat and tears went into producing your product, your customer won’t give two hoots. All they want to know is what it will do for them – will it save time? Save them money? Make them look successful? Make them irresistible to the opposite sex? 

Knowing all the facts about your product is vital but what is probably more important is the ability to dramatise them in terms of their benefits. Make your reader believe they couldn’t possibly live without it and they’ll reach for their credit cards.

Whatever form of business you are in, the effectiveness of your marketing strategy is the key to success. If you are a high street store you would utilise your window display to draw the public in. Once inside the door it is then up to your staff to convert their interest in to sales.

 

This is true for online businesses too albeit in a virtual way. Your website needs to draw visitors to browse before they start to buy.

 

The online version of the shop window is effective website copywriting. Obviously having a bricks and mortar shop, if sales begin to diminish you can always resort to loitering in the shop doorway, leaping on unsuspecting passing trade, dragging them into your shop and forcing them to buy. Obviously I am not condoning such a strategy but that is not something that is available to the online trader. Copywriters are unable to bodily drag in clients or herd them through your website using a cattle prod. But written correctly, their copy will increase the flow of traffic to your site and encourage them to browse and ultimately buy by being persuasive.

 

Persuasive copywriting is a skill that requires the use for four techniques.

 

• Evoking an emotional response – emotion is the most powerful tool available to the copywriter as it is the most important factor in the decision making process.
• Don’t be pushy – the customer is a canny animal and if they get even the slightest whiff of coercion they’ll be off and running as far away from you as possible. The key is to persuade them to make the decision you want them to make.
• Be familiar with the website – sounds obvious doesn’t it but it is vital that the copywriter is familiar with your site as this will impart a confident tone in their writing. Buyers need to be directed so they know what they need to do therefore the writing must be clear and precise.
•  Know the products – the copywriter must understand the product thoroughly so they can convey specific instructions and descriptions.

Therefore a great copywriter not only produces copy that will attract visitors to your website, they will also attempt to convert them into potential customers. Persuasive copywriting is effective copywriting and therefore will be the hallmark of a professional.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was just one little button you could press to make your audience buy? My job as a freelance copywriter would be so much easier. But it doesn’t work like that. Finding the one thing that will make someone buy can sometimes be like looking for a needle in a haystack (please forgive the cliché).

One thing that definitely won’t make people buy is clever marketing. You can make your ad look as pretty as you like; it can have a witty slogan or ironic content but that isn’t what is going to make your reader think ‘I must buy that’.

What will get them on the verge of opening their wallets is if the marketing strikes a chord within them. If you manage this, you have achieved the ultimate aim of any copywriter – you have tapped into their emotional reasoning. That is definitely the place you want to be.

Customers won’t buy just because you are trying to sell to them but they will buy if you can make them realise that it would be of benefit to them to own what you are offering them.

It could give them the solutions to their problems, make them more attractive to the opposite sex or guarantee increased income (be careful about what you promise). Whatever it is they are buying the advantages of your product.

People won’t buy if you fill your copy with adjectives, exaggerated claims or overt marketing as all this points to an amateur approach – they won’t be impressed and they will walk on by.

So get to know your audience, get inside their heads, find out what makes them tick and then you will be able to produce copy that will build their confidence in your product/service and will make them want to buy.

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

 

Let me take your business to new heights by making every word count.

Every copywriter wants their sales letter to be the greatest ever written. But how do you make sure that your message hits the back of the net rather than the crossbar?

 

The first step is to break down your identified goals into objectives. You need to think about what you want your reader to do; what should their reaction be when they read this letter? Basically you must identify - what it is you want your reader to know, how you want them to feel once they have read it and ultimately, what you want them to commit to.

 

What you want your reader to know

I know I have banged on in the past that your writing should be benefit-lead and not feature-lead but you do need to tell your reader some facts about what you are selling so that they can then justify their buying decision.

 

How you want them to feel

Not an easy question to get an answer to. Clients will often look at you blankly when you ask them. What you are looking for is something along the lines of they should feel excited about becoming one of your customers, or that they will be worried that they’ll be missing out if they pass up this opportunity. It is the emotional response that you are after. Not an easy little blighter to pin down at the best of times but if you can tap into your readers’ emotional tank you will be on to a winner.

 

What you want them to commit to

This is the call to action. It could be ‘buy now’, ‘recommend a friend’ or perhaps ‘book an appointment with an advisor’. Whatever it is it must be specific and direct. You must leave them in no doubt whatsoever about what they should do, how they should do it and when.

 

Follow these steps and you can be sure that your clients will love you forever more as they see a much higher number of customers in the back of their net.

 

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

Let me take your business to new heights by making every word count.