http://youtu.be/UUw9VBuw_Zw

Beginning Copywriting

If you don’t know what copywriting is let me make it easy and make sure we are talking about the same thing.  Copywriting is effectively communicating with your potential customers in a way that persuades them to become loyal customers, or as I like to say, raving fans.

To effectively communicate you need three things:

• Know your audience: your target market or your ideal customer.
• Know what keeps them up at night: communicate emotion in their ‘language.’
• Know how to tell stories: connect to their life.

Like I said in the video, it is not necessarily about grammar.  Grammar is important, but it is secondary.  A good copywriter will take grammar into consideration, but will throw it out the window if it does not communicate with the target audience.

The words of any good company communicate in a way that enters the mind of the audience.  They connect to the fears and desires of their target.  They answer their questions before they ask them and solve the problems they have only thought about.  Potential customers should be thinking, “Wow, that is just what I was thinking.”

Good copywriting uses emotions.  Use words that are active and not passive.  In other words, use action words.  Use words that create urgency.   People want to know what to do.  People want to be lead.  Make sure all of your copy is written in a way that tells the customer what they are thinking and what they should do about it.

Be upfront about the problem and how you solve it.  You don’t need to be blunt or rude, but be authentic.  Connect to your target audience.  Cover the things they are thinking about by talking about value instead of price and talk about benefits over features.  The key to copywriting is to have the customer imagine himself using your product or service.

Headlines you can use today.

One important part of copywriting is headlines.  Headlines tell the audience whether or not they should bother reading the rest of your text.  They catch attention and get the reader to pay attention.   Thanks to SEM Rush I have included 20 of the most famous and effective headline here to help you as you think about the headline you need to connect to your target audience.

o   _____ Money/Time Saving Tips for _____

o   Everything You Need to Know About _____

o   Top _____ Tips for _____

o   _____ Ways to Boost Your _____

o   How to _____ in _____ Seconds

o   _____ Facts and Myths

o   The Real Truth About _____

o   The Secret of Successful _____

o   _____ Facts You Need to Know

o   Little Known Ways to _____

o   All You Need to Know About _____

o   Top World Cheapest/Best/Worst _____

o   100 Useful _____

o   How to _____ Like a Pro/Boss

o   _____ Creative Ways to _____

o   _____ Expert _____ Tips

o   _____ Reasons You Should _____

o   What Everyone Ought to Know About _____

o   _____ Do’s and Don’ts

o   _____ Like An Expert in _____ Easy Steps

Use these headlines as a starting point.  Don’t be afraid to step out of the box and use headlines that really grab your audience.  Just look at your email and news headlines for lots of examples.

I could write a whole course on copywriting, but CopyBlogger has already done that and it is FREE.  (Free is a great word to get attention, don’t you think?)  I have not gone through their course, but I have been impressed with the information I have found on their page.  I have no relationship with them, so I am just offering this as a benefit if you are really interested in learning more.  You have nothing to lose, so check out their free course.

What copywriting tips have help you.  Share with us on Youtube or GooglePlus.