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last updated 02/03/2023

Copywriting Secrets

Copywriting secrets
Are you aspiring to become a great copywriter? Or simply looking at effective ways to promote your business?

Worry not because you’ve reached the right place! We are going to tell you all about the art of copywriting and how to use it effectively to promote your business and convert sales.

Copywriting is challenging because it is written with the intent to sell. A great copy includes several calls to action at the right places. It persuades the reader to sign up for your product or service.

Conversion is at the heart of copywriting. 

You are not just providing information and insight to your audience but communicating with them in a way that they feel compelled to invest in your product or service.

Following the right SEO tricks, and going for the relevant digital marketing strategies, will be effective only if you have the perfect copy.

It’s not sufficient to tell your audience about the benefits of your service or product. You must be able to:

  •  Convert them to your mode of thinking.
  •  Persuade them that your service or product will make a qualitative difference in their lives by improving their happiness and well-being.
  •  Convince them that you are here to not just sell your product but solve their problems.
  •  Make them feel important in some way. A great copy always treats the customer like a king.
  • And finally, lead them to take concrete action.

Copywriting can be exciting and fun. The idea is to write entertaining copy that lets you connect with the audience and have fun in the process.

We are going to tell you all about the top secrets of great copywriting just in a while. But before that, let’s check out the characteristics of a good copywriter.

 Top skills needed for great copywriting

Copywriting secrets

  • Creativity – Creativity is the lifeblood of copywriting. You need to not merely write but weave a compelling story using the right words and tone. You must understand the gist of what you want to convey and then develop a creative concept accordingly.

  • Strong writing skills – Great writing skills are a must for copywriting. Your writing needs to be near perfect with zero grammatical errors.

  • Communication skills – A great copywriter needs to be an effective communicator. You must have the ability to have direct and impactful communication with your target audience.

  • Great Research skills – Behind every great copy is a hell lot of research.

  • Problem-solving skills – You need great problem-solving skills to be able to tell your audience how your product or service will make a tangible difference in their life.

  • Empathy – Lastly, empathy is a prerequisite for good copywriting. You must keep yourself in the shoes of the audience and understand where they are coming from.

Top copywriting tips to boost sales

Now, we come to the most crucial part of our write-up.

How can you use the power of copywriting to boost conversions and aid sales?

Here are the top secrets from the world of copywriting to make your copy stand out and increase sales.

1.          Engage your Audience

Audience engagement is the soul of copywriting.

You must get the attention of the audience and get them interested in your copy. You cannot adopt an academic, dispassionate, or confused tone. You got to establish direct communication with the audience.

Copywriters employ various tools to make their copy engaging. Some of these are:

·         Conversational tone – Make generous use of the second person. Address your audience as ‘you’, ‘your’, etc. Your target customer base should get the feeling you are talking to them.

·         Storytelling – Do not simply put the facts out there. Create a compelling story that your audience can relate to. (More on this in the later part of the article).

·         Use active voice instead of passive voice – Passive voice always gives a formal tone to the writing, whereas active voice sounds more casual and friendly.

·         Give your audience ample examples of how your product or service would improve their lives and help solve their problems.

 2.          Establish Trust with your Audience

Creating trust with your target audience is crucial to leading them toward action.

The audience would move on to the next level and sign up for your services only if they trust your product or brand.

When people read your copy, they should get the gut feeling that this is precisely the thing they were looking for and that they can trust this product or service without giving it a second thought. 

It’s obviously challenging to write that kind of copy. But by keeping a few points in mind, you can ace this tip.

Use Trust Words

Copywriting is all about using words in a way that appeals to people at a subconscious level.

We overestimate the role played by the conscious mind in decision-making. When people decide to buy or sign up for something, it’s often the subconscious mind that’s at play.

Make ample use of positive trust words in your copy to make the audience feel comfortable with your brand:

  • Trustworthy
  • Authentic
  • Industry-leader
  • Years of expertise
  • Endorsed
  •  Certified
  • Proven
  • Friendly
  • Leading
  • Guide
  • Recommended

These are some commonly used trust words that can give the audience a sense of reassurance and the feeling that they are dealing with a genuine brand.

Back it up with facts

No amount of garnishing would help unless you prove your case with facts.

You must give the audience ample evidence to demonstrate your credibility and advice. Nothing can beat the value of good old statistics. 

Show them your growth through statistics wherever necessary. Also, don’t forget to include reviews and testimonials.

Copywriting is all about establishing the trust and credibility of your brand. Give your audience value–added content like PDFs, newsletters, free e-books, etc. 

