Arm Twisting the Copywriting Way

No matter what your business, the effectiveness of your marketing strategy is the key to success. If you are a high street store you would utilise your window display to draw the public in. Once inside the door it is then up to your staff to convert their interest in to sales.

 

This is true for online businesses too albeit in a virtual way. Your website needs to draw visitors to browse before they start to buy.

 

The online version of the shop window is effective copywriting. Obviously having a bricks and mortar shop, if sales begin to diminish you can always resort to loitering in the shop doorway, leaping on unsuspecting passing trade, dragging them into your shop and forcing them to buy. Obviously I am not condoning such a strategy but that is not something that is available to the online trader. Copywriters are unable to bodily drag in clients or herd them through your website using a cattle prod. But written correctly, their copy will increase the flow of traffic to your site and encourage them to browse and ultimately buy by being persuasive.

 

Persuasive copywriting is a skill that requires the use for four techniques.

 

• Evoking an emotional response – emotion is the most powerful tool available to the copywriter as it is the most important factor in the decision making process.

 

• Don’t be pushy – the customer is a canny animal and if they get even the slightest whiff of coercion they’ll be off and running as far away from you as possible. The key is to persuade them to make the decision you want them to make.

 

• Be familiar with the website – sounds obvious doesn’t it but it is vital that the copywriter is familiar with your site as this will impart a confident tone in their writing. Buyers need to be directed so they know what they need to do therefore the writing must be clear and precise.

 

• Know the products – the copywriter must understand the product thoroughly so they can convey specific instructions and descriptions.

 

Therefore a good copywriter will not only attract visitors to your website but will also attempt to convert them into potential customers. Persuasive copywriting is effective copywriting and therefore will be the hallmark of a professional.

 

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

 

Let me take your business to new heights by making every word count.

What Makes People Want to Buy?

Wouldn’t it be great if there was just one little button you could press to make your audience buy? My job as a freelance copywriter would be so much easier. But it doesn’t work like that. Finding the one thing that will make someone buy can sometimes be like looking for a needle in a haystack (please forgive the cliché).

 

One thing that definitely won’t make people buy is clever marketing. You can make your ad look as pretty as you like; it can have a witty slogan or ironic content but that isn’t what is going to make your reader think ‘I must buy that’.

 

What will get them on the verge of opening their wallets is if the marketing strikes a cord within them. If you manage this, you have achieved the ultimate aim of any copywriter – you have tapped into their emotional reasoning. That is definitely the place you want to be.

 

Customers won’t buy just because you are trying to sell to them but they will buy if you can make them realise that it would be of benefit to them to own what you are offering them.

 

It could give them the solutions to their problems, make them more attractive to the opposite sex or guarantee increased income (be careful about what you promise). Whatever it is, they are buying the advantages of your product.

 

People won’t buy if you fill your copy with adjectives, exaggerated claims or overt marketing as all this points to an amateur approach – they won’t be impressed and they will walk on by.

 

So get to know your audience, get inside their heads, find out what makes them tick and then you will be able to produce copy that will build their confidence in your product/service and will make them want to buy.

 

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

 

Let me take your business to new heights by making every word count.

The Copywriter Shoots and Scores!

Every copywriter wants their sales letter to be the greatest ever written. But how do you make sure that your message hits the back of the net rather than the crossbar?

 

The first step is to break down your identified goals into objectives. You need to think about what you want your reader to do; what should their reaction be when they read this letter? Basically you must identify - what it is you want your reader to know, how you want them to feel once they have read it and ultimately, what you want them to commit to.

 

What you want your reader to know

 

I know I have banged on in the past that your writing should be benefit-lead and not feature-lead but you do need to tell your reader some facts about what you are selling so that they can then justify their buying decision.

 

How you want them to feel

 

Not an easy question to get an answer to. Clients will often look at you blankly when you ask them. What you are looking for is something along the lines of they should feel excited about becoming one of your customers, or that they will be worried that they’ll be missing out if they pass up this opportunity. It is the emotional response that you are after. Not an easy little blighter to pin down at the best of times but if you can tap into your readers’ emotional tank you will be on to a winner.

