The Keys To Writing An Effective Copy

The Keys To Writing An Effective Copy

Dennis van der Heijden
December 11, 2014
Effective Copywriting

On this webinar, Dr. Karl Blanks of Conversion Rate Experts, along with Convert Academy, discussed how powerful words can be used, in terms of creating conversions. Generally, our website is tasked to sell products/services without having the chance to talk to a person, or your target audience, face to face. You cannot control the reaction that your audience will have after reading what your website has to say, so you have to ensure that you are saying everything in the most precise and concise manner. Since you are reaching to real people, write what you would say when you are talking to one.

Be human; fill your words with emotion – and talk to your audience. According to this great article by copyblogger:

“(Writing An Effective Copy) is an art because it requires creativity, a sense of beauty and style — a certain aptitude, mastery and special knowledge. Artistic advertising allows you to create content marketing that’s not just practical and persuasive, but awe-inspiring and breathtaking.”

The Simple Ways to Sell Through Writing

The website is like a robotic sales person – it can only perform the things that its creator programmed into it. According to Conversion Rate Experts, and as discussed by Dr. Karl Blanks, here are the things that you need to write an effective copy:

  • Talk to someone who is into sales – There are people who write well, but there are also sales people. We all have our expertise and the best way to know if your copy is effective is to ask a sales person if he would actually buy the product based on what was written on your copy. Brainstorming is also good exercise to gather new thoughts and ideas, and having a sales person talking to a copy writer can be a powerful combination.
  • Write a “sales message” – Be as descriptive as possible and do not forget to write a sentence that will call for the readers to act positively – and buy your product.

[Tweet “When writing copy, keep in mind that you are writing a sales message. You need to be truthful but persuasive”]

Perfecting Your Craft – Writing to Sell

Aside from talking to a sales person and writing a sales message, there are more ways to perfect your sales writing skill:

  • Create an opening sentence aimed for your target market – Make the readers say “Hey, that’s me you are talking about!”
  • Write a catchy headline – The headline should trigger the “I want to know more about you”
  • Follow with bullet points – Summarize the benefits – what’s in it for them?
  • Use the Johnson Box principle – What are they getting on the page? Put links on each section so the people can easily skip to the part that applies to them the most
  • Use the inverted pyramid approach – Give an overview and slowly lead to the most interesting and important offer towards the end
  • Put a transitional link – This will transition the audience from being just a reader to becoming a buyer of the product
  • Break the monotony – Do not make the sale offer be too obvious, write some subheads in between
  • Follow with the call to action – Say “buy now”, but in a creative way
  • Aim for prompt action – Offer incentives such as discounts and freebies if the customer will act immediately on the offer.

You can get sales if your copy is written according to your goal. But as a general rule; never start writing until you know the product by heart, and until you can relate to that product on a personal level. If you want to know more about this or more about this webinar, click here.

Effective Copywriting

Originally published December 11, 2014 - Updated April 15, 2019
Dennis van der Heijden
Co-founder and CEO of Convert.com, Dennis is a passionate community builder and out of the box thinker. He spends his time innovating to make Convert Experiences better. Learn about his journey as an entrepreneur and leader on the SaaS Club podcast.
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