If you aren’t a professional writer, writing content for your company can send shivers down your spine. Professional writing is a craft all on its own, and effective copywriting is another beast entirely. With that being said, effective copywriting is essential for your business to thrive. Here are seven tips to elevate your copywriting and help alleviate some of that writing stress: 

1. BRUSH UP ON THE BASICS

There’s power in proper punctuation (and spelling). Excellent copywriting starts with proper spelling and grammar. You could write the most informative, interesting, and persuasive content in the world, but if it’s filled with misspelled words and grammar mishaps it will lower your credibility in the eyes of your audience. If you aren’t a professional writer, creating clean and error-free copy can feel like mission impossible. Tools like Grammarly are great for flagging errors in your content and suggesting improvements.

2. RAMP UP THE RESEARCH

If you don’t understand what you’re writing about, how can you (properly) write about it? Short answer, you can’t. To become a trusted source of information, you need to become a subject matter expert. Excellent copywriting and strong research go hand-in-hand. For example, if you’re writing, “The 10 Best Writing Services in Canada,” you will need to research:

  • Who provides the best writing services in Canada? 
  • Where are they located? (E.g. researching the best writing services in Edmonton, or the best writing services in Alberta, and combining the winners of each region into one large list.) 
  • What makes them the best?
  • How can they help your audience?
  • Why is strong writing essential for your brand? 
  • When are they available to speak about their services? 

If you’re looking for scholarly sources for your research, Google Scholar and ResearchGate are filled with easy-to-access scholarly publications. 

3. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

The best way to connect with your audience is to understand them. Know who they are, what they’re looking for, and how you can resonate with them. With that being said, trying to write content for a huge audience can feel daunting. Pretend you’re writing for just one person. Remember, while many people might be reading your copy, they are each reading it individually. Write in a way that is personalized and will resonate with that single person. If you were reading this article for the first time, what would resonate most with you?

4. BREAK DOWN WALLS (OF TEXT) 

A wall of text is exactly what it sounds like – a large block of words that is impossible to scan. It’s also a sure-fire way for your audience to lose interest. Walls of text can be broken up using elements such as bullet points, subheadings, paragraph breaks, and images. If it looks exhausting to read (and walls of text often do), there’s a good chance your audience will move on. 

5. KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET

Know what your audience wants and deliver it. If your readers have to go through the history of copywriting in Canada just to find seven tips to improve their skills, chances are they’ll ditch it and move onto something else. Make your copy to the point, direct, informational, and with a specific end goal in mind. 

6. FOCUS ON YOUR GOAL

On the topic of end goals, determine the goal of your copy and make it your focus. What do you want your readers to do with the information you are providing? Whatever the goal of your copywriting, make sure you are using the right words, tone, and style to get your point across effectively and drive home your call to action. 

7. EDIT, EDIT, THEN EDIT AGAIN 

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and great copy isn’t written in one draft. Edit, edit, and then edit again! Is there a better way you could phrase that sentence? Are you using the clearest and most accurate word choice? It’s a good idea to save each draft of your copy or use a tool like Google Docs to view its history. Multiple sets of eyes are always better than one when it comes to editing, so share the word wealth and get a team together to perfect your copy.  

BONUS TIP: 

Use natural language. Write the same way you would speak if you were having a regular conversation with your reader. Not only will this create a better connection with your audience, but it will also benefit your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with search engines such as Google.  

Still feeling lost when it comes to writing interesting, persuasive, and clean copy, or just don’t have the time? We’ve got you covered. We’re experts in our areas, just like we know you’re an expert in yours. Thankfully, one of our areas is writing.

We offer in-house writing, editing, and communication services to remove your writing pain points and elevate your brand, one (headache-less) word at a time. Want to learn more? Check out our services or send us a message!