Every day millions of pages of text appear on the Web. Hundreds of thousands of people describe events and phenomena, write news and practical guides, interviews, create blog posts and write stories. The list is endless, but all these people have one thing in common – they all create text with a certain structure. Today, such people are called copywriters, and the activities they are engaged in – copywriting.
Copywriting is one of the types of professional activity that is based on the process of creating and placing a unique text material. Copywriting is not only a way to transfer information, but also directly involved in the marketing activities of the company. The scope of tasks of the modern copywriter includes:
- adding the content of the sites;
- taking part in assistance in search engine optimization;
- building content strategies;
- creating of advertising materials, including banners, email newsletters;
- developing marketing campaigns and business promotion.
Today the copywriter is both the writer, and the marketer, and the journalist in one person. Therefore, an effective specialist should not only be able to write competent and interesting texts but also to master the tools of Internet marketing. Would you like to know how to copywrite? Let’s analyze the basic principles of it.
Common types of copywriting
There are 6 main types of copywriting, a different manner of presentation and complexity of writing.
- Selling copywriting
Their task is to motivate the TA to make a purchase/order of a product (service). To write such texts, you need to know psychology, marketing, have a rich vocabulary, learn all the basics of spelling, literary techniques, and styles, specifically imagine what you need to convey to the end user, so that the texts are interesting and selling.
- Advertising copywriting
Apply if necessary to form the population a certain idea of something (company, person, brand, etc.). When creating it, you should be extremely careful, because any element of information can have a huge impact on the image of the object. Before writing, the author conducts a full analysis of all items of the terms of reference, carefully studying the characteristics of the object (firm, person, brand) and only after starting to perform the task.
- SEO copywriting
Writing material optimized for search engines. The text contains important information about a particular topic and is written with the addition of keywords or phrases with different occurrences. Keywords are distributed evenly throughout the article so that it was sharpened for search queries and easy to read. It belongs to the most common type of copywriting. The quality of the work depends not only on the competence of the author but also on the availability of technical specifications, in which the customer is obliged to specify the requirements (volume, the density of keywords, uniqueness, style, etc.).
- Speech copywriting
Resorting to speech copywriting texts are created for speeches at conferences, business meetings, meetings, concerts, and other events. Now there is a big surge in its popularity.
- Rewriting
Presentation of an existing article in your own words. Some experts do not consider rewriting to be a kind of copywriting and consider it a separate “value”.
- Translation
Usually, it is a translation into a foreign language.
Target audience
A target audience is a group of readers, the response of which is designed to sell the text. The response, in this case, implies an interest in what is written in the text, and the desire to take advantage of the offer (product or service). To write effective copy, a copywriter must be oriented on his TA. Describe your TA on a piece of paper, answering the questions below, if possible, and adding other information you know. What do you know about the target audience?
- Who are they, these people who are interested in this product or service (age, gender, social status, place of residence, profession, etc.). As for the geographical location of the target audience, you will be able to understand whether it is necessary to focus their attention on the terms of delivery, whether it is necessary to give a list of regions in which the company operates, etc.
- What is their level of awareness of the goods or services offered? If it is a professional, it is necessary to speak with him in his language, using special terms, avoiding the description of characteristics, already well-known to him.
- What sources of information they trust the most (media, websites, social networks, recommendations of friends and acquaintances, expert advice). Using this knowledge, you will refer to the information in Newspapers and magazines, will be able to offer to call the specialists of the company or focus on how to actively buy the product members of the thematic group on Facebook.
The more attention you pay to the details when choosing the target audience, the more accurate will hit the target. On the other hand, with very deep detail, you run the risk of greatly narrowing the range of potential buyers. Therefore, it is best to write based on 2-3 portraits of the target audience.
Text structure
The structure of the text is determined by the selected style and genre. It depends on the task, the purpose of the material, and includes:
- Attracting title
The preparation of the title should be given special attention. After all, its attractiveness depends on whether the reader will open your material or not.
- Introductory part (identification of the problem)
The introductory part is one of the most important elements in the construction of the text. It is on the introduction of the user decides whether he should learn more about the material. Therefore, it should be given special attention.
- The main part (problem solving, disclosure)
Here it is necessary to present the ideas that you would like to convey to the reader. The main thing – do not depart from the intended topic.
- The final part (conclusion, call to action)
Conclusion – section of the text in which the author draws conclusions. Summing up should not be neglected. Otherwise, your text will look unfinished and will cause many questions from readers.
Principles of editing
Editing is the next step in creating an effective copywriting. The copywriter gets the job at editing the text, studying the material and making corrections:
- removes unnecessary and complex words that weigh down the text. Instead, they fit easy-to-understand phrases, clues – they will cause a desire to read more;
- analyzes the possible effect of reading, changes and adds blocks to enhance;
- checks the logic of construction, adjusts the structure under the “selling” or “information” scheme;
- eliminates stylistic repetitions, inconsistencies;
- in the process, spelling and punctuation errors are corrected.
