Whether you’re an experienced copywriter, or you’re just getting started, learning the basics of copywriting is critical to your success as a copywriter.
What is copywriting? In short, copywriting is the process of taking a written proposal and transforming it into a compelling narrative that will appeal to your target audience. This is often referred to as “cold” or “hard” selling, because unlike salespeople, copywriters are not necessarily trying to persuade you to buy something. Instead, they are trying to convince you to take a particular action or make a certain decision.
If you’re looking to get started as a copywriter, you have multiple options available to you. You can become a freelancer and take on clients as you grow your practice, or you can become a contract worker and take on short-term assignments for large companies. There is also the option of joining a copywriting agency as an employee, which provides you with the opportunity to learn the ropes from seasoned professionals. Whichever route you choose, make sure that you prepare for the industry by getting the necessary training and licensing that your state requires to practice.
The Anatomy of a Great Copy
If you’re new to the industry or to copywriting altogether, it can be difficult to know how to go about creating a great piece of content. The key is to learn the dos and don’ts of writing a compelling sales narrative. Before you begin writing your sales copy, there are a few essential points you should understand about the anatomy of a great copy.
The Hook
A great hook is something that catches the reader’s attention and keeps them interested in what you’re writing about. To create a great hook, you’ll want to consider the following questions:
- What is the essential message you want to get across?
- Who is your audience?
- What is the main action you want them to take?
- How can you convey this message to them using words and phrases they’ll understand?
For example, let’s say you’re a car manufacturer and you’re writing an article for a popular automotive blog. One of the essential messages you want to get across is that your cars are safe and reliable. To support this, you could use the following hook:
“The best thing about [insert your favorite car brand] is that, unlike other car manufacturers, they guarantee the quality of their cars for life.”
By answering these four questions, you’ll be able to craft a compelling narrative that will draw readers in and keep them interested enough to continue reading. Once they’re interested, you can pitch your products or services to them and ultimately make a sale.
The Promise
A great piece of content will usually begin with a great promise. A promise is something that you can easily state out loud that you’ll keep once the reader agrees to your terms. To create a great promise, you want to consider the following questions:
- What are you promising your reader?
- Is it reasonable to expect your reader to act or believe in a certain way based on what you’re promising them?
- How are you going to keep your promise?
- What are the downsides of not keeping your promise?
For instance, let’s say you’re a financial services company that specializes in online investing. You’ve decided to write an article for a popular financial news website to educate their audience about index funds and the benefits they offer. To do this, you’ll want to consider the following questions:
- Why do you feel that index funds are the best choice for online investing?
- What makes an index fund different from the other investment options?
- How can an index fund offer the best of both worlds (low fees combined with high performance)?
- Does your audience have a certain profile?
- What is the typical buyer persona for your product or service?
By answering these four questions, you’ll be able to craft an educational piece that will appeal to your targeted audience. You’ll want to consider the responses you get from your target audience when developing your next piece of content.
The Pitch
A pitch is a short section of your text that describes your offering in language that is easy to understand and relates directly to your target audience. To create a great pitch, you want to consider the following questions:
- What is the main problem your product or service solves?
- How do you plan to solve this problem?
- What are your qualifications?
- What will make your product or service more desirable?
- Why are you the best candidate for the job?
- How can your product or service make life easier for your audience?
For example, let’s say you’re a law firm that specializes in educational legal services and you’re writing for a popular law school blog. One of your main problems your product or service solves is that it provides students with educational supports, like free tutoring, to help them succeed in their studies. To solve this problem, you could use the following pitch:
“Law school is expensive; without the right educational supports, it can be difficult to succeed. [Insert your company name] provides law students with essential educational supports, like free tutoring, to help them reach their full potential.”
By answering these four questions, you’ll be able to craft a pitch that will draw in and retain your target audience. You’ll also want to consider the language you use when pitching your product or service. It is important to keep in mind that your target audience will not necessarily be familiar with the language you are using; therefore, you need to consider how you will communicate with them using only the language they are familiar with. This will help establish trust and credibility.
The Call To Action (CTA)
The call to action (CTA) is a section of your text that encourages the reader to take some sort of action. Typically, call to actions are used at the end of a pitch to encourage the reader to click on an ad or a hyperlink, or to visit a specific website.
To create a great call to action, you want to consider the following questions:
- What do you want the reader to do?
- Why should they choose your option over the others?
- How can you benefit from having them perform the action?
- What are the barriers preventing them from taking action?
- What is the simplest way for them to take action?
For example, let’s say you’re a printer and you’re writing for a blog focused on technology. One of your main goals is to persuade potential customers to try out your high-quality laser printers because they produce flawless prints at a very affordable price. To support this, you could use the following call to action:
“Laser printers offer customers incredible value, particularly in the corporate world, where businesses can benefit from efficient, cost-effective print management. That’s why we developed a unique deal for our readers: get your very own laser printer for just $50 a month for the first year! There’s simply no other offer like this out there, so be sure to take advantage of it before it expires at the end of the month.”
By answering these four questions, you’ll be able to craft a call to action that will draw in and retain your target audience. While the call to action is not as crucial to the success of your content as your promise or your pitch, it is still very important. A well-executed call to action can certainly help increase the conversion rate on your website and help drive sales.
Additional Points to Keep In Mind
With any type of content marketing campaign, it’s important to keep in mind the following points: