Copy-writing is an incredibly valuable skill to any business as it helps express the values of the business, communicate with the customers in clear terms and show credibility of the business. This might seem like a simple enough task but as I mentioned in an earlier post, What Exactly Is Conversion Optimization And What Can It Do For Me ? Conversion Optimization isn’t only about optimizing for the conversion rate, it involves implementing better marketing techniques and is an iterative process so you never really stop trying to optimize.
Truth be told, anyone can write a copy, but it doesn’t guarantee that the copy will be be good. The problem of coming up with a good copy is something a lot of people face, and most are not willing to admit that it is an extremely tedious task.
Conversion Copy-writing ( I promise you this is not a randomly made up word) at it’s best is more art than an exact science and it involves getting people to believe in what you write by eliminating any form of doubt so they will take a specific and beneficial action causing them to convert.
“You don’t stand a tinker’s chance of producing successful advertising unless you start doing your homework. I have always found this extremely tedious, but there is no way around it.”
— David Ogilvy, The Father Of Modern Advertising,
The best copywriters can assure you that, good copy rarely ever comes from intuition/gut alone but involves a systematic approach to it. Keep in mind that there is no single right way to do it. Your copy-writing must convey value, have clarity and be credible, you do not want to sound unbelievable or make promises you cannot keep. You don’t want to seem like the European colonizers promising Christianity and Education to Africans but instead enslaving generations and committing unconscionable crimes against a free people. I digress but you get my point.
According to a test by the Nielsen Norman Group, results showed that 79% of people don’t read, they just skim. However, 16% read everything.
Those 16% are your main target group, the most interested people. If people are not interested in what you are selling, it doesn’t matter how long or short your sales copy is. If they are interested, you should give them as much information as possible.
“Suppose your gallbladder has to be removed this evening. Will you choose a surgeon who has read some books on anatomy and knows where the gallbladder is, or someone who relies on his own intuition?”
— David Ogilvy, The Father Of Modern Advertising.
How To Write Good Copy
Conversion Copy-writing is an iterative process used to optimize your copy. You need to understand the process involved and not depend on intuition or inspiration. This process I will share will share with you is easy and applicable on any digital asset.
There are six steps involved in this process, these are:
Research.
Outline.
Draft.
Conversion boost.
Revise, Rewrite, Rearrange.
Test.
Repeat
Research
You cannot write good copy unless you can accurately answer these questions:
Who are you writing for ? (Customer profile)
How does this person think? (Helps you understand what you need to address in the copy)
What does this person need ? (The key problems to solve)
What does the product help you do ? (Tells you words they, your customers, use to describe your product)
What made you choose our product ? (Tells you your key advantage)
These question will help you understand more about the audience you are writing for. You might be able to answer the first question on your own, but the others will involve communicating directly with customers. You need to speak their language and understand the information they need so you can give them. The copy needs to match the conversation going on in their head.
Outline
Now that you are done with your research, and you have collated your data, you should have a pretty good idea on how to form the outline of what your copy should contain.
Headline (The end benefit in one short sentence. The attention grabber)
Value Proposition: A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered. It’s the primary reason a prospect should buy from you. The value proposition is usually a block of text with a visual.
Sub-Headline (A specific explanation of what you do/offer, for whom, and why is it useful)
Bullet points (List the key benefits or features)
Your outline will form the frame work of what your draft will look like.
Draft
Once you have your outline, it will serve as the template for your first draft. The following tips should help you come up with a good draft.
Engage First! -- This will involve you getting your customers to believe in your message. People tend to agree with statements that are in line with what they believe in so if you can get them to believe in your first statement, they are more likely to agree with the rest of your message.
Avoid jargon and Superlatives -- Using complicated and fancy words will not make you sound smarter. Avoid superlatives unless you have proof to verify it. Your copy should be a natural conversation between you and your customer. The more complex your copy is, the less likely you will retain the attention of your audience. Compare these statements and pick which you believe more:
“Fastest pizza delivery in town” vs “We deliver your pizza in 30 minutes".
"We have the best Indian restaurant" vs “Our restaurant has won 6 Golden Curry awards in the Indian Food category"
“Cheapest video streaming plans” vs “Our monthly plans start from $1.99“.
“Cheapest video streaming plans” vs “Our monthly plans start from $1.99“.
"Best tasting Jollof Rice in Lagos, guaranteed!" vs " Major competitions have voted Jamo Rice the consistent winner Five years in a row"
3. Be Specific — Go straight to the point. If your copy is about you (your product, your company) and not the prospect (his/her problems, his/her life), you will fail. Make it about them.
4. Be Honest, Always — The best way to be honest and authentic is by being honest and authentic. It’s that simple.
Conversion Boost
This is where you implement your call to action, with a juicy offer. People want to feel they are special, so offer them something to boost your conversion.
Fast shipping / Next day shipping
Free setup / installation
No setup fee
(Better than) Money-back guarantee
A discounted price (for a product)
Review, Rewrite, Rearrange
Like the heading suggests, you revise what you have written, rewrite where you feel you can improve and rearrange your sentence structures. It helps to give someone you trust to read and give objective opinions.
Test
As with all things involved in Conversion Optimization, you publish your copy and test to see how well it performs and note the areas you can improve on.
“Human relationships are about communicating. Business jargon should be banished in favor of simple English. Simplicity is a sign of truth and a criterion of beauty. Complexity can be a way of hiding the truth.”
Alright! That was fun. I hope you learned something today.