With great copywriting, you can sell almost anything. Only think about the last time you bought something. What was the selling point that made you buy the product?

While the features, benefits, or price may have all played a part in your decision, it was the copy that persuaded you.

You probably wouldn’t know about those amazing features or the exclusive price when someone didn’t figure out what is most appealing to you to put into words.

What is copywriting?

Copywriting is the art of writing persuasive marketing and promotional materials with the goal of selling a product or service. It is about convincing and motivating customers to take action, such as making a purchase, clicking a link, or signing up for your email list.

A salesperson can reach all of your customers at one time, but a copywriter can reach them all at once. They write promotions that are published in print or online. It also includes materials that are spoken, like video or commercial scripts.

Copywriting is everywhere, not only in your mailbox and on printed materials such as catalogs, magazines, or sales letters but also online on sales/web pages, emails, or ebooks.

Indifference to content marketing copywriting is directly aimed at making sales. It is more direct, more persuasive, and less open to interpretation. Still, content marketing, design, and SEO are all parts of an online marketing plan but copywriting ties it all together. Copy gives your design meaning and is the foundation for your content and SEO strategy.

When you write better copy, you can convert more readers into customers.

A copy shows what the company sells, why you should buy it, and what they can do to solve your problem. Copywriting is about telling a compelling story while convincing customers there is a need for your product. When you can do this right, you can easily make more sales and grow your business.

There are different types of copywriting with the intention of driving action:

Direct response copywriting: when you want the user to take action immediately. Examples are Social Media Ads to get a click, A billboard designed to visit the establishment, a landing page designed to get an email, or product descriptions to gain an “add to cart click.

Branding-focused copywriting: where immediate action might not be the priority. Such as magazine ads to expose the readers to the brand, a blog post to educate and connect with readers, or a white paper to establish the brand’s authority.

Long-term copywriting: The goal is to get a type of action at some point. Some examples are a magazine ad to make the reader think about the brand and buy down the road. A blog post that encourages sharing the article with others and receives signup or buys at some point. A White paper or guide to get the reader to buy from the brand or refer to a purchase.

Why you need to understand your product

The first important step in copywriting is to fully understand the product or service you are selling. It takes some time to study your product to see which features will stand out to your customers. You need to find what makes your product unique and what benefits and features will attract your customers.

When you already know your product inside and out, it will be easier to write down the benefit you are familiar with. Still, you need to research and capture more details to complete your product description and list of features and benefits. This will help you down the road if you create a document to fully describe your product or service.

Answer the following question to understand your product better:

Q1 How would you describe your product?

Give a simple two to three sentences description of your product. Something simple and short, as if you would describe your product to a customer.

Q2 What is unique or special about your product?

Identify what makes your product special and unique. Is it easy to install? Is it very exclusive? Does it have the newest technology? It has to be something that is your unique selling proposition (USP). And something that makes it stand out from your competition. So write down what comes to your mind.

Q3 What big benefits does it provide?

Describe the benefit that the product provides to your customers. For example, if you sell web traffic analytics software, tell your customer the tool helps to build a more profitable website, gain more traffic and generate more revenue. So write the benefits down, not just describe the service.

Q4 What pain does it minimize?

People generally buy to increase their pleasure or to minimize their pain. While you have already defined “the increased pleasure” with the benefits, you now need to identify the pain that is reduced by using your product.

As an example, for an insurance company, you could use a headline like” Do you pay too much for your insurance than you actually need to?” Then you can show how much they would save when they choose your insurance service.

Focus first on the pain and then talk about how your company minimizes the pain.

Another option is to make an ad that focuses on the pleasure of the customer when he can save money. Use a headline such as:” How will you spend the money you save when using (Insurance Company Name)?” Instead of focusing on the pain, the headline draws attention to the pleasure you could experience when you switch.

While the focus on pain elimination is more effective, both approaches can be tested and evaluated on how effective they are.

Q5 What features are included, and what are the benefits of each?

Write down each of the product’s features. You might not use all of them in your copy. It still helps to record them all in the same documents. List all of your product features and give a short description and benefit of each. The benefits are important as customers care more about them than the features themselves.

So take, for example, an internet provider. Most customers care more that they can watch streaming videos without interruption than the 50 Mbps download speed the internet provides. The feature is “50 Mbps,” and the benefit is “streaming videos without interruption.” Write down the feature and the benefit each has to offer.

Features are the more technical aspect of the product, but benefits help the customers solve a problem they are having. So it is good to record both.