 

What you want them to commit to

 

This is the call to action. It could be ‘buy now’, ‘recommend a friend’ or perhaps ‘book an appointment with an advisor’. Whatever it is it must be specific and direct. You must leave them in no doubt whatsoever about what they should do, how they should do it and when.

 

Follow these steps and you can be sure that your clients will love you forever more as they see a much higher number of customers in the back of their net.

 

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

Let me take your business to new heights by making every word count.

 

GOAL! The Copywriter Scores

When beginning a new project, one of the most crucial aspects you will ever face as a freelance copywriter is the defining and setting out of your goals.

 

Ask yourself what is the purpose of the document you are about to write. It is important to remember that the sales letter you are about to create will replace a personal visit or conversation with the reader therefore it must achieve what you would achieve face to face – or at least what the most successful sales executive known to man would achieve.

 

So what might be your goal? Well it could be any number of things including:

 

• Make a sale
• Get opt-ins for your email list
• Open an account with you
• Increase spending with you
• Renew a contract
• Agree to a meeting

 

Whatever it is you must ensure that it is the goal that drives your writing and not your creativity.

 

Writers are creative by nature and therefore it can be all too easy to let your alter ego get the better of you. The first sign that you should ditch your copy is if, when you read it, it makes you smile; you want to show it to everyone with a big grin on your face shouting from the roof tops ‘look how clever I am’.

 

Ask yourself if it will persuade the reader to buy. If your answer is ‘no’, scrap it. You are not up for the ‘Most humorous and creative sales letter’ Oscar, you are trying to achieve the goal you have been given. Your long suppressed novel is the place for your creativity – make sure that is where it stays.

 

 

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

Let me take your business to new heights by making every word count.

 

Plan or Plummet - Don’t be a Copywriting Lemming

Guess what? People don’t like sales letters and mail shots. They see them as an intrusion and believe that their only benefit is that they can be recycled and made into something more useful.

It doesn’t matter how long you spend writing that letter, if it is unsolicited it is unlikely to be read. So what have you got to do to grab your reader’s attention? Well that’s simple, write the best sales letter known to man.

The quality of your letter begins even before you have opened a new blank document. Let me ask you a question; before you write do you sit down and work out a plan? You would be surprised at the number of people who don’t. Think back to your school days, I bet your teacher always told you to plan your essays and when you finally took that advice your grades began to rise. So why not do the same for your sales writing? Let’s face it writing without a plan is rather like wading through treacle.

Remember, whatever you write must evolve around your reader. Think about who they are, what makes them tick, where they shop, what is their lifestyle like in fact create a picture of them in your mind.

Now think about this:

• Who am I writing to? - this is your ideal reader, you know, the image that is now in your head
• What do I want to say? - focus on your reader’s needs not yours
• How much space do I have? - know your word count before you start
• How do I want to come across? - friendly, approachable, authoritative, unbiased…
• What’s my deadline? - always important to know
• What do I want to achieve?

The last one is the holy grail of your letter. Is your letter designed to make your reader change their mind about something? Do you want to motivate them into an action? Do you want them to buy something?

Your plan is taking shape. You know who they are, you know what you want them to do, now you can tell them why your product/service is right for them and what it will do for them (the benefits) and you know how to tell them what to do next (call to action).

There, that wasn’t so hard after all. Planning is important. If you are time-limited it is tempting to skip it and dive in - be warned, you will do so at your peril and your letter will be turned into a paper cup.

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

The Great Copywriting Fight: Features Vs Benefits

If you have been involved in the making of a product or service, the chances are you think it is the best thing since sliced bread. You have nurtured it from the initial brain storming sessions and through its infancy. You were there smoothing out the troublesome teenage problems until a fully matured product emerged. In fact you are so close to it, all you can see are its features and that will be all you want to talk about.

I’m not saying that’s a bad thing because we all want to know what something can do. But if you want to be a great sales writer you must understand that what the potential reader/buyer wants to know is how it is going to benefit them. What is it going to do for them? Why should they spend their hard earned cash on your particular product or service?

