14 Marketing copywriter tips you need to know

 Want to know the ins and outs of a marketing copywriter? It’s a diverse and growing world when it comes to marketing copywriting. There’s so much to learn. So, we have put together a guide to bring you 14 tips from a marketing copywriter.

1. Identify audience needs

Our first marketing copywriter tip is all about your audience. What are your target audience specific questions and needs? They are turning to you to answer those questions or deliver solutions. You need to offer them a product or service that can better their lives or solve a problem. Think about the following when producing content for your audience:

• What problems do my potential customers have?
• Why are people looking for your product or service?
• What have potential customers used in the past?
• How can you market your product or service better?

Your copy should serve a purpose to your reader. If they have to go and read another blog, your copy didn’t serve them well.

2. Impeccable writing skills are essential for marketing copywriters

This may sound obvious but to be a successful marketing copywriter you need impeccable writing skills. This is not just about being able to spell and use grammar correctly, although this helps. You need to be creative with words and draw the audience in. Words are powerful, so make good use of them.

3. A marketing copywriter has good research skills

Just like you need to be a good writer you also need to be a good researcher. Often you will write about topics you have little or no knowledge on. You need to be able to research things effectively. Knowing exactly what to type into Google helps. Your content should be factually correct as you don’t want to give false information to your readers. Researching will help broaden your horizons and strengthen your writing abilities. The more research you do the more you can write about. Teach your readers something they didn’t know.

4. Compelling headlines

As a market copywriter, your headline is just as important as the main body of your content. If your headline is flat and boring your content won’t mean anything. Your headlines should be engaging, urging the reader to click the post and read it. Some tips to make your headline stand out include:

• Use odd numbers – odd numbered lists stand out better than the usual top 10 listicles. Using odd numbers in your headlines will help you stand out and will improve performance.
• Use special characters – just like using odd numbers, these will also help your headline grab the reader’s attention. You could use characters such as brackets and hyphens.
• Questions – the use of question generates more curiosity and deliver SEO
• Use keywords – you should always use the keywords of your blog in your headline. It will make it easier to locate on Google.

5. Follow the 4 P’s

There a 4 P’s to consider when it comes to market copywriting.

• Promise – Make quick promises to your readers in the first line of your content. Your promise should speak to your audience’s needs.
• Paint a picture – Paint a picture of how their life will improve once you’ve delivered the promise.
• Proof – back up what you’re saying with evidence from other customers. Use testimonials and reviews.
• Push – push your readers towards your product or service.

6. Know your competitors

Market copywriting is a competitive industry. If you want your content to do well, you need to see what else is out there. Even the strongest writers need to know who else they are up against. You should be reading your competitors blogs to see what they are saying. It’s a good idea to follow them on social media channels to stay up to date with what they’re doing.

7. A marketing copywriter knows how to be original

Whilst copying and pasting may seem tempting and the easiest option. DON’T DO IT! Don’t plagiarise someone else’s work as Google will pick it up straight away. It looks unprofessional if you pass someone else’s work off as your own. Think of your own ideas and make your content original.

8. Make the copy visually appealing

The next market copywriting tip is how to make your copy more visually appealing. Sometimes visuals can portray a message better than words alone. If visuals can convey the message without words, then use them. A common phrase that runs true is ‘a picture can say a thousand words. Visuals make your content more appealing, and it’s a great way for breaking up large chunks of text. Some examples of visuals to use in your copy include:

• Images
• Videos
• Graphs
• Diagrams.

You should aim to make your copy scannable so it’s easier to read. You can do this by adding bullet points, sub-headings and numbered lists. This makes it easier for the reader to skim through to find exactly what they want to read.

You could make certain aspects of your text stand out to the reader more. You can do this by bolding, underlining and italicising sections of your text.

9. Appeal to emotion

A successful post will make the reader’s feel something. There are lots of ways you can trigger emotions with the reader. Your post may make them feel one or multiple emotions such as:

• Happiness
• Sadness
• Fear
• Anger
• Flattery.

Whatever you write, be sure to connect with the reader and make them feel something.

10. Marketing copywriter: Keep it short and simple

We aren’t talking about the content length here as Google loves 3000-word blogs. You should keep your words, sentences and paragraphs short. This will help your sentences flow better and it is easier for the reader to digest. We recommend keeping your sentences to 20 words or less. Make your message clear and simple to your reader. Don’t waffle when you can just get straight to the point.

11. How a marketing copywriter edits

In market copywriting it takes more than one attempt to write the perfect blog. As you work through your blog your ideas will change and develop. Constructing the perfect blog will take a number of edits. It is worth constructing a number of drafts before you post your final version. Your content needs to be perfect, and you need to be happy with it.

Whilst editing you should be proofreading. It’s easy to miss spelling mistakes and grammatical errors when working on a long document. You should go back on your document and check for any mistakes. The last thing you want to do is post it full of errors. It will make you look unprofessional, and your readers won’t be able to make sense of your copy. You could always ask someone else to take a look at it. A second pair of eyes may pick up on things you missed.

12. Call-to-actions (CTAS)

CTA’s is an effective way to connect with your reader and get them to engage more with your brand. You should always end a piece of copy with a call-to-action. For example, a button they click on to do something. If you want your reader to do something  make the option clear and simple for them to do so. Add a button such as ‘subscribe now’ or ‘shop now’.

13. A marketing copywriter leads with their strongest point

Many marketing copywriters will leave their most vital point until the end when they should be starting with it. If you want your reader to read your copy from start to finish you should start with your strongest point. The strongest point makes your copy more persuasive and can grab the reader’s attention early on.

14. Use social media to your advantage

Our last marketing copywriter tip is why you should be using social media to post content. Most content that people read is what they’ve seen posted or shared on social media. You should use social media to reach a wider audience. The more you post across social media the more it will be shared and reacted to. This is a great way to reach more people.

Social media is a great way for you to connect with your audience. Encourage them to comment or ask questions on your post. It’s great to know more about your readers and they’ll feel connected to your brand.

Remember to add hashtags to your social media posts to reach more people.

In conclusion

When writing marketing copy each day, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. You do the same old thing because it’s what you are used to. We hope the tips mentioned above can spice up your marketing copywriting. If you follow the tips above, you’re sure to produce successful copy.

Get in touch with our team

At Vocal, we’re a loud bunch of creatives that will help deliver results for your business. Our copywriting services will improve your client reach and take your company further.

Get in touch for a quick chat with our team about how we can help your company reach its goals.