The edit starts with… the pause. All known masters who have written great examples of copywriting agree that after actually writing the text it is necessary to distract from it, to have a rest at a new stage to work “with a fresh head”. Only after the head “aired”, “moved away from the material”, it is necessary to start editing. Of course, during this work the extra words are removed, phrases are changed, the rhythm is set, etc. Some stages of editing:
- The first stage is a cursory – purely introductory reading, during which you evaluate the integrity of the material, its content, idea, and manner of presentation.
- The second stage is a slow and more in-depth reading, during which you focus on all the paragraphs, sentences, words and signs. Here you analyze a single unit of the text, correlate among themselves parts of it, are working on details, correct all types of errors.
- The third stage is the control reading. The text is re-read once again, analyzed the uniformity of submission, the correctness of writing the most complex elements, proper names, numerical data, and dates.
Typography
Typography is a graphic design of text through a set and layout with the use of norms and regulations that are specific to a given language. A few tips to help you improve the readability of your text
- Add indentation between paragraphs.
The simplest and most obvious recommendation, which many still neglect. Even a small indentation between paragraphs improves the readability of the text.
- Specify the correct length of the string.
Too long a line — when viewing it from the beginning to the end you need to turn your head — creates discomfort at the subconscious level. While reading corny the beginning is forgotten lines. Blocks of text should not be too narrow (at least 35-40 characters with spaces) and not too wide (up to 80 characters).
- Don’t mix different fonts on the same page.
The optimal number is 1-2 fonts per page. This is more than enough to solve any problems. The variety of curls and typefaces only distracts and does not add usefulness to the text.
- Use subheadings to separate logical blocks.
If there is more than one sub-topic in the text, sub-headings are required. They are needed to navigate through the text and allow the user to quickly navigate and find the desired block.
- Use numbered lists.
In most cases, it is better to replace enumerations in a string with a bulleted list. It also improves readability, and switching from paragraph to list gives rest to the brain and allows better processing of incoming information.
- Stick to the principles of visual hierarchy.
We have already written about it, but do not be amiss and repeat. Thanks to the visual hierarchy, the visitor can immediately highlight the main thing on the page and understand what he needs to do next.
- Test and verify.
You can theorize as much as you want: for every successful case there is always antikeys. The truth is that you can only understand what your users need based on the test results. Perform an A/B test — and you will get reliable information about what approach will work in your case.
Following the basic rules of copywriting, the text will be easy to read, understandable to the search engine, and the customer will be satisfied and may cooperate with you further. And, of course, the most important rule of a copywriter is to write for people, not for search engines.
How to copywrite: Useful services
The presented resources will help to edit the existing text for the site or copywrite a new one. This list is suitable for professional copywriters and webmasters, as well as for owners of Internet resources that independently fill their sites with content.
The creation of texts:
- Google Apps
The basis of the basics, a complete replacement of Microsoft Word, combining only the most necessary editorial functionality and innovative ideas from Google. It allows you to create any text structures, tables, add images and links, format the text in almost any way. You can also export and import files.
Adding photos and images:
- Adobe Photoshop — desktop-program. It is possible to compress pictures, create special effects, use frames, change colors, draw, create unreal illustrations.
- Unsplash — is a free resource for finding high-quality images for your articles.
Screenshots:
- Joxi — file sharing extension for creating screenshots. It is possible to take a screenshot of the whole page or one of its fragments. The result of the program — a short link to the screenshot on file-sharing Joxi.
The selection of keys:
- Google AdWords — keyword planner from Google. It searches for search queries by category, shows frequency, generates statistics. Also, takes into account only queries in the Google search network.
- Ahrefs — is an online service for the selection of keywords. The program collects data directly from the source services, forms a semantic core and shows the frequency.
Finding errors:
- Grammarly — is a spell-checking service. It highlights the wrong words or phrases and also offers replacement options.
Verification of uniqueness:
- Text — in addition to free verification of uniqueness, it considers the indicators of water content and spam, as well as identifies errors
The described services will allow a professional copywriter to create really impressive pages that can capture the reader’s attention and increase conversion on the site. We recommend to take them into service today — tomorrow they will be used by every self-respecting author.
Final word
Answering the question – how to write good copy, we can say that you need to follow the listed rules and these tips:
- Switch places with the reader during the preparation of the text. Answer the question, what do I want to know?
- Break stereotypes, do not work on a template. Start with an unusual fact that may at first glance seem unrelated to the main topic, but will attract attention.
- After the end of the stage of writing, turn off the author, turn on the strict editor.
- Get a copywriter notebook and fix it interesting titles, successful comparisons.
- Write every day.
- Try new things.