For example, you have made a pair of football boots, your sales copy reads like this:

• They are made from a unique leather
• They have titanium tipped studs
• The come in a range of colours
• They mould to your foot

What is your reader going to think? Shall I tell you? They’ll say ‘so what?’ turn over the page and start reading the latest celebrity gossip.

Now if you sold them on the basis that by wearing your football boots your customer would become a better football player, that is a benefit. The features will help your buyer rationalise their buying decision but it is the benefit that will get him to pull his wallet out.

People want to know WHY they should buy something, not WHAT they are buying.

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

R U In 2 B2B or B2C?

I have often been mocked for my view that B2B (business to business) sales writing should be treated in the same was as B2C (business to customer). But I laugh in the face of mockery – why should it be different?

 

• Can a company physically buy something?
• Can a company actually meet you at the coffee shop round the corner?
• Can a company sit down at a table and sign a contract?

 

Of course not therefore you are writing to individuals, normal human beings within a company. No matter how high up the ladder they are, they are normal, walking, talking and breathing people. So why treat them differently?

 

There are 4 golden rules to follow in B2B sales writing, stick to these and you’ll be worshiped the world over.

 

1. Keep it brief – you are writing to people at work so they will be time limited.
2. Business people are human - they also make decisions partially for personal reasons (more profits equal bigger salaries etc). Tap into reason and emotion for the best results.
3. You are writing to sell, so sell benefits – buy this and you’ll save money, save time, make bigger profits, reduce staff turnover, and improve productivity.
4. There is no language called B2Bish – keep it plain and simple; steer clear of cliché and jargon.

 

 

Follow these simple guidelines and it will be you who has the last laugh.

 

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

 

Let me take your business to new heights by making every word count.

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You…

You could be forgiven for thinking you have stumbled into a Yul Brynner fan site or the bizarre world of a The King and I obsessive. But fear not, this is neither.

 

What I want to talk about is the all important aspect of any sales writing – getting to know your reader. As I mentioned in my earlier blog, The 7 Deadly Sins - a Copywriter’s Best Friend, I am not condoning any method that could be construed as stalking. Rather, what I am talking about is getting inside your reader’s head. Find out what makes them tick; what drives and motivates them. If you can understand the inner foibles of your readers mind, you will find it a lot easier to sell to them.

 

Attention to detail

 

If you are sending out newsletters to your customers at least have the good grace to master the intricacies of mail merge and address it to the person to whom it is being sent, not just to ‘Dear Customer’. Rather than getting that warm and fuzzy feeling when you think the sending company cares about you, your readers’ reaction will be ‘oh great, another mail shot’ and it will be confined to the recycling bin.

 

People are real

 

So when you are trying to get to know your reader, don’t rely on market reports and data, go out there and actually talk to people. The betting is that no matter what your target audience, you will know some people who are in it. Be it friends, neighbours, people at the gym or at your local corner shop. Talk to them, find out their concerns and you’ll be able to write from their heart.

 

Multiple readers

 

You will be writing for multiple readers 99% of the time. This makes your life slightly more difficult but not impossible. Here you need to think about your typical reader – the person who embodies the traits shared by your readership. Ignore this and you’ll end up writing bland and tedious copy as you attempt to write for every personality known to man.

 

The main thing to remember when involved with sales writing is get to know your audience; you are writing for them. After all they are the ones who will be doing the buying.

 

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

Let me take your business to new heights by making every word count.

The 7 Deadly Sins - A Copywriter’s Best Friend

You have decided to launch your new marketing campaign. You have identified your target market and decided which product you want to promote. You are sat down in front of your PC with a blank screen in front of you. So where do you start?

 

Ask yourself what is your reader interested in? Let me give you a clue; THEMSELVES.

 

You must write about your product from your readers’ point of view. Don’t waste precious space telling them what it is: tell them what it does for them. In other words tell them how your product will make their life easier, more rewarding or complete.

 

I guess you are wondering where the 7 deadly sins come into all of this. They are the keys to tapping into your prospective customer’s emotional desires.

