When you own a business, you’re constantly moving from one task to another. One minute you may be doing payroll, and the next, you may be calling a supplier about a delayed shipment. Between all of that, your marketing remains top of mind: Have you posted to social media lately? When’s the last time you sent out an email marketing campaign? And your blog – oh geez, that’s due for a fresh article!
With only so many hours in a day, you need to learn how to work as efficiently as possible. And that applies to your business’s copywriting, too! If you see the value of copywriting – but don’t yet have the budget to hire us as your Toronto copywriter, this article’s for you. Here are four tips on how to learn copywriting skills as quickly as possible.
Tip #1: Understand What Copywriting Is
Without a firm understanding of what copywriting’s all about, it’s going to be near impossible to do it well.
In short, copywriting – often interchangeably known as content writing – is the process of writing words for marketing purposes. These cleverly chosen words target a certain audience, with the end goal of converting them into a prospect or customer. Along the way, copy can help build a loyal following, provide education about your offerings, and promote your business.
When it comes to what businesses need copywriting, the answer is simple: all of them. When you’re just starting your business, you need to publish effective content that builds brand awareness, drives traffic to your website, and creates a great first impression.
As for more established businesses? They aren’t exempt from producing fresh content – in fact, they need to continue creating copy to remain at the forefront of their customers’ minds, maintain a positive reputation, and continue increasing sales.
Copy can be powerful – when done right. To achieve effective results, you need to write original and engaging content that addresses your target audience’s needs and wants. But there’s a fine line to tow during the copywriting process – you need to create copy that sells your business without being too pushy. Otherwise, you risk your audience unsubscribing from your blog posts and email marketing campaigns and becoming completely turned off from doing business with you.
Tip #2: Streamline Your Copywriting Process
Once you better understand what copywriting’s all about, you need to learn how to complete it efficiently. To do so, you’ll need a process.
How often in life do you receive the results you want by winging it? Probably not that often. Instead, the best results are often achieved with a well-thought-out plan. And the same goes for copywriting.
Before you start putting your fingers to your keyboard, think about the overall goal of your copy. Is it to drive traffic to your website? Encourage subscriptions to your blog? Receive bookings for consultations? Keep this goal in mind throughout your entire writing process – and be sure to include proper Call To Actions (CTAs) throughout the content to encourage readers.
Next, you need to do your research. Find out what your competitors are saying about a similar topic – and strive to write your content in a better way. If you’re describing one of your newest products or services, list its features, benefits, potential objections (and how to counter them), and credibility.
We often hear that business owners have lots of ideas at the beginning – but then simply lose focus. Creating a content marketing strategy helps determine what you should be writing about and the keywords to include so you can show up on Google. Developing an outline for the actual piece of content you’re creating can help you stay on track.
Before you publish your content, you need to edit your work thoroughly. These proofreading tips can help you avoid making mistakes that can question your reputation and create an inaccurate representation of your brand.
Tip #3: Practise, Practise, Practise
Like any skill, you need to practise copywriting to become better at it. Read as much as you can about the technique, follow masters of the trade, and spend time implementing the knowledge you learn.
You also need to review the content you’re publishing and pay attention to the results you see. For website and blog content, access Google Console, Google Analytics, and your own website’s analytics to see what content is getting the most traffic. You’ll quickly be able to determine which topics resonate well with your target audience and build on them for future content.
Social media platforms and email marketing campaigns have their own analytics to examine. Which social posts are receiving the most engagement? Which emails have the highest open rates? Use this information to frame future posts and emails.
Comparing your content to your competitors’ can also be helpful. If certain pieces of theirs is getting a lot of comments, likes, or website traffic, use a similar tactic throughout your own.
Tip #4: Ask the Experts
We’d be remiss without saying that the best way to learn copywriting is to ask the experts. Consider hiring a professional copywriter to edit a couple of pieces of content you create – and pay close attention to the edits they make. You can even question why they made the changes that they did! This is one of the best ways to get better at copywriting without the expense of adding a regular freelance copywriter to your budget.
In need of a Toronto copywriter for your next project? We’d love to help! Book a free, no-obligation consult with us today to learn more about how we can help your business.