Text on the site is a resource through which you communicate with your visitor. Whether they become a customer or a regular passerby depends on the content written. This is the first step in communication between business and consumer, and therefore one of the most important. That’s why quality copywriting is the basis of a successful project.
But what content contributes to the prosperity of the resource and is considered high quality?
What is copywriting, what should it be
Copywriting – work to create unique texts for different purposes: to bring people from search engines, to inspire confidence, to warm up the audience, to sell goods.
For different purposes – different texts:
- SEO articles
- Commercial offers
- Texts for landing page
- For site pages (home, about us, contacts)
- Posts for social networks
- Email newsletters
- Announcements
If the text has solved a specific problem, then we can talk about quality copywriting. This is most evident in landing page development: the text there comes down to a single phrase that has to work in a matter of seconds.
9 important rules of effective copywriting:
1. The target audience in the center
Understanding your reader is the starting point. Find out who he is, what he dreams about, what he wants, is afraid of, why he doubts. Only after collecting all the information, you can reach the person.
Use clear words and a familiar style. Find out what doubts visit the consumer, eliminate them immediately. Only when there is a clear picture of the target audience’s problem it can be shown how a product or service can solve it.
2. Specific benefits
Clearly distinguish between abstractions (low prices), properties (prices from the manufacturer), characteristics (from 200 dollars per item), benefits (savings of 20,000 dollars from each delivery).
Abstractions are bad, it is better not to use them. Properties, characteristics can and sometimes should be used. But it is the benefits that will be the cause of the targeted action.
3. A clear path to the text
Where did readers come from: contextual or targeted advertising, search engines, from another page of the site. The audience you are addressing: cold, warm or hot. Such knowledge determines the style of communication and meaning.
As in life. You communicate differently with a taxi driver, employee, mom. You start meeting at a party, an interview, at the police station in a different way.
4. Everything is clear, no fluff
We formulate the target action specifically. Order, purchase, register, watch the demo version. A properly composed CTA increases conversion, and hence income.
An educational article should provide relevant, complete, clear answers to the consumer request so that the user does not turn to another resource.
5. We write simply and clearly
Leave all clichés and officialese for official business publications. People are looking for quick answers on the Internet. If you explain complex things in an accessible language, it will be appreciated. Do not use words that are difficult to pronounce, use their simple synonyms.
6. Uniqueness at its best
This is not a whim of the customer, but an important factor in promotion. People working on search engine algorithms want users to find valuable information on the Internet, not a thousandth copy. Therefore, sites with unique content rise higher in search results.
Unique content is appreciated by visitors, which contributes to the brand image and raises behavioral indicators.
7. Literacy
No errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar. This approach attracts customers, makes business more presentable.
8. Remember the structure
In SEO copywriting. Both people and search engines find it easier to understand structured data. First, the visitor scans the page, notes the subheadings, callouts, lists; if the information is interesting, they read on. For search engines, all elements are additionally marked in HTML code, which helps them understand the text.
In commercial texts. Techniques for writing commercial texts are based on knowledge of human behavior. To convince a visitor to do something, you need to go through several stages, each of which has its own task. If you don’t attract attention, you won’t be noticed. If you don’t spark interest, they will leave quickly. To offer a purchase at once will look aggressive.
9. We write for the reader
An ode to the company and effective self-presentation are different things. Self-admiration is not interesting to anyone. You have features, an interesting history of the company, great professionals, world awards – great. It is necessary to speak about it, but tell the client how they benefit from it.
What is a rewrite and when it is needed
Rewriting – rewriting text from another source, preserving the meaning but changing the words or sentences. Rewriting can be superficial (replacing some words with synonyms), deep (paraphrasing, complete replacement of what is written, but with the same essence).
Why do you need a rewrite when uniqueness is worth its weight in gold?
Badly written, but you need to keep the structure:
- remove officialese and clichés
- simplify complex statements
- improve uniqueness
- change or add the tone of voice (brand and consumer communication style)
- reduce or increase the volume
Fit for SEO optimization
- insert keywords
- reduce “fluff”
- bring keyword density to the required level
The performer should not add his conclusions and assessments to the rewrite of the article.
So which is better: copywriting or rewriting?
It all depends on the task. Copywriting is more expensive, but in most cases you can’t do without it. By copying other people’s opinions you will not be able to stand out from competitors, find your advantages, inspire trust.
Copywriting is not just about writing, it’s about analyzing and gathering the right information — that is what a copywriter does, and a rewriter can’t handle it.
A rewrite should be used to save money and time, or when you have an interesting source that needs to be reworked.
What is naming in copywriting
Naming is the direction of the copywriter’s work of creating a brand name. Very responsible work. The name will appear in all advertising campaigns. You need to choose a name that suits the business, will be understood by the target audience and will help to stand out from competitors.
Stages of naming:
- careful analytical work
- coming up with several options
- check for the absence of registered same names
- coordination with the customer
- testing
- final verification in the International Classification of Goods and Services
What is posting
Posting means publishing new entries on a web resource.
Social networks are an important marketing platform. Modern companies are actively maintaining pages on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram. This is a resource for attracting customers, so it should be approached seriously. A content plan and systematic posting are important. Posting articles to a blog is also part of posting.
How to find a good copywriter, what to look for
You can search for a copywriter:
- On freelance marketplaces
- On social networks
- In content studios
- On job sites
- By asking entrepreneur friends for recommendations
There are many copywriters, but not everyone can handle complex marketing tasks. It is necessary to determine what responsibilities he will perform: to think through sales funnels, to form USP, to select keywords and an LSI core, to place records on a site or to write articles to a clear brief. Make demands based on your requests. Many authors do not even fully understand what copywriting is, set them clear goals to avoid misunderstandings.
If you are selecting a specialist for long-term cooperation, arrange an interview. Find out how erudite a person is, whether the candidate understands human psychology, marketing. It is important to have a portfolio and ready-made cases.
If you have a limited budget, a simple order and you are thinking of contacting a beginner, arrange a test task (often on the terms of 50% payment). Then, without much loss, you can determine if the candidate is right for you.
Copywriting is not putting letters into sentences, but an important part of marketing. Quality copywriting is the way to successful business on the Internet.