 

Pride - You can simply make your reader believe you by flattering them. They are important; they have huge amounts of experience and savvy. Make the suggestion that someone with as much talent for making the right decision as they have really ought to be signing up for/buying your suggestion, and they will.

 

Envy - Tell them people out there already have it and are benefiting hugely from it. They’ll hate to think they are missing out.

 

Gluttony - People will always want more of something. Be it for taste, comfort, sensation or solace. If you can convince them they will feel contented when they ‘consume’ it you are onto a winner.

 

Lust - OK, this could be a bit tricky. Try and convince them that this product will satisfy their craving and they’ll snap your hand off. You will also deserve an Oscar especially if you are selling something like carpet cleaner.

 

Anger - People get angry all the time. The last time I was it was over my mobile phone’s pathetic battery life (which I may add has not yet been resolved). Give your readers a way out of their present frustrations and they will thank you heartily for it.

 

Greed - This is a major motivator. People always want more of what they already have so promise more and they’ll be faster out of the trap than a greyhound.

 

Sloth - Yes, we are all inherently lazy. So if your product can save them time and effort they will gladly open their wallets.

 

Remember, people will try to rationalise their buying decision so all you have to do is provide sufficient objective reasons why buying your product is a sensible thing to do. But people will always buy on an emotional basis first so make sure your pitch presses one of the deadly sins buttons and you’ll be on to a winner.

 

Sally Ormond

Freelance Copywriter

 

Let me take your business to new heights by making every word count.

 

 

When is a Press Release not a Press Release?

When it is an advert! By all means create a press release to signal the launch of a new website, product or service but the key is to make it newsworthy – that way, your release will be accepted, published and widely distributed.

 

By following these simple steps, your press releases will be powerful, professional and successful:

 

Check it!

 

Once you have written your release, proofread it! Take your time. The more you invest in your company’s first impression the stronger it will be. A poorly structured, badly spelt release will not lead to an avalanche of enquiries.

 

Flex your muscles

 

Start off with a strong message. Your headline, summary and first paragraph should clarify your news. Use the rest of the release to provide the detail. Include your keywords in the headline, summary and first paragraph. Add your web address too and tell them who you are, it will add to your credibility.

 

Be professional

 

A few lines are all it takes to see if something has been written professionally or not. If you write with hype, slang, direct address or excessive exclamation the chances are that it will be viewed as an advertisement rather than a news article.

 

Am I bothered?

 

To coin my son’s favourite catchphrase, put yourself in your customers’ shoes and ask exactly that. Remember, this is your business so you are going to get excited about little things – but are your customers? If you are opening a new shop for example, is that newsworthy? What will make it so unique? Avoid clichés and focus on the elements that set you apart from everyone else. Try tying it in with current news issues, social issues etc.

 

Illustrate

 

I’m not suggesting that you turn in to Rolf Harris and ask everyone “can you tell what it is yet?” By illustrate I mean use real life studies to show how you help problem solve or how your product helps your customers. Everyone can associate with real life examples – they are a powerful tool so use them.

 

Blow your own trumpet

 

Forget the good old British reserve – your company is a success, you have reached a milestone, you have identified and solved a problem, you’ve hired a new MD. Whatever it is, shout about it. Issuing press releases (for online or print) is a superb way of creating expert status for you and your company. How about writing a tip sheet (a bit like this one) in your field of expertise?

Tease don’t tell

 

Although you want to use the press release as a vehicle for getting your news out there, if you need to, hold back. If you are launching a new service or product or have a new promotion provide your reader with a link that will take them to your website so they can learn more. If you give them all the information they need in the release why will they want to go to your website? By using this method your call to action will pull them away from reading and push them to take action by clicking onto your site.

 

Words and voice

 

Keep your press release voice active, use strong verbs and economise – be clear and concise, make every word count. Also keep away from jargon, I know you all love it but your audience doesn’t!

  

There you go – follow these simple pointers and you will be producing compelling, informative and above all, readable press releases.

 

Sally Ormond

Briar Copywriting