As an online business owner you are probably going to need to sharpen up your copywriting skills unless you can afford to hire a professional copywriter.
There are a few simple things you can do to create copy that improves your conversion rates, not matter whether you are writing sales pages, email messages or blog posts. Here are five quick tips to help you write better copy from today.
Invest In Your Headline
The first thing people see is your headline or subject line, so it needs to be a strong one. If your readers don’t find the headline interesting, then they are not going to click or scroll to view the rest of your message.
As much as 50% of the time you invest in creating each piece of copy should be spent solely on your headline. Write several different versions (the more the better) and look at how you can condense your message into fewer, more powerful words.
Keep It Simple
In order to create a compelling copy, you need to keep it concise and focused, but also conversational in tone. Do not lecture your readers. You are there to engage and persuade them. Keep your sentences short and simple. A nine or ten year old child should be able to read them without difficulty.
Size Matters
On the other hand, if you are writing a blog post, do not be afraid to write longer posts than is often recommended. It is commonly recommended to aim for around 350-500 words per blog post, however much longer posts that offer quality content in depth on a specific niche topic can prove very effective in SEO terms.
For a sales page, the general rule of thumb is the more that a product costs, the longer the sales page should be. However, with more video and audio being added to these pages, the length is always changing. Overall, your copy should be as long as it needs to be.
This means that you need to make sure that your copy includes everything that a prospective buyer would want to know, while also not adding more than they want.
Formatting
Help your readers by keeping your paragraphs short, and by allowing plenty of white space. Each paragraph should contain just one point, with some supporting content. Use headings and sub-headings, as well as bullet points to help the reader skim through your article.
Double Check Spelling and Grammar
You cannot convey a professional image if your content is littered with spelling mistakes (or typing errors) and bad grammar. Aim for an informal and conversational style, but still pay attention to grammar and spelling. Do not simply rely on a spellchecker. Print off a copy of your article and go through it manually. Look out for spellings of words that spellcheckers often miss, such as “there” and “there” and so on.
If you use the five tips I have discussed in this article to guide you, you should see an immediate improvement in your copywriting skills. Tailor the length of your copy to the needs of the topic you are discussing or the product or service that you are promoting. Keep your sentences and your paragraphs short and simple for readers to digest. Pay attention to your formatting and double check for typing and grammar errors. Above all else, give your headline the attention that it requires to pull in your readers.
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