The language you use in your marketing materials can make or break a campaign. The right words will evoke the right emotions within your potential customers, persuading them to take action. Use the wrong words, though, and they could have the opposite effect.
When writing copy for your website, your social media, your blogs, newsletters or anything in between, it’s vital to remember just how much of a powerful marketing tool words can be.
So, with that in mind, how can ensure your copy pushes all the right buttons for your audience? And how will that copy help boost your sales?
Tips for using Copywriting to Boost your Sales
Now, no one is saying that cobbling together a snazzy paragraph or two will send your sales skyrocketing. But using subtle copywriting techniques based on psychology will begin to slowly but surely nudge your customers towards the action you want them to take.
Here are a few of our tried and tested top tips for boosting your sales through the power of copy…
Get to the Point
Particularly in your website copy, your key message needs to be clear straight away. As business owners and marketers, we can often feel an overwhelming need to overexplain. We’re aware of all the points we want to get across and may find it difficult to pinpoint the most important parts.
What you need to remember, though, is that your customers are busy people. They’re on your website because they’re looking for a quick, simple solution to their problem. To engage them right from the first website click, craft a clear, simple message that gives a brief but exciting overview of what your business can offer them.
Ensure that this message stands out on your page (AKA make it impossible to miss!) – any other information can come later. By getting your key message in there pronto, you’ll ensure that even if your customers only read one thing on your site, they’ll have read the most important bit.
Be Confident with your Copy
We’re a polite species. We like saying please and thank you, and we don’t like putting people out or asking them to do things for us. Therefore, it’s ingrained in our brains to use words like ‘just’, ‘possibly’ or ‘maybe’ in our copy. We do this with the hope that it makes us come across as friendly and personable.
And it does, for the most part! But it also takes away from the message of your copy and can make what you’ve written sound a bit, for want of a better word, wishy-washy.
It’s important to remember that your customers need to be confident in your business and what you’re offering. And that means your copy needs to sound like you know what you’re talking about. Try removing unnecessary filler words from your copy and see what a difference it makes. The overall tone will remain the same, but you’ll sound much more convincing, sure of yourself and what your business can offer.
In turn, this will build trust with your customers and they’ll be able to have confidence in their decision to engage with what you’re offering.
Read your Copy Out Loud
Reading your copy out loud and really getting a feel for what you’ve written is a great way of establishing whether or not it’s going to boost your sales.
Imagine you’re saying it aloud to your customers. Would you use those words or phrases in real-life conversations? Would what you’re saying engage them in conversation, or would they be looking for an excuse to duck out? Would it leave them asking more questions or will you have told them everything they need to know?
Remember, your customers are human beings. The relationship you’re trying to forge with them through your copy is much like the relationship you might have with a face-to-face customer or a friend. If your copy wouldn’t translate well to a real-life conversation, it may not translate well on your website or in your marketing materials either.
Reading out loud will help you catch anything that doesn’t fit your tone or business personality, and you’ll be able to pinpoint anything unnecessary or clunky that might be complicating your message.
Give it a go – you’ll be surprised at how much you pick up on just by doing something so simple!
Put Yourself in their Shoes
As we mentioned before, your customers are bust people. They’re running around managing jobs and families and social lives. The last thing they want to do is read copy that they can’t relate to in any way, shape or form.
When you’re writing your copy, imagine yourself in their shoes. What will catch their attention? What specific problems are they facing that only you can solve? What sort of language and tone will they best respond to? Is there anything that would cause them to get bored and click off?
By keeping these questions in mind, you’ll really be able to get into the minds of your audience and write for them specifically, rather than taking a stab in the dark and hoping your copy resonates.
Write with your End Goal in Mind
Our final tip requires you to do a bit of time travelling. What do you want your potential customers to do after reading through your website copy? Or your social media post? Or your latest blog?
Do you want them to sign up for your newsletter? Buy your product? Book an appointment.
Once you’ve established what your end goal is, write with it in mind. Keep this goal at the forefront of your thoughts as you write, crafting it so all avenues lead your customers to exactly where you want them to go. Include subtle CTAs, clear messaging and a healthy dose of persuasive techniques to ensure your audience follows through with the action you want them to take.
Copywriting with The Edwards Company
Here at The Edwards Company, we truly believe in the immense power of words. We work with clients to craft copy that compels and convinces, all while keeping their wants, needs, desires and dreams in mind.
If you need support in writing copy that will boost your sales and help create lasting customer relationships, please do not hesitate to get in touch.