Complete Guide to Copywriting
Copywriting is the art and science of writing copy (words used on web pages, ads, promotional materials, etc.) that sells your product or service and convinces prospective customers to take action.
In many ways, it’s like hiring one salesman to reach all of your customers. A sales team contacts customers one at a time; a copywriter reaches all of them at once through billboards, magazine ads, sales letters, blog posts, and more.
Design, content marketing, SEO, and growth hacking are all parts of a complete digital marketing plan, but copywriting is the glue that ties it all together. Copy gives your design meaning and lays the foundation for your content marketing, SEO, and growth hacking.
First and Fast: How Do Copywriting Formulas Make Copy So Much Better?
You start with a formula for what you’re trying to write:
A web page in general
A long-form sales page
A video sales letter (VSL)
An email
An ad
A tweet
A blog post
That starting-point formula will help you organize your messages for most persuasive impact.
Once you’ve got your messages organized, you start working through the elements on the page, VSL, email or blog post you’re writing. You use formulas to write a better:
Headline for a page OR a post (they’re different!!)
Value proposition
Testimonial
Bullet list
Block of body copy
CTA or button copy
Subject line (for emails)
You’re 90% of the way to complete when you have these pieces sorted.
From there, it’s a matter of optimizing your copy by applying persuasion principles like these, using the proven better copywriting practices found throughout this blog, and adding in a few of the fancy-pants copywriting techniques I share in my copywriting courses.
We’ve also added, for your writing pleasure: generators! If only because they’re entertaining.
NOTE: Copywriting formulas work best when you use them with copy research.
But how in the world do you actually become a good copywriter?
Should you spend countless hours handwriting famous sales letters?
Should you read hundreds of books on copywriting?
Should you go to college and spend $100k on yet another advanced degree?
I think there is a better way to become a world-class copywriter—an easier way that requires almost no investment from you and that will only take you about 30 days.
The first thing I want to point out is that this article is designed to help you become a world-class copywriter, not a master copywriter.
To become world-class (the top 5%) takes only about a month of focused, intentional work.
Breaking through those extra four percentile points to become a true master copywriter (the top 1%) will take you years, if not decades, of practice and dedication.
However, unless your entire career is dedicated to copywriting, all that effort is unnecessary. If you can break out of the realm of good copywriting and become great, the extra four percentage points are simply not needed to run a successful business.
Becoming world-class is completely achievable and can be done faster than you think.
Why Understanding the Product Is So Important
The first step in any copywriting project is fully understanding whatever product you’re selling. David Olgilvy, a legendary copywriter, is famously known for taking three weeks of meticulous study to come up with a winning concept for a Rolls-Royce ad.
The final headline read “At 60 miles per hour the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.” It took him that much time to find a detail compelling enough to sell a Rolls-Royce.And if it took Mr. Ogilvy that long to discover such an important selling feature, it’s surely worth taking some time to study your product to learn which features will stand out to your customers. That’s the real goal of this chapter — to find out what makes your product unique and what benefits and features will appeal to your customers.
This is step one for any copywriting project.
The good news is that as a business or blog owner, you already know your product inside and out. You know the features, understand how it works, and are familiar with the benefits it provides your customers.
This offers a great starting point for writing copy. Instead of needing to do in-depth research, you can begin by writing down what you already know. You won’t need to spend hours researching the product and taking notes.
On the other hand it’s still worthwhile to follow the steps in this chapter in order to capture all of the details of your product. By writing down a complete product description along with a list of the features and benefits, you’ll save this important information where you can refer back to it in later chapters.
It’s better to have everything saved in one place so you’ll always have it available at your fingertips.
So before you start writing copy, complete the following exercise to write down a description of your product or service. After finishing, you’ll know every detail of what you’re selling and have a better idea about how to sell it.
10 Crucial Copywriting Tips
1. Grammatical knowledge
2. Persuasion techniques
3. Getting to know your audience
4. Avoid jargon
5. Compelling CTAs
6. SEO knowledge
7. Conciseness
8. Enthralling lead
9. Write channel-specific copy
10. Complete comprehension of the offer
Good vs. Bad Copy: Real Examples
Now that you’ve had a chance to learn about what makes great copywriting, it’s time to look at some real-life examples.
I’ll show you some pieces of copy that I love, and explain what it makes it so great. We’ll also take a look at some not-so-great examples and discuss those as well.
This copy is excellent. For starters, the header tells you exactly what the platform is in less than ten words, while clearly identifying the target (remote workers).
The rest of the text follows a simple format; problem (before Basecamp) and solution (after Basecamp). This copy is written in terms that anyone can understand while giving readers a clear sense of how the product will benefit them.
Basecamp isn’t selling product management software—they’re selling a solution to working remotely.
The copy ends with an obvious call-to-action; give Basecamp a try.
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