How To Write Copy: Boost your Copywriting Skills Today

So you’re a great writer, and you’re looking for ways to monetize that skill.

Well, copywriting could be just the thing for you!

Every business in every industry needs someone who can write compelling copy, and it’s a career that you can do from the comfort of your home!

Or, if that isn’t your style, there are agencies or in-house marketing teams to hire you too.

Let us introduce you to the art of copywriting and take you through the key formats and skills you’ll need to write copy that converts.

Keep reading to kickstart your copywriting skills.

Before we start, it’s crucial for you to know what copywriting is.

Copywriting refers to writing copy, obviously!

The copy is the words used in any form of marketing ― written or spoken. It's an essential part of every marketing strategy and can make or break an offer’s success.

The core purpose of copywriting is to call an audience to take some kind of action.

There's no point in writing it if the copy doesn't compel its audience to take action.

To be compelling, written copy must be short, to the point, and loaded with purpose.

Every character of every word counts!

In the world of copywriting, you can have three possible employers:

Below are the most common copywriting formats that you’ll need to know.

To begin with, you should choose one or two of these to work with.

As you master them, you can start learning more until you can do them all.

Eventually, you might want to work in all or most of the formats, but moving between formats could get confusing and it could ultimately hinder your success.

We suggest you revisit each one often enough that they're always fresh in your mind.

The appropriate format for a newspaper headline is probably not going to be sufficient for SEO-targeted content, for example.

Keep reading to learn what these copywriting formats are — We’ve also thrown in some tips on how to write them!

The headline is the most important element of any copy — it needs to make the customer want to know more.

This makes it the one necessary skill for every single copywriting project.

A good headline gets the reader to the next line.

However, a great headline is:

When a visitor clicks on your page, they usually leave in 10-20 seconds.

That means you’ve only got ten and twenty seconds to capture their attention.

However, a distinct value proposition can buy you several more minutes.

A value proposition ― in very few words ― should capture the essence of your brand, set it apart from competitors, and present your brand as a problem solver.

Let’s look at an example.

Systeme.io's value proposition is: “The only tool you need to launch your online business.”

These 10 words offer systeme.io’s essence, are competitive, and solve a problem.

They convey the ease, simplicity, and confidence that comes with using our platform.

The words “the only tool you need” imply that without systeme.io, users will end up having to use multiple tools because competitors can’t do all of the required work ― but systeme.io can.

Lastly, this value proposition solves the problem of wanting to launch an online business but not knowing where to start — systeme.io makes that easy.

There you have it, anyone who clicks on systeme.io's page will see its value.

And if it suits their needs they will stay on the page.

That’s exactly what a value proposition needs to do.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

Optimizing your keywords to perform well on search engines means the advert has a greater chance of being found by people searching the internet.

This is done by making sure that your headline is loaded with commonly searched keywords.

Using a keyword research tool, such as SEMRush or Moz, will help you identify the best keywords for your copy.

The company you're writing for may have a list of specific keywords that people use when searching for them online. Try to incorporate these as well!

You’ll also need to test these keywords to check that your intentions match the search intent of those keywords.

To do this, type your keywords into Google and check what kind of content comes up.

If the content matches yours, great! If it doesn’t, you may need to go back to the drawing board.

Direct response copywriting aims to invite an immediate response.

This means that as the reader finishes reading the copy, they are compelled to take direct action.

Direct action could mean signing up for a newsletter, making a phone call to a hotline, or making a decision to purchase.

Your choice of words must have a sense of urgency for this type of copywriting.

The words need to convince the buyer that they need the product and that the time to buy is now.

Direct response copy is usually long-form, meaning it contains more copy or words.

Radio and television copywriting are different to direct response copywriting because their goals are different.

Rather than wanting a direct response, radio and television copywriting aim to build brand identity and make people aware of the product.

This is done so that one day, in the future, they'll purchase the product.

Radio copywriting differs from television copywriting because you have to be extremely descriptive.

Listeners can’t see body language so the words need to show how the product can make the buyer feel.

The audience also can’t see the branding so the brand’s identity needs to be portrayed entirely through words ― this is where a catchy slogan becomes a game-changer.

Both of these copywriting styles need to be written in the way people actually speak, which is very different from how we write.

So make sure to adjust your style accordingly!

If you’d like to find out more about writing copy for television and radio, here are 7 radio copywriting secrets.

Also, check out this beginner’s guide to writing TV commercials.

Business to business is abbreviated as B2B.

The other types of copywriting deal with business to consumer (B2C).

In a B2C situation, the time between an individual’s decision to purchase something and the purchase itself is relatively small.

However, in a B2B situation, the purchase takes a lot longer.

Businesses often buy in bulk and therefore spend a lot more time doing research and comparing products.

That's why B2B copywriting has to take an entirely different approach.

Adopt a business-like tone and keep things extremely succinct but not boring.

Read more about B2B copywriting here.

This type of copywriting is in high demand — Companies love it because the returns are so good ― 38 to 1!

