Mobile Device, Coffee, Ocean View … Check!
But, wait! Before you click the keys, let’s talk about the essentials of writing marketing copy for your website, social media platforms, or blogs. A great subject and eye-catching imagery will grab attention and entice us to find out what’s inside. Yet, if your written piece is really going to be effective, we need looks and substance.
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the term “Content is King”. Words rock our world, educate us, and form our intent, purpose and promise. So let’s fine tune this ultra important piece of your marketing strategy.
What To Say
First you must be clear about the purpose of your written piece. For instance, you may be:
- Selling Products or Services Online (an E-commerce System)
- Advertising Products or Services
- Generating Leads
- Delivering Critical Information to Your Customers/Prospects
- Establishing Credibility
Like any good strategy, you must know your end goal, before you start mapping out the steps to get you there. It’s a top down approach in writing, too!
Once you establish your purpose, you can then formalize your topic, which will be incorporated into the title and opening paragraph of your written piece. You want to be clear about your subject so your reader (and Google) understands what the content is about.
How To Say It
Once you’ve established your purpose, you can roll up your sleeves and get to work. Perhaps you or someone on your team can put down some great verbiage; good flow, proper formatting, spell and grammar checks? Excellent! These core writing skill are essential and likely all that is needed for an informative business letter. Marketing copy, however, requires those basic writing skills, and more.
It’s a Different Twist
Effective marketing copy seeks to motivate a potential buyer and convert prospects into customers. But often, well intentioned copy falls short of that goal. For instance, a webpage may list off product features, service awards, and competitive pricing, in an accurate and factual manner. When it comes to really good marketing copy, this is generally not enough. Your copy must be client focused – written from the perspective of the buyer, not from an inward company perspective. Your buyers must have an intellectual or emotional reason to purchase your product or take the next step in the sales process.
Engagement is Important
Within your content, provide ways for your audience to engage by providing links to social media, chats, or contact methods. Social media can help create an emotional connection to your brand when visitors engage with other like minded clientele. Further, prospects and buyers alike will experience positive emotions when they receive personalized service. Be sure your social media and contact points are attended on a regular basis so you can respond to questions and comments promptly.
Call To Action
Marketing copy is designed to begin conversations that foster customer relations and promote sales. A call to action is simply a method by which a visitor can take any number of actions; click on a new page, visit you on social media, create an account, contact your business, or make a purchase online. With each written piece, review your purpose (above) and then link to an appropriate call to action at key points. Generally, this includes the end of each writeup.
Did you know? It is very common to experience writer’s block when writing about yourself or your business. An objective point of view can help. Reach out with questions about copywriting services.