Understand your customers

The most important step is to know who you are selling to, what customers want to buy, and what will convince them to make a purchase. It is about the customer and not your company.

There is a difference between selling to stay-at-home moms then selling to high-net-worth business executives. Your writing needs to fit the customer’s group because they have diverse hopes, fears, dreams, and exceptions. When you define your customer, it influences the way you write and how you sell the product.

As you can see, defining your customers is critical for copywriting. You need to know your targeted customer and might also create a buyer persona. A good idea is to do a survey where you ask customers what they are looking for, their interests, and demographics like age, gender, location, etc. With Typeform you can easily create surveys that you can send to your customers.

If possible, talk with people who already use your product or like it. They may tell you suggestions you need to address or areas you need to improve. However, keep in mind that people might not express the emotions that made them buy a product. They may give a rational answer but not what actually motivates them. So consider what customers do and what they say.

How to start copywriting and create amazing copy?

When you understand your product and customers, you have a solid foundation for copywriting. To create an amazing copy that reaches your targeted audience and drives sales, you need to keep in mind the following steps:

1. The right Tone

To write well, you need to choose the right words. The tone or attitude of your writing is often more important for context than just the words you choose. It tells potential customers if your brand is more serious or fun, quirky, or very professional. Also, the tone of voice helps your brand connect with readers by communicating character, consistency, and value.

Aim to give your brand a human voice. Focus on human traits and not marketing terms or corporate buzzwords.

Examples?

While information is often the same, the tone needs to be adjusted to the audience. It gives customers a feeling that they are in the right place and the product is right for them.

If you struggle to find the right one, you can use Grammarly, which has a built-in tool that helps you adjust the writing tone for your audience. It also outlines what tone works best for your audience.

So when you choose a general audience, the tool will highlight a sentence that might be too complex for a general audience to understand.

2. Headlines

A headline can make or break your copy. It doesn’t matter what headlines your write if for ads, websites, social media posts, or landing pages. It is about convincing the readers to click on your article or buy your product.

Five times as many people read the headline as they would read the body copy. So it is worth investing your time in a good headline as it might be your only chance to get your message across.

To write an attention-grabbing headline, use the following three strategies:

1. unique headlines

The internet is full of copycats and people who use other content. Don’t be one of them.

If you want to stand out, you need to have unique, attention-grabbing headlines.

2. extremely specific headlines

As soon visitors read your headline, they should know exactly what they will get from your product or service.

Don’t use generic, ambiguous phases; rather, describe specifically what your potential customer will get.

3. Sense of urgency

Make your audience think about what they will lose if they don’t take immediate advantage of your product or service.

For instance, are they losing clients or missing out on potential social opportunities? When you use Peoples fears of missing out(FOMO) in your headlines, it can help you get crazy conversions.

4. Persuasive writing

Writing persuasively means to change persons or groups’ behavior towards doing some type of action by using words to communicate information, feeling, and/or reasoning.

You need to effectively move readers through the sequence of steps and ultimately convince them to buy or sign up.

There are six principles of persuasion:

• social proof
• liking
• authority
• scarcity
• consistency
• reciprocity

Many objections are rooted in fear, such as making a mistake, being scammed, or fear of disapproval. As a persuasive writer, you shouldn’t manipulate them but reassure them they can trust you. Rember, no matter what you are selling, you always sell peace of mind.

5. Benefits

If you answered the above-mentioned product questions, you already know the benefits and features that are important for your product. The benefits are sweet spots where the thing you want to say about your product overlap with your reader’s interests.

First, explain how the product fulfills a need or desire. Show your customer how it will make their life better when they buy your product.

For example, “Save time and improve your Workflow.” It lets customers know they save time and have a more efficient workflow when they buy your product.

If you describe benefits, there are three main types to cover:

• Tangible: are the physical provable or measurable benefits. Try to make them real and powerful in the reader’s mind. Examples: “Markt leader, speed, value, quality, convenience, etc.”
• Intangible: These are the emotional or psychological benefits that can not be measured. Link them to the reader’s concerns. For instance, Sensory pleasure (taste, smell, hear, nice to look at or touch), Self-esteem, coolness, uniqueness…
• Commercial: These are the things that help businesses. Show the readers that their business needs the product or service. With phrases like “Save time, Make more money, Beat the competition, etc.”

Benefits don’t need to be unique, but they need to be convincing. It is a good idea to highlight the benefit before showing all the features. This way, prospects are more receptive and willing to read through the details. However, when you go the other way around and cover your features before the benefit, you might lose some leads.