Sales emails usually go out on a regular, scheduled basis. So if you can get into it, you’ll constantly be in demand.

Consumers receive multiple sales emails every week, and only 9% of these are actually opened!

To ensure yours gets the click, your subject line needs to entice.

A good subject line needs to be less than 60 characters so it can be read in full before the email is opened.

You want your subject lines to have a conversational tone.

They should also give readers a sense of urgency or curiosity.

It's easy to monitor the click-rate, conversion rate, and deliverability rates of sales emails, which means it’s easy for a company to see how skilled you are when your sales emails smash the ratings!

500 hours of video are uploaded onto YouTube every minute.

That’s 500 hours of video competing for viewers!

A well-written script is what puts some videos ahead of others. This makes video script copywriters very sought after.

This video takes us through the process of writing for this format.

A video script should include an opening, a middle, and a closing that includes a call-to-action.

The opening should introduce the topic of the video or tell a story that introduces the topic (cold open).

The middle (the meat) should not contain more than five points. This keeps the video interesting and to the point.

Lastly, the close (wrap-up) must end the video. You should include a call to action for something immediate.

For example, encourage viewers to leave a comment below responding to one of the main points in the video or ask them to subscribe to see future videos.

This might sound really obvious, but you need to write well.

Your copy will fall flat if it isn’t pleasing and easy to read.

This means good writing and good grammar are key.

Writing software, such as Grammarly, can help with this.

Dedicate yourself to practicing your copywriting skills and put loads of time into proofreading and editing your work.

Consider doing writing courses to help you improve.

Although there are loads of copywriting courses you can take online, here are the best ten.

In order to write copy that persuades, you have to know everything about your product.

You need to know why your product is unique and what features as well as benefits your audience will love.

To create a helpful summary of your product, QuickSprout suggests you ask yourself the following questions:

Knowing your audience is just as important as knowing your product.

Knowing your audience means you’ll understand what they're looking for and how to speak to them.

You can’t use the same tone you’d use to sell bubblegum to kids, to sell software to business executives.

Your copywriting needs to appeal to what people are feeling, fearing, or hoping for, and you cannot appeal to these without some customer research.

Conducting customer surveys is an effective way to build a clear idea of your target audience.

This is also referred to as defining your audience.

Defining your audience will give you insight into what they already love about the product.

It's also useful to note who your current customers are, as well as who your dream customers are.

This way you can write copy that includes your current customers but also targets those beyond them.

The aim of all copywriting is to persuade.

Your copy needs to be persuasive so that it can convert.

Persuasive copy starts with a value proposition.

You’ve already learned that the key things to remember for this are company essence, competition, and problem-solving.

Now you need to show off the benefits and features. Carefully select information from your product description.

Prioritize benefits over features because these impact customers more than the actual features do.

This is because customers experience benefits that are caused by features.

You must choose which of these three types of benefits to focus on:

These are sometimes also called power words or magic words.

They’re words that jump off of the page.

They are turbocharged and aim to evoke emotion or trigger curiosity.

The persuasiveness of your copy depends on your diction.

The five most persuasive words for copywriting are:

Often copywriting clients are paying per word or have a strict word count that they want you to stick to.

You need to pack as much useful information into that word count as possible.

This means you cannot waste a single word ― if you do this, you’re wasting the client’s money and they won’t work with you again.

To make your copy as precise as possible, we suggest you try the following writing exercise:

If you’ve been given a job requiring 100 words, write the 100 words and then challenge yourself to edit it down to 50 words without losing any vital information.

Now try to edit it down to 20 words. You end up with 100 words worth of content into 20 words.

And, technically, you can get 500 words worth of content into 100.

You’ll be left with precise copy that gets to the point and doesn’t waste a single word.

Clients will love you!

The call to action comes at the end.

The customer understands what you’re offering, but they need to know what to do next.

Your CTA needs to be clear and actionable. If it’s quick, easy, and the process is clear, your chances of conversion will go up.

The video script copywriting CTA example to "write a comment below" or "subscribe to see more videos," is a perfect example of a straightforward CTA.

It’s straightforward because viewers know exactly what to do and what outcomes to expect.

Make use of imperative verbs such as “Act Now,” “Apply Today,” or “Download Now”.

Here’s a list of handy imperative verbs.

Visually, the CTA should stand out, so make it larger or more colorful than the rest of the copy.

If you’re staring on a blank page and you’re not sure where to start with your copy, you should try the AIDA formula!

This formula includes some of the tips we’ve already discussed and is a great way to get them in the correct order for your copy.

With AIDA, you can also make sure that your copy is ticking all the boxes it needs to tick.

AIDA stands for:

Although copywriting has been around for ages, it’s always evolving and finding ways to keep modern audiences captivated.

The world of copywriting is big, with loads of space for you.

We hope that this guide has given you some helpful tips to get you off the ground!

Remember to keep practicing and keep learning.

And, if all else fails, whip out this guide and your lists of power words to get inspired!

Now that you know everything about the art of copywriting, it’s time for us to call you to action!

Start copywriting now!

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