The ultimate goal of copywriting is to encourage your target customers to take specific actions, which usually tends to be to purchase a product or a service. Since it is persuasive writing, you ideally need to sell the idea without appearing too eager and coming across as aggressive. But here lies the tricky part; how do you get conversions from copywriting?
In this blog, we explore what conversion copywriting is and the ways in which you can go about writing persuasive copy to achieve your objectives.
What is conversion copywriting?
Conversion copywriting is a type of persuasive writing that aims to be powerful enough to convert visitors into sales. Copywriters will use engaging and compelling language to hopefully motivate readers to take a specific action such as buying a product or service. However, it’s not always about encouraging a purchase.
One way to do copywriting right is to understand the objectives of the process. Many copywriters fall into the trap of thinking it’s all about selling, but a conversion can refer to several actions or outcomes that are central to the process of copywriting.
- Contacting the company either by phone call, email, or reaching out through social media and other channels available.
- Filling out an online form or questionnaire
- Subscribing to a given service, such as a newsletter
- Adding items to an online shopping cart
- Visiting another section of the website or heading to another website
- Sharing some announcements on social media
Therefore, it’s vital for a copywriter to use simple, clear, and persuasive language to not only educate the reader about a product or a service but also a brand’s proposition whilst telling the reader why it’s worth their while.
What are the different types of conversion copywriting?
Historically, copywriters only needed to focus on writing persuasive copy for TV adverts, magazines and other outbound media. However as we’ve evolved into the digital age, copywriters are shifting their efforts to accommodate to an online world including:
- Website copywriting including homepages, landing pages, product pages and more
- SEO copywriting that is keyword optimised to help you rank higher on search engines and grow your organic traffic
- Ad copywriting for Google Ads and Facebook Ads for example
- Social media copywriting on channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
- Eye-catching and compelling blog or article posts
- Email copywriting including main body text, subject and preview lines as well as CTAs
It’s important to understand what each of these copywriting types are made up of to ensure you write the most effective copy. For example, writing an ad copy will focus on selling a product or service whereas writing a blog or an article will focus on building an image and telling a story. Understanding how you approach your copywriting type is the key to writing compelling content that ultimately results in a conversion.
What is the best approach for copywriting?
There are many ways you can catch your target audience’s attention and deliver the right words to educate and persuade. All these ways share these qualities in their processes:
Begin with research
Before you write any type of copy, research the topic. Research is the first and the most crucial part of the process. You need to understand what the target audience is looking for in the product or service you’re writing about before you can show them how said product or service will deliver on their needs. In addition, research tells you how the audience is likely to react and thus how you can guide that reaction.
During research, you get to understand the product or service’s features and what makes it uniquely desirable. You then get to understand the customer’s needs and who this customer is. With such an understanding, you can tell a story on how the unique nature of the product or service will meet the customer’s needs. Existing customers are critical to the process since they can efficiently demonstrate to the prospective customer the benefits. With such knowledge, you need to figure out what words to use to deliver your message effectively.
Define the end goal
With all the information you gathered, you need to define your copy’s aim. It is easy to get distracted along the way or to try and hit too many goals. The best copy focuses on a single goal and then works backwards to find the right vehicle to deliver on that goal. With the many different objectives that copywriting can aim for, you need to pick the right one.
A simple way to define the objective is to state your call to action. That definition will guide your flow, choice of words, and perspective. Writing with the customer in mind and the direction you want them to take helps you create excellent copy.
Focus on the buyer’s journey
Your research will reveal the buyer’s needs and how the product or service meets those needs. On the other hand, buyers go through a similar process, from identifying their needs, looking at the solutions on the market, and picking the right one for themselves. Therefore, you need to steer the buyer through the journey with your product or service. Some buyers know their needs but don’t know the right solution. Some are vaguely aware of their needs and need you to hold their hands through the journey.
Get your call to action right
After capturing and holding the target audience’s attention, you need to direct their next steps. This step determines how well you will convert the reader. The call to action (CTA) is closely related to your definition of the end goal. When asking what the end goal of your efforts is, the call to action reveals how to achieve that goal. Calls to action are subtle commands that tell the audience how they’ll get their needs met through your products or service.
Keep in mind that placing one call to action at the end of the copy limits its effectiveness. You need to spread several CTAs throughout the copy. This allows you to convert the audience at any stage of their reading process.
Start gaining conversions from your copywriting
Copywriting is a powerful tool only if done right. The best way to do it is always to keep the customer central to the process. Show them what they need and why it is urgent. Let them see how your product or service is the most sensible solution. Then tell them what to do to access your product or service.
At Fifteen, we can create strategic content copywriting as well as other forms of content such as video, interactive media and more. Take a look for yourself at how we can get you the results you want from the power of content. Whilst you’re looking, why not check out our other digital marketing services we offer too? If you’re ready to have a chat, be sure to get in touch with us today.