Copywriting, content creation, wordsmithing – whatever you prefer to call it, you shouldn’t ever underestimate the power of words in your marketing campaigns.
Marketing content can be consumed in many ways – from short, snappy social media posts and Google ads to advertorials and multiple page white papers. Whatever the platform for your copy and the objective you are hoping to achieve, it’s important to remember that well-crafted wording is critical to holding a reader’s interest and evoking action. Here, we provide our five top tips to ensuring your copy rocks instead of flops.
1. Sometimes less is more
Don’t be fooled into thinking you need to write hundreds of words to make a point. It’s no good filling a page with unnecessary copy or long, complicated text if you’re going to lose your reader in a long and dull labyrinth of language. Instead, consider where your content is going, how it will be consumed and then write accordingly. For example, a promotional leaflet will require far fewer words than a blog offering advice. Below we have provided the typical word counts for various types of copy:
- Advert or poster – 50 to 100 words
- Social media posts (depending on the platform’s character restrictions) – 20 to 80 words
- Press release – 250 to 400 words
- Blog – 400 to 600 words
- Feature article or advertorial – 800 to 1500 words
- White paper – 3000 to 5000 words
2. Strike the right tone
Carefully curated copywriting can either enthral or alienate your reader so it’s important to spend time thinking about how you want to position your message. Consider your subject matter – should it be serious or sassy, and your target audience – who will be reading your copy, what are you trying to achieve and how would you like them to react?
Avoid repetition and overloading your copy with unnecessarily complex words – this will only confuse and complicate.
3. Read your copy aloud
Once you have all your words written down, read them back to yourself out loud. Doing this will help you to spot errors more easily, recognise areas of repetition and ensure sentences are well structured and coherent.
4. Make sure you get your copy proofread
No one is immune to the odd typo or grammatical calamity so it is essential to get a trusted second pair of eyes to check over your copy and ensure it doesn’t contain any glaring errors. A misplaced comma or incorrectly spelled word could make all the difference to how your content is interpreted and could even change its meaning entirely.
5. Use a professional copywriter
Copywriting is an art that can take years to master effectively. However confident you might be in your writing ability, in some circumstances it is wise to employ the services of a professional. For example, if you are overhauling your website, you will need someone who understands the intricacies of copywriting for SEO purposes. Alternatively, if you want to pitch an idea to the media, then somebody who can structure a professional press release will be crucial to its success.