When they get to see authentic material backed with solid research, they wouldn’t need any other evidence.

3.          Appeal to the emotions of the audience

The secret to great copywriting is the ability to connect with the emotions of the audience.

When people make buying decisions, it’s not based on logic. It’s based on emotions. The audience won’t buy your product or service merely based on its features and attributes. 

They would buy it because it makes them feel special in a certain way and connects with the deepest of their feelings and desires.

There is a reason why television advertisements are always dramatic. 

There is always a story and the product features and always showcased within the format of the story. The audience starts to develop brand recognition and affinity only when they can emotionally connect with the brand.

There are different ways to appeal to audience emotion in copywriting:

 Storytelling

Copywriting secrets

Storytelling is one of the most powerful components of copywriting. 

If you tell your audience about the features of your product or service in a prosaic tone, they will get bored. But if you weave a story around it, they will be hooked.

The classic story formula you can use in copywriting is the hero’s journey formula.

Create a simple storyline in which the hero is facing various odds and challenges, and then your product or service helps them overcome those. 

The audience will immediately place themselves into the narrative and identify with the hero character. In this way, you make your audience feel special while creating emotional value for your product in their lives.

Humor

In copywriting, the idea is to keep your audience constantly engaged. Add in a bit of humor to keep things interesting. 

You must ensure that the audience doesn’t get depressed while reading your copy.

Humor is a great strategy to tell your audience all about the features of your product or service without it being too obvious.

Use Fear Words

This might sound like odd advice for copywriting, but fear can be a great motivator.

Using fear words is a great way to sell your product by creating a sort of comparison in the minds of the audience. 

The target message is that your product or service would help them overcome all those fears and insecurities.

These are some of the common fear words you could use:

  • Devastating
  • Costly
  • Scary
  • Untested
  • Heartbreaking
  • Fooled
  • Alarmed
  • Beware

While using fear words, you must be careful not to talk down to your audience.

Your audience shouldn’t feel you are underestimating their intellect and taking them for granted. You have to be really tactful to use the fear words in a way that the ego of your audience is not hurt.

4.          Keep it Simple and Concise

The secret to good copywriting is using language that even a 6th grader can understand.

Your audience has a short attention span. 

When they are going through a landing page copy, a Facebook ad, or a newsletter, they would most probably just skim through it. If you don’t manage to get their attention in the first 8-10 seconds, your bad luck.

Use simple words that are in common usage. 

Make it a rule to use a complex word only if you can’t find a simpler one as a substitute. Avoid academic writing style long-winding sentences with complex sub-arguments. You don’t want to see your audience struggle to understand what you are trying to say. Use short sentences. 

But, it’s also important to keep some variation in the sentence length to prevent the copy from getting monotonous.

Do not dumb down your copy

Writing in simple language doesn’t mean that you have to dumb down your copy. Your language can be as easy as you like, and the text can still be elegant and witty.

Your copy should not read like you are patronizing your audience. Make your words appeal to their intellect and emotions at the same time. 

The key to getting your copy to help convert sales is making your audience feel they are making a genuinely informed choice. Nobody likes the idea of being taken for a ride.

Your copy should be crisp, concise, and concrete

Copywriting is all about keeping it short and precise. 

Nobody wants to read a copy full of fluff. Fluff is the biggest enemy of copywriting! Do not use words just for the heck of it. 

You got to have your words mean something. Remember that in copywriting, every word conveys something unique about your brand. You have to be super careful in your selection of words.

You must be a master craftsperson of words to make the audience literally flow with your language. A good copy is written with a flourish that compels the audience to take concrete action, thus boosting sales.

Clarity is the foundation of copywriting. As a copywriter, you must bear in mind that what you are writing is essentially a sales copy. 

You cannot ask people to buy your product flatly and directly throughout the copy. But the whole text should be leading towards that call to action.

The headline is the clickbait of your copy. You must create irresistible headlines to capture the audience’s attention.

5.          Research

Solid research is a must for good copywriting.

You got to know everything about the brand you are projecting and the product or service you are writing about. Your copy must offer the audience specific and unique insights into the brand and help them make an informed decision.

Before you start writing the copy, you must know about your audience. 

What are their likes and dislikes? You need to understand their wants and needs from a very personal vantage point and then figure out how can your services or products offer those. 

You need to understand your audience inside out and even anticipate their dilemmas and quirks.

What will be their possible reservation against signing up for your product or service? You must anticipate all of this in advance to make your offer more lucrative.