6. Features

Now you can tell your leads what they will get when they make a purchase. Break down the features of your product into bullet points or little sections. Present your product features in an easy-to-absorb and innovative way.

Also, show what specific values set you apart from your competitors. Keep it simple but include key detail that explains why your product is the perfect solution.

7. Unique Value Propostion

The Unique Value Proposition(UVP) is what sets your product apart and what makes it unique from competitors. Your business isn’t perfect for everyone, so focus on explaining why you are the right fit for your specific audience.

For example, a smaller business with a smaller budget might want to focus more on getting organic Search engine traffic than on paid ads.

Your product doesn’t need to be good at everything. Rather show what sets you really apart. This is what you need to write in your copy. Make your value proposition short and clear with just a few words. For example, “Grow your website traffic,” “Get more Customers.”

Remember you only have a small amount of time(max 20s) to grab a vistos attention before they leave your page. Don’t make people guess what you offer; rather, have a crystal clear value proposition.

8. Solve pain points

Customers don’t look for a product or service because of how awesome everything is. They are looking for a solution to a problem. Those problems are pain paints which should be the main focus of your copy.

For example, people who look for a keyword research tool like Semrush want to get more organic traffic and rank better. This is the problem they are trying to solve. You could write about what the tool does and how it helps to research your competitors. But that is not what the customers are worried about; they just want to get more traffic.

The copywriter Rose Crampton states that there are six main pain points customers face;

1. Financial
2. Risk and trust
3. Ease and convenience
4. Productivity and time
5. Processes and journey
6. Communication and support

Think about what pain points your customers have and how you can solve that problem.

9. Use Social Proof

Social proof is a powerful marketing strategy because when we see that someone else has a good experience with a product, we want to enjoy the same benefits. Often a customer uses simple direct phrases that you could put straight into your copy.

What makes it so effective is we trust the information of other users, family members, or even celebrities more than the info directly from the brand. With social proof, you can make your copy more powerful and effective by increasing trust.

The following two ways leverage social proof in copywriting:

1. Using social proof to inspire your copywriting. Research your reviews and customer surveys to find out what customers love about your product. You can determine what pain point to focus on and the benefit to highlight by using social proof.

2. Including social proof near your copy. Add a review, testimonial, and case study to landing pages and your website to strengthen your copy and show that other customers like what you have to offer.

You can use testimonials that include things like ratings, media logos, subscriber counts, followers, and clients you have worked with.

10. A strong call to action

The final task is to tell people what to do next. It is time for your call to action. It seems one of the most challenging aspects of a copy. But if you did the previous steps, you can get a good conversion rate. Don’t overcomplicate your CTA; you can use a simple button with text like “Get started, Buy Now, Sign Up, Call Now.”

Do some basic A/B testing to see what CTA works best. Test button style, color, wording, and positioning.

11. Make your copy readable

You might be used to writing emails or blog posts, but this is not copywriting. For a copy, every single word must serve a purpose. And if it doesn’t educate a benefit or build a connection, it is better to remove it.

Normally you can use this rough structure of a landing page, starting with the Value proposition to the Benefit and Features and then the CTA. But it is often easier to leave the opening until later. So start first with the core of your copy which is usually the benefits of the product. And then, write your heading and decide how you get the reader from the starting point to the benefits.

Finally, you can integrate your call to action with some persuasive points. When you look at your ad and think it is brilliant, try taking the product out of it. If you still like the ad, it isn’t good. Don’t make your ad interesting it is about making your product interesting.

It is important to give readers the right information and build up your credibility. You can use different content bits where your link your call to action and take the reader through stepping stones to a sale.

Most people read online content differently than they do offline content. When you want to effectively get prospects make everything in between easily scannable. Use a header, bullet list, and a considerable amount of white space along the way.

Use highly persuasive words that make your brain light up. The most popular persuasive words in English are:

• New
• You
• Free
• Because
• Instantly

When you use these words throughout your copy in key locations, it will have a noticeable impact on conversions. Make sure to use the same words and slang your targeted audience would use. If you match the reader’s language, it helps them understand you better but also shows you understand them.

The following common words and phrases you might delete in important parts of your copy:

• like
• that
• in order to
• maybe
• even
• just
• a little
• perhaps
• really
• of
• so
• very

While sometimes these words are necessary, consider if these words are actually useful or just filler. This will help you make your copy more readable. Again you can use Grammarly to look at overly complex sentences and phrases. Substitute these fillers with powerful words that drive the action rather than using space.

12. Test your process

Copywriting is a process, so you need to figure out what resonates with your potential customers. While research and surveys are helpful, you need to A/B test your copy.

