Copywriting is sales in words. But how do you avoid sounding like a slick salesperson?
1. Write like you talk
Write copy as if you are talking to a single person. Don’t use fancy words when you don’t use them in real life. If you stay close to who you are when you are writing copy, it will be easier. You are used to using your own words, so why wouldn’t you?
2. Address your reader
Imagine having a date with a beautiful person. Hair colour blond, a cute nose and a beautiful smile. It all looks perfect. But as soon as you start talking, you can't say a word, because the other person is the only one talking. Well, that’s a bummer…
It’s the same with writing for a landing page. If you only talk about your company people get bored. It’s not about your company and how great you are. It’s about your customer and how you are going to help them.
3. Use simple words no matter the target audience
Simple, 1 or 2 syllable words make your text easier to read. Use short and easy words. Always assume people don’t know the jargon you use. So avoid using a lot of jargon in your copy.
4. Remove adjectives and adverbs
People tend to use adjectives and adverbs to emphasize their message. In the end, these are not the words that will stick in your reader’s mind. It’s about how you make them feel and what you can solve for them. Using adjectives and adverbs is not bad. Using meaningless adjectives and adverbs is bad.
5. Don’t use buzzwords
“State of the art”, “Artificial Intelligence”, “Innovative”, “Disruptive”, “Agile”. All these words appear so often in media and on websites that people grow sick of them. Often they are meaningless. It seems that every company nowadays uses state of the art technology and artificial intelligence to disrupt a new market in an agile way.
6. Don’t scream every header in your reader’s face
Exclamation marks can emphasize a message you are trying to convey. Similar to using capitalization in your text, it can also cause the reader to read the sentence like someone is screaming. HOW WOULD YOU READ THIS IN YOUR HEAD?
7. Avoid the words “buy” or “pay”
Don’t tell your reader what it will cost them, rather tell them what they will gain. Showing your reader how it will benefit them will create a positive emotion. Create a picture where they see themselves without any problems when using your product.
Hopefully, you learnt some new things you can use when copywriting a message. If you liked this article, consider showing some love on this Tweet:
Sjors van Dongen@sjorsvdongen
14:43 PM - 03 Jul 2020
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