What is copywriting?

Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action.

Email copywriting is the process of sending a communication to your prospect with the intention of encouraging action. Not every email will use copywriting, but even small improvements in your writing can show results.

Spending time to improve your copywriting skills will boost your ability to communicate better with your prospects and clients.  

1. Keep your audience in mind

Every aspect of your email should be crafted with the audience in mind.

Are you writing directly to consumers or a business-to-business communication? to a specific individual or a generalized group?

Consider how the writing style and format can support your message.

Evaluate word choices and tone. Use relatable language to help you connect and build relationships with prospects. Avoid using industry jargon that might be confusing.  

Use a Marketing Persona to picture and connect to your prospect. I believe that listing basic demographics is good (age, gender, educational level, income) but offers little insight into consumer motivation. I recommend digging deeper into psychographics. Behavior patterns, interests, motivations, and goals give you better ways to understand your audience.

2. Tell a story

Get personal. Don’t be afraid of emotion. Look for ways to make a connection with the reader.

Write copy as if you were talking to a real person. Keep adding details to your Marketing Persona(s) and write for that ideal customer.

Telling a true story gives you an opportunity to let your personality shine through and try to connect with your readers through a shared experience. It can be difficult to find a narrative that makes your reader feel something AND works to connect them to you or your company.

Using anecdotes to describe potential problems lets you set the stage for your solutions.

Testimonials are relatable stories. They increase credibility and help a potential customer picture the complete process.

Don’t underestimate the importance of telling your story and what led you to create your product or service in the first place.

3. Look at the structure

People’s time is valuable. Make your content scannable, increases the likelihood it will get read.

Break up longer blocks of text with sub-headings and using shorter paragraphs. Aim to stick to one idea or theme per section, usually 3 or 4 sentences.

Highlight keywords or phrases. I recommend sticking with bold or italics. Stay away from all caps. Remember changes in font type or size look drastically different between the multitudes of devices that are used to read emails. What looks fine for some can quickly become unreadable for others.

Using imagery such as photos, illustrations, or infographics can also serve to break up the visual space.

4. Focus on Benefits

Know your product.

Making a list of your product features is easy, but it isn’t personal. Features are forgettable.

Copywriting may include the features of whatever you’re writing about, but what you’ll really want to focus on are the benefits. Benefits tell the reader what’s in it for them. Benefits are personal and memorable.

Benefits are how a product offers to satisfy needs, desires and wants. What do you hope your consumer gets, feels or achieves when they use your product? How can your product make their life better?

Staying benefits-focused helps you make a personal connection.

5. Include a call to action

In most cases, the goal of an email is to encourage the reader to take a specific action. You want them to buy something, click somewhere, or call and make an appointment.

The call to action (CTA) should be clear, specific, and straightforward. A strong CTA will:

a. Clearly state what exactly what you want the reader to do.
b. Provide details on what will happen after they take action.

Be cautious of being pushy or aggressive. People want to feel in charge of the buying decision, not feel “sold to”.

As writers, we want our audience to think, feel or act in a certain way after reading your message. Copywriting is aimed at sales. Sometimes your message focuses on less direct goals. Is there something you want your reader to learn, think differently about, or understand better? Blurring the line into content marketing; your call to action will probably not be as strong.

Like other types of writing, copywriting is a skill that improves with practice. Keep these guides in mind when writing your business emails to improve your copy, connect with your audience, and grow your business.

I hope these guidelines will improve your copywriting! Let me know which is your favorite or share a tip that you have found helpful.