It’s been a busy week and you’re already behind on your to-do list. There were those glorious few days at the end of April when the sun was shining and life seemed good. But the longer you go without checking off a task, the more you realize you’ve actually got loads of work to do. That’s when the guilt sets in. You wonder if you’re actually going to be able to pull this all off. Will you feel inspired enough to churn out some clever copy? Will your customers actually trust you enough to buy your products? It’s a lot to think about.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to create a copywriting strategy for your business. We’ll cover everything from big picture thinking to word choice and how to structure your content to attract the right audience.
The Big Picture
What is a copywriting strategy and why should you have one?
Whether you’re a one-person band or a large corporation, you’ll need to have some sort of marketing plan in place to effectively grow your business. In the digital age, having a solid grasp of digital marketing is a must. If you’re not familiar, digital marketing is essentially the practice of getting someone to click on your ads, visit your website, or enter their email address so you can send them marketing messages. It takes a bit of an approachable approach, unlike traditional marketing, and that’s what makes it so attractive to small businesses. If you’re looking for a way to stand out above the competition, consider trying out digital marketing. You’ll be able to set up automated email campaigns, track the results of your marketing efforts, and determine which methods are giving you the best return on investment. For example, did you know that the best performing marketing campaign to date was a combination of SEO, PPC, and email marketing? It’s estimated that this combination of tactics brought in $5.97 in revenue for every $1 spent.
While SEO, PPC, and email marketing are critical to a business’ digital marketing strategy, it’s also important to set the stage for your copywriting efforts by considering how you want your customers to feel once they’ve landed on your site. What does that environment look like? What are they going to discover? How can you guide them through a purchase funnel that’s as seamless as possible?
Answering those questions will lay the foundation for a successful copywriting strategy. To return to the example above, you’ll want to make sure that your SEO, PPC, and email marketing each contribute to that goal. For instance, did you know that the best performing SEO campaign to date was a landing page that integrated all three types of digital marketing?
The Product
Along with your marketing strategy, you’ll need to consider what product you’re going to promote. Are you going to use an affiliate product, or a free sample to drive traffic to your site?
The former is when an affiliate pushes a product or service with affiliate links, typically in exchange for a commission when someone buys the product or service through the link. Affiliate marketing can be a great way to earn a commission sales without having to spend a lot of money on sales material, such as brochures, magazine ads, or billboards. Depending on the size of your business, you might consider using an affiliate marketing program as a way to generate revenue.
The latter is when you give away a free product or service with the expectation that someone will click a link, visit your site, and make a purchase. You can use a tool like Google Analytics to easily find out how visitors reached your site and whether or not they converted into a paying customer. When it comes to the products you promote, it’s essential that you consider the target audience and how you intend to reach them.
Deciding between the two above can be tricky. If you’re struggling with this decision, consider whether or not you want your customers to make a permanent purchase. Sometimes, a free sample serves as a nice enticement to get someone to try out your product, but once they realize how it works, they’ll be glad to pay for the privilege of using it. Another option is to use an affiliate product to kickstart your copywriting efforts, and then transition to a paid product afterward. It’s all about finding what’s right for your business.
The Competition
It’s also important to consider your competition. What are they doing that’s grabbing attention and getting people to click, visit, or subscribe to their channel?
It’s important to view your competition as a good thing. They’re giving you something to beat, which is always a plus. But at the same time, analyzing your competition can provide you with a clear picture of what’s working and what needs to be changed. Did you know that the top performing sales page on Shopify, to date, incorporates both SEO and social media marketing? It’s estimated that this particular page has brought in $25.13 in revenue. That’s great, but it also means that it’s somewhat dated now. If you’re looking to dramatically increase your sales, this page might not be the best example of what you should be doing.
To find the optimal page, you’ll need to look at the keywords, structure, and content of the page, among other factors. For example, did you know that the words, ‘Click here to see the latest styles’ appear more than 70 times on this page, with an average of 4.5 words per occurrence?
This means that if you’re optimizing for keywords like ‘fashion’ and ‘clicks’, you’re going to have a pretty good chance of appearing near the top of the search results. So, if you’re looking to emulate this result, incorporate this type of keyword usage into your SEO strategy.
Also, what are the ingredients that go into a successful social media strategy? In the words of Scott Heiferman, a social media marketer at RazorGator, “attracting, engaging, and compelling customers,” are all important. To put it simply, make sure you have a presence on social media channels that your target audience uses.
The number of articles, videos, blogs, and other content you have on your site can be tricky to track. Luckily, analytics software makes this process easy. For example, did you know that the page you linked to above uses HubSpot’s analytics platform to track the results of their SEO and digital marketing efforts?
With a little bit of effort, you’ll be able to track the results of your content strategy and determine which types of content are performing best. Keep in mind that it might take some time for these efforts to start seeing results. But that’s okay. It’s important to remember that you’re building a brand, not necessarily a business. So it’s likely that you’ll need to incrementally improve and tweak your strategy along the way. That’s how you find the best results.
Your Audience
After you’ve got the product, the platform, and the content strategy in place, you can start thinking about your audience. Who is this product sold to?
It’s important to consider your audience when structuring content. If you’re writing for an overly generalized audience, you might end up with content that’s not as effective as it could be. This is why it’s important to consider the big picture, but at the same time, take into account your readership.
To give you an idea of how to effectively write for your audience, let’s take a look at an SEO article on Marketing Charts.
It’s important to note that while this blog post is geared toward marketers, digital marketers can still learn a lot from it. The first thing you’re going to want to do is consider your target audience. Who are you writing to?
In this case, we’ve got a relatively general audience. The post is aimed at bloggers, marketers, and business owners who want to learn about SEO. But even then, the generalizations come off as a bit cheesy. Consider the following quote: ‘Sometimes, you just need a helping hand with your SEO. That’s what this handy guide is for. Let’s get to work.’
This is a perfect example of something that would likely not resonate with most of your readers. The guide doesn’t seem designed to help people actually ‘get to work’, but more like a general guide for those who want to learn more about SEO. Also, if you’re instructing your readers on how to ‘get to work’ with your product or service and generate revenue, you might want to consider rephrasing some of the content.