A few core elements of copywriting
SHAKING THE TREE #39
The smell from my first attempts at copywriting was so bad I had to work with the windows open.
And yet, despite having been a copywriter of sorts now for the better part of 20 years,
I still consider myself a student of copywriting.
This isn’t modesty. It’s honesty.
Here’s the thing: no one knows everything about a subject right out of the gate.
No one.
It takes time to become good, and really, if I’m honest with myself, I know I’ve still got things to learn because as far as copywriting is concerned, there is SO MUCH to screw up.
Take this article for instance.
I’ve already rewritten this introduction 14 times.
It seems to me that lessons learned the hard way tend to stick with you. And while I’ve no delusions of winning ONE Show Gold any time soon, I know I can always do better, as and when I’m willing to push myself.
So here’s my take on a few things every copywriter needs to know—and that’s EVERY copywriter because whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned pro, being able to write compelling, effective, persuasive, memorable copy is a valuable skill that needs constant refinement.
Other stuff you can fudge.
Copywriting?
Not so much.
So let’s dive in:
First off, my definition of copywriting: it’s the unique skill of turning word-related ideas, features, and functions into compelling and persuasive tools that influence consumer behavior.
Read that again.
Mastering the craft of copywriting is an endless journey of twists and turns and switchbacks.
And because the world of copywriting is festooned with blind alleys, offshoots, and rabbit holes to wander down, tumble down, and fumble through it’s important to work with a reliable framework—a foundation if you will—to keep you focused on one key point: you must truly understand your audience.
All copywriting begins and ends with you understanding who you’re writing for and what you want them to do as a result of having read your copy.
All copywriting is persuasion in print.
None of the other stuff—whether it’s grammar and style, storytelling, headlines and hooks, creating calls to action, and so on and so forth—none of that stuff will matter if you don’t understand your audience and if your narrative doesn’t connect with people.
It doesn’t matter whether you're crafting a killer headline, a persuasive product description, a compelling email campaign, or an engaging social media post, your words MUST speak directly to the hearts and minds of your intended readers.
This is none negotiable.
Understanding your audience is the cornerstone of effective copywriting.
Every time you sit down to write a piece of sales copy you’re setting out … Bilbo Baggins-like … on an adventure into the unknown.
However, by knowing your audience—by:
understanding their biases and preferences,
knowing their pain points and their hot buttons,
anticipating their needs,
overcoming their objections,
and by meeting and then exceeding their expectations … you gain the upper hand.
The first step in this journey is market research.
As a copywriter you must take a deep dive into the market you’re targeting.
Yeah, I know.
Sounds dull.
You can skip this bit, right?
Not really.
When I was a beginner copywriter I longed for a series of magic shortcuts to get good quickly.
Hahahahahahahahahaha!
If only …
Ordinarily, understanding your audience involves studying corporate things such as industry trends, market dynamics, and identifying your competition.
Zzzzzzzzzzz …
More importantly though, understanding your audience involves understanding human nature.
What products or services are currently in demand?
Which goods and services are being talked about, moaned about, or championed?
What pain points are consumers experiencing?
What are people sick to death of?
The answers lie in studying human nature.
Once you’re armed with human-nature facts you need to create a detailed customer profile—an avatar of your ideal reader—down to specifics including age, gender, location, and income level.
The more detailed you can make this fictional person in terms of their values, interests, beliefs, and lifestyle choices, the more acutely you can fine tune your your messaging.
Only when you’re armed with your avatar profile are you placed to create emotionally charged messages that resonate with people on a deeply personal level.
Rather than seeing yourself writing to tens of thousands or to millions of people—the “everyone is our customer” approach—you’re better off focusing on having a one-on-one conversation with one person—your avatar.
The tone, flow, and point of your copy needs to address this person’s personal pain points and aspirations.
You need to validate their dreams and wants and experiences, and you need to champion their needs and desires and gently playing on their fears and countering their objections—all while laying out a logically progressing narrative based on simple, clear, concise, compelling persuasion.
It does not matter whether you're offering a cure for athlete’s foot to a 21 year old soccer player and Doordash delivery guy named Zeke from Ohio or you’re selling a luxury, top of the line BMW to an affluent attorney named Bernard from New York City who just made partner at a top law firm, every aspect of your message should align perfectly with that person’s mindset, headspace, and life experience.
The more you understand your audience and the biases and influences that drive them, the more deeply you can tap into their emotions. And the more you can tap into someone’s emotions, the more you can persuade them.
Why? Because although decisions are reinforced through reasoned logic, in some way or other, all decisions are driven by emotion—a point that all effective copywriting needs to leverage to the hilt.
When you connect to your audience's hopes, fears, and dreams you’re better equipped to write copy that elicits an emotional response.
Here’s an example of what I mean.
If you’re selling sports cars, do you:
talk at length about brake horse power, miles per gallon, and mean times between servicing?
Or, do you …
ask your prospect to imagine themselves driving along the Big Sur highway south of Monterey and hearing the ocean pounding on the coast as California Dreaming blares from the on-board sound system?
Do you see the difference?
Tailoring your copy to evoke the desired emotion transports prospects to another place.
Beyond the basic content of a piece of sales copy—headline, body copy, photo captions, sub headings, and so on—the key that dictates the language you use and the tone you adopt is understanding your audience.
If you’re addressing a highly specialized audience that appreciates technical jargon, hit them with every piece of jargon in the niche: go for it.
But, if you’re speaking to a more casual, everyday consumer, your choice of words, your layout and style, and the tone of your voice needs to connect with your audience's preferences and life experiences.
Your message has to resonate, it has to overcome fears and objections, and it needs to over deliver on guarantees and it needs to do ALL of this if it’s to successfully drive a desired action?
Crafting effective sales copy is part:
psychology,
art,
science,
charm.
The process also benefits when you collect feedback and when you analyze the results results of that feedback.
Armed with ideas about how your copy is being received you’re better positioned to you refine your approach, tone, and logic so that you’re continuously improving, refining, and focusing your copy so that it’s the best possible match for your audience's ever-evolving needs.
Writing effective copy is an ever evolving process of understanding the audience and it’s the foundation upon which all effective, persuasive, and influential copywriting is built.
By understanding who you’re writing for you’re better placed to connect with readers on a profoundly meaningful level, crafting messages that resonate, inspire action, and that ultimately drive success.
In terms of becoming a better writer, there are no shortcuts or magic bullets.
At least, none I’ve come across.
Sometimes, I wish there were.
Other times, though, I’m glad there aren’t.
I’ve found the best way to get better at writing is to keep writing.
Which is what I’m going to carry on doing here on Shaking the Tree.
As always, thanks for reading.
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P.S. Next time on Shaking the Tree … Why it’s worth investing in cloud based storage.