Having trouble writing effective sales copy? Want to improve your sales letter and email marketing campaigns? Wondering how to write the perfect prospecting email? Want to spice up your marketing campaigns and website content with a little bit of creativity? This post will teach you how to write effective sales and marketing copy that will convince your readers to take action and buy your product or service.
Step 1: Know Your Audience
You can write all the persuasive marketing copy in the world, but you’ll fail miserably if you don’t understand your audience. Start by studying your buyer persona. Know exactly who they are, what makes them tick, and what problems they are facing. This will help you to identify the key benefits your product or service can offer them. At this stage, you are simply gathering information – you don’t yet have a clear idea of how to approach your writing project. As you move through the process, you will become more "audience-savvy" and able to write with more certainty.
Step 2: Create Moodboard
A moodboard is a place where you can brainstorm ideas for your sales and marketing materials. You can start by drawing a grid or a mind-map where you can organize your thoughts and ideas. Include everything from pitch ideas to marketing campaign slogans. In addition to helping you brainstorm, a moodboard can also be a place for you to collect inspiration for your writing. As a writer, it’s a great tool for keeping track of your ideas and expanding your vocabulary. In the moodboard stage, you are simply collecting information – you don’t yet have a clear idea of how to approach your writing project.
Step 3: Set The Mood For Your Copy
Setting the mood for your writing can be a lot like putting on a favorite fragrance. When you’re in a stressful situation, your natural scent can act as a scent for peace – it can make you feel more relaxed and at ease. In the same way, you can use specific words and phrases to set the mood for your writing – you want your readers to feel that they are in the right place, at the right time, with the right message. This is why it’s important to understand your audience and what they want – you can then set the right tone for your writing without using clichés or overused words. Setting the mood can also help you determine the right tone for your copy – you may need to switch to a more formal language in one section of your copy and a more creative or colloquial language in another.
Step 4: Craft The Hook
A hook is a statement that instantly draws the reader’s attention and compels them to continue reading. In marketing and sales copy, the hook can be used to promote a product or service, encourage the reader to take action, or build credibility with the prospective buyer. When you write your hook, craft it such that it’s as individual as possible – this ensures that the reader will be drawn into the piece and maintain their interest. The hook is a crucial element of your copy, and you must include one in every piece you write (even if it’s not apparent).
Step 5: Develop Strong Opinions
Having strong opinions is great, as long as they’re supported by facts. When you write marketing material, it’s important to develop strong opinions that will benefit your reader – readers hate it when they feel like they’re being sold to. One of the best things you can do for your readers is present information that is relevant to their situation and can benefit them in some way. When you write with authority, your readers will feel as if you’ve answered all their questions and met all their needs. Your opinions and advice should always be backed by data or some other reputable source.
Step 6: Match Your Audience
Writing is only effective when it’s meant to be read – you can’t just throw together a couple of sentences and expect people to understand what you’re trying to convey. Your writing needs to be concise, easy to understand, and – most importantly – it must match your audience. If you’re not sure who your audience is, you can always ask friends, family, or people you know that are already customers for suggestions. After all, they know you better than anyone else – they will be able to tell you what would make them most interested in what you have to say.
Step 7: Proofread & Edit
There’s nothing worse than spelling errors and sloppy grammar in a business document – it makes you look unprofessional and lazy. Spelling errors make the document difficult to follow and understand, and sloppy grammar makes it hard to believe you’re an expert in your field. When you’re writing marketing material, it’s important to proofread and edit the text for spelling errors and grammatical mistakes – this will make you look more professional and help the reader more easily understand your message. If you’re not sure where to start, ask a friend or family member to help. They can point out any mistakes as you go along – this will help you keep your spelling and grammar perfect.
Step 8: Organize Remarks
When you’ve written your sales and marketing material, it’s important to arrange your remarks in the right order and make sure everything is attributed. Organizing your remarks allows you to easily follow the structure and tone of your writing – this makes it easier for the reader to understand where each section of your copy fits and increases the chance of them retaining what you’ve said. The best way to do this is by using subheads – these are smaller headers that you can use to identify different sections of your copy. Each subhead should correspond with a different topic or thought. In addition to making your writing easier to follow, using subheads can also help you identify key points as you read through your material. This makes it easier for you to remember what you’ve read and what you need to write back – it’s a great way to improve your retention rate.
Step 9: Customize Design & Formatting
You’ve written the copy and now you need to write the design – but you don’t want to do it just yet. Marketing and sales material is often times quite technical in nature, and you don’t want to handwrite your design. This is why you’ll want to get a quality computer font (such as Arial or Helvetia) and keep the design as small as possible – so you can fit more text on your page.
Step 10: Test The Readability & Comprehensiveness Of Your Work
You’ve written the copy and now you need to proofread it – but you don’t want to do it just yet. Before you put your work out into the world, you need to make sure that it’s free from errors and is of good quality. You can do this by having another person read through your work and pointing out any errors or missing information. In addition to this, you can also use the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Test to test the readability of your work.
At the end of the day, everyone can write – but not everyone can write well. As a business owner, manager, or staff member, it’s your job to find the best people for the job – whether you need an author for a sales letter or you need someone to take care of social media – people skills are as important as technical skills when it comes to digital marketing.