We’ve previously discussed the basics to establishing your digital marketing strategy and the platforms you can use. Throughout these platforms, your strategy is going to require copywriting to tie everything together. If you’re looking to drive conversions as efficiently as possible, your copy is one of the most important factors in your strategy. Most business owners, and even some marketers, are not born natural copywriters, so it is common to make several basic copywriting mistakes without even being aware of it.

The secret to great landing page copy

Focus on what you’re providing your consumers first, then focus on the features

Similar to a sales pitch, you need to understand the pain points of a customer and how you are going to make them go away with your solution. Having this understanding of your customer will make it that much easier to build engaging content and drive purchase decisions primarily based on emotion. Brands such as Apple build their connection with a customer through emotions that in turn inspire loyalty. With each new model we see queues out the door of Apple stores despite only small improvements being added to the previous model. These dedicated customers are driven by their emotions but use the features of the product to rationalise their choice.

Get to the point

Be brief, be succinct. The more copy you add, the harder it will be to communicate the points that you feel are of high value to the customer. Keep the call-to-action in mind at all times, and edit down your word count ruthlessly.

Emphasise your unique selling proposition

More often than not, you’re going to have more than a couple of competitors. Because of this, you’re going to need to know what sets your business aside from the rest. Whether it’s quality, reliability, timeliness or price, understand that unique point and use it to promote your brand. The internet gives customers the opportunity to quickly compare the pros and cons when making a purchase decision and if you can’t make the benefits of your brand clear to them then your success may be limited.

Do your A/B testing

There’s no excuse today for not running A/B tests with your digital marketing. Whether it’s email, social, landing page design or native advertising, just about every digital platform lets you compare multiple content types to see which performs the best. Yes, it’s more time consuming. Once you’ve done the research you’ll be able to make more informed decisions and save money and design time in future.

Three common copywriting mistakes

Don’t try to be everything to everyone, find your niche

Most amateur copywriters or digital marketers make the mistake of being quite vague with their content. As we discussed above, A/B testing across different channels gives you the opportunity to discover what works best for your brand. Once you’ve been able to define your niche and have a sound understanding of what content your audience engages with, you can write content that delivers the highest ROI.

Don’t be patronising

The internet isn’t new and amazing to most people, customers are exposed to a lot of advertising and information while browsing. The last thing they want is to read bad copy that makes unsubstantiated claims or inauthentic promises. Be genuine and provide clear benefits where possible.

It’s not all about numbers

This goes back to the targeting your customers emotions and pain points. Putting loads of numbers or pricing with a point of reference can often confuse your customer about what they’re actually getting or what your product is fixing for them. For example, if you’re discussing distance, “four minutes walking distance away from the train station” is more easy to understand and relate to than “0.56km away from the train station”. Similarly, explaining the weekly cost of a gym membership as being the equivalent of two cups of coffee a week, helps users put the cost, for example, $8.99 a week, into context.

Hopefully the above points help set out a structure for your copywriting and you can boost your digital strategy even further with compelling copy. If you are looking to expand further on your content marketing or digital marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.

Jono Wade