It is sometimes surprising what works and what doesn’t for copywriting. Sometimes leads have a different problem, or the tone needs to be adjusted. Also, customer tastes change over time, so it is good to have a conversation with your customer and get feedback about your copy.

For example, after a couple of years, telling your customers your service uses AI doesn’t mean anything. Today AI and machine learning could be a selling point.

But don’t test drastically different versions of your copy. Rather test one or two element changes and see what drives you the most conversion. Then pick the successful one and test it again and again.

A few elements you should consider testing:

• Point of view: e.g., “Save Now” versus “Get 20% off.”
• Button copy: “Buy Now,” “Sign Up,” or “Create your free account.”
• Headlines: Focus on different features and benefits or pain points.
• Formatting: Bullet points versus numbers lists
• Call to action: Test multiple CTAs that drive consumers to take action and see what works best.

There are several tools to make A/B testing your copy easy, including Google Optimize and VWO or WordPress Nelio.

A/B testing is an ongoing process that you should use to help improve your copy over time. Make more than one or two tests to correct your elements to get more sales and conversions.

Conclusion

Learning to write amazing copy is key to every successful online marketing strategy. Even if you have the best product or service, you can only sell them when you know how to write persuasive copy.

The copywriting guide will help you understand your audience and product, and you can discover how to write copy that converts. But if you want to learn even more about copywriting, check this copywriting course on Wealthy Affiliate out and read this infographic.

FAQ about How to Start Copywriting

What is copywriting?

Copywriting is the act of writing the text for the purpose of advertising or marketing a product, service, or business.

What skills do I need to become a copywriter?

To become a successful copywriter, you need to have excellent writing skills, creativity, persuasive abilities, the ability to understand and target specific audiences, and a basic understanding of marketing principles.

What is a freelance copywriter?

A freelance copywriter is a copywriter who is self-employed and works on a project-by-project basis for various clients instead of being an employee of a particular company.

How do I become a freelance copywriter?

To become a freelance copywriter, you need to develop your copywriting skills, create a portfolio of your work, learn how to pitch to potential clients, and network in the industry.

What is copywriting business?

A copywriting business is a business that provides copywriting services to clients. It can be a freelance business or a copywriting agency with employees.

What are the types of copywriting?

There are various types of copywriting, including direct response copywriting, content marketing, email copywriting, social media copywriting, and more.

How do I write copy?

To write effective copy, you need to understand your audience, create a compelling message, use persuasive language, and incorporate a call to action.

What is a copywriting portfolio?

A copywriting portfolio is a collection of your best copywriting work that demonstrates your writing skills and style to potential clients or employers.

Can I start a copywriting career in 2023?

Yes, you can start a copywriting career at any time. With the rise of digital marketing, the demand for skilled copywriters is expected to grow in the coming years.

How do I become a successful copywriter?

To become a successful copywriter, you need to continually improve your skills, stay up-to-date with industry trends, network with other professionals, and build a strong personal brand.

Is it possible to work as a copywriter with no experience?

Yes, it is possible to work as a copywriter with no experience. However, you will need to develop your writing skills and create a portfolio of your work to demonstrate your abilities to potential clients or employers.

Why is Copywriting important?

Copywriting is important because it helps businesses and organizations to achieve their goals by communicating effectively with their target audience and persuading them to take a specific action.

How can I learn Copywriting?

You can learn Copywriting by reading books on the subject, taking courses or workshops, practicing your writing skills, and studying the work of successful copywriters.

What are some skills needed for freelance copywriting?

Some important skills for freelance copywriting include strong writing skills, research abilities, creativity, marketing knowledge, time management, and effective communication skills.

What is a niche in copywriting and why is it important?

A niche in copywriting refers to a specific area or target market that a copywriter specializes in. It is important because it allows copywriters to become experts in a particular area and to better understand their audience’s needs and interests.

How do I get started with freelance writing?

To get started with freelance copywriting, you’ll need to develop your writing skills, create a portfolio of your work, network with potential clients, and set your rates and terms.

What is a pitch in copywriting?

A pitch in copywriting is a proposal or presentation made to a potential client in which you explain the benefits of your services and convince them to hire you for their project.

How can I become a persuasive copywriter?

To become a persuasive copywriter, you’ll need to understand your audience’s needs, write in a conversational tone, use emotional appeals, provide social proof, and create a sense of urgency.

What is a landing page in copywriting?

A landing page in copywriting is a web page that is designed to persuade a visitor to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.