Lastly, you need to continuously update your copywriting skills. 

Copywriting changes with time so you need to be on a constant learning curve and learn all about the latest technologies used in the field.

6.          Don’t forget to incorporate strong calls to action

This is the most important feature of copywriting.

You are after all making a strong sales pitch and expecting your audience to take action – subscribe to your newsletter, subscribe to your website, or click on a link to buy a product or a service.

You must incorporate strong calls of action throughout your copy. The trick is to insert these in a way that your copy doesn’t appear too pushy. 

There should be some novelty about each call to action. They are the highlight of your copy so a lot of creativity must go into drafting these.

These are some tips for creating the perfect calls to action

·         Be specific – Provide tangible details while telling the audience about your product or offer. Do not give vague information. Concrete details will compel your reader to take action.

·         Grab the reader’s attention – Your audience is pressed for time so they are unlikely to take action unless they feel compelled to do so. Your call to action must provide them with irresistible offers they cannot resist. With experience, you’ll understand which offers work the best.

·         Be casual and conversational – Calls to action are not the place to show your linguistic prowess! Keep this part as simple, casual, and conversational as possible so that your reader understands exactly what they need to do.

Don’t forget to read our article on How to successfully transition into copywriting.

Read the latest copywriting books

Copywriting is an art as well as a craft. You need to constantly hone this craft by learning directly from the insights provided by various copywriting experts.

Copywriting is anything but spontaneous writing. 

After all, it is connected with sales. It is a highly deliberate and labored form of writing that should seem spontaneous and effortless to the reader. That is the biggest challenge for the copywriter. 

Your meticulously crafted copy has to sound casual and conversational to the reader. They shouldn’t be able to smell any ulterior motive behind it!

In the next section, we are going to review a book that tells you all about the best-kept secrets of copywriting.

Stay tuned!

Copywriting Secrets by Jim Edwards  Book Review

Copywriting secrets

Do you struggle to write copy that can convert visitors into buyers?

Do you often wonder how to ace the craft of writing that perfect copy that can generate solid sales?

Then, this book is for you.

Copywriting Secrets by Jim Edwards is a hands-on book that gives you concrete workable techniques to generate real sales from your copy.

It is a must-read book for aspiring copywriters or for people looking to promote their businesses through the power of copywriting. 

This book is for anyone who wants to take their copywriting skills to the next level and directly learn from the best in the market.

No matter what your level as a copywriter is, the book will definitely help in fine-tuning your copywriting skills.

This review would tell you all about the key ideas and why you should read the book.

About Jim Edwards

Jim Edwards is the owner and founder of Guaranteed Response Marketing, a direct response marketing firm specializing in copywriting. 

He has also teamed up with Russell Brunson, the co-founder of ClickFunnels to create Funnel Scripts, an innovative software service that would generate sales copy and other kinds of sales messages.

Jim’s solid background in copywriting gives the book an authentic touch. You can be assured that you are reading something that’s been written from a practitioner’s perspective.

Copywriting Secrets by Jim Edwards gives you a peep into the power of words and how you can leverage them to boost conversions.

The Central Idea

The central idea of the book is that the real art of copywriting lies in making the content so unique and interesting that the audience doesn’t even realize they are reading a sales copy.

The audience should be so bedazzled by the magic of your words, the author says,  that they forget all about it being a sale copy when they go through your articles, or newsletter, or watch your videos.

The whole book is structured around this central premise. It tells you that nobody is a born copywriter. 

There are tips, techniques, strategies, and formulas you can master to leverage the power of words.

The Book’s Main Ideas in a Nutshell

  • Copywriting is based on strategy and structure.
  • The best strategy for writing the perfect copy involves a deliberate study of all those advertising messages that have convinced you to sign up for something or make a purchase. Since you already had an emotional connection with the copy based on the mental triggers, you can identify the patterns and utilize them for writing your own sales copy.
  • You need to understand the difference between copywriting and regular writing. The author explains the differences using specific and actionable examples.
  • The book gives you a list of 11 questions that you need to answer about your service or product if you hope to achieve incredible sales with your copy. These questions open up your mind to new and exciting opportunities in your own niche.
  • You are the best person to sell your own product, so know your business inside out, do ample research, and even if someone else is going to write your texts, follow up proactively.
  • Copywriting strategies for advertising follow certain common patterns that can be quickly adapted to multiple contexts. So you don’t need to be an ace copywriter to write great copy. You need to find the right formula and apply it to your content.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents