This blog might not be about marketing.
I just had a need to say something and thought why not use my blog to express it. I am gonna tell you something really personal. It’s an emotion that I can no longer keep inside. It’s waking me up in the morning, it barely lets me sleep. I’ve been trying to come out for a long time but I’ve never actually felt so courageous about it as I am now. Because I believe I could inspire you to do the same and then we start a movement, make a change.
Or if you think you can’t handle this, skip and stop reading. No, no, don’t read further.
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Aaah you, badass, you still did it! (high five!) Here it goes…
I know you just got curious. But this is how your writing should tickle your reader’s mind. This blog is actually about copywriting. Nothing actually personal, except that copywriting is what I love doing for living. I help companies sell their products or services through storytelling that catches their audience’s attention and gives them information about the benefits they are getting from that product or service, from different angles.
The secret that I was about to reveal is about several key things you need to know about copywriting. Hope it helps you become a better digital marketer out there.
What is actually copywriting?
Copywriting refers to writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The result of that writing is called copy or sales copy, and it aims to increase brand awareness and persuade a reader to take action/make a purchase.
Copywriting is one of the most essential elements of effective online marketing.
Why do you need copywriting?
Let’s assume you are selling cars in a small city called Hexagon. People of Hexagon like pretty much everywhere in the world before they make a decision about buying something, they do a little research. They want to know about value propositions of the product they are looking for, about reviews and testimonials, about benefits they will get after giving their money.
The purpose of content marketing is to feed that curiosity and give valuable and informative information talking about buyer’s benefits and possibly life changing purchase. The art of doing that is what the copywriting is about.
You can use any type of marketing form to convince the people of Hexagon why your cars are the best quality cars available. Whatever you choose to do, you first need to write a copy.
So where do we begin when it comes to copywriting?
If we are talking about blogging, I’d start with a headline. In a sales copy it’s the first sentence, which we can also call a “hook”.
You probably heard the old worn out saying “you have only one chance to make a first impression.” That’s your headline or your hook. You need to make people interested by making it relevant to them.
Once I was passionately disappearing in my own fantasy world while reading a book on a plane and some man sitting next to me just said “you know that there is a whole generation of authors such as Raymond Carver who you are just reading”. And that woke me up, interrupted my reading. We spoke about it till the landing.
“If you spit blood when you brush or floss, you may have gum problems and could be on a journey to much worse?” – is how the legendary Parodontax commercial begins. If you’d have a gum bleeding problem in your life this copy would be highly relevant to you and this first sentence would just make you stop doing whatever you are doing to hear about how your life could get better.
A well written headline can also communicate a full message to its intended audience, and it absolutely must lure the reader into your body text.
If we are talking about email marketing, then this is your subject line.
Make yourself a time to think about the first moment of when your copy meets its potential customer. Make an impact.
Persuasive copy actually has a structure. Let me tell you about what comes next.
Once you caught the attention, talked about the problem, raised awareness, you also need to provide a solution, to resolve the problem, to convince the reader about why that solution is the right thing to use.
“Help stop the journey of gum disease. Try Parodontax toothpaste.” – This was a short version of a Parodontax commercial, but make sure you also use every single space in your copy to demonstrate large amounts of credibility and authority, using statistics, expert references, and testimonials as appropriate.
And then just make a bold offer. Sell it. “Help stop the journey of gum disease. Try parodontax toothpaste.”
Explicitly relieve the reader’s risk of acceptance by standing behind what you say.
This methodology is also called AIDA (stands for: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action). AIDA is a model that is widely used in both advertising and marketing and it’s being taught in schools for ages. This formula describes the various steps that occur from when a person enters the Awareness stage of your marketing funnel to when they ultimately make a Decision.
The concept of AIDA originated in 1898 when Elias St. Elmo Lewis, who was eventually inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame, wrote a column (anonymously) about three advertising principles that he found useful throughout his career.
There you go!
I can also help you with your copywriting. Reach out to me if you want to invest in a good copy and win your customers.