In an era of rapid, technological revolution and an over-crowded market where consumers are constantly bombarded with advertising and social media updates, the written word is arguably more important than ever.
We consume a lot of content – it’s just more likely to be on a screen rather than in a book. Even if your business is positioned on an image driven platform such as Instagram, the accompanying copy needs to be compelling enough to cut through the pack, and make your story stand out.
A great message poorly executed, will instantly disengage your audience and devalue your product or service. We are a judgemental bunch and many of us (guilty!), enjoy pointing out mistakes. Take restaurant menus for example – hands up how many times you have shaken your head at the litany of typographical crimes that jump out at you? We have…
To help you navigate your way through the minefield of successful copywriting and ensure your content gets noticed for the right reasons, we have prepared our top five tips for success.
Top tips
1. Consider where your copy will be used
The way you write will vary depending on the intended purpose. For example, the content in your company brochure, will need to be different to your website which in turn, should be different from a newsletter. Tone of voice, length of copy and use of headlines, will all vary to match the target audience.
2. Choose your subject wisely
Before you even put a single word on a page, make sure you prepare. Take a step back and think about who you are writing for, why you are writing for them, what is important to them and how to grab their attention. Negate the ‘so what’ factor. If you read an article and are left thinking ‘so what?’ rather than ‘that’s interesting, I have learned something’, you need to choose a different topic.
3. Less is more
Time is precious, and a lot of people live their lives at a fast pace, so they need to know instantly whether it’s worth reading what you have written. You can engage people through a clever headline or an attention-grabbing image, but if they are then faced with reams and reams of text, the chances are, they will at best, scan read or at worst, not even begin to read it at all. Keep your sentences short and to the point. If in doubt, leave it out.
4. Check, check and check again
Always get your work checked by someone else. We all become ‘word blind’ and read what we think we have written when in fact, a crucial word is missing, or there is a grammatical error which is obvious to fresh eyes, but not when you’ve spent a long time reading and re-reading. Consider engaging a professional copywriter for those important content pieces. A well written article will add to the credibility of your business.
5. Make your copy work harder for you
Congratulations! You’ve written a great article – now what? Make it work harder. You can do this quickly and easily by editing it for different platforms for example, LinkedIn, Facebook or a blog post. Just keep point one in mind and make sure you tailor the revised versions to suit the new purpose.
