There is a misconception today that copywriting is words, but “just better”. While there is some basic truth to that, copywriting isn’t just fancy editing.
A quality copywriter doesn’t just offer you words – we offer the marketing and sales potential that words can create.In a world of content marketing where customers are hunting for more information and entertainment, it’s not just about writing well – it’s about applying copywriting to real situations and getting results. In this blog, I will discuss actual business applications of copywriting to help you understand how a freelance copywriter is an excellent addition to your marketing arsenal.
Let’s just get that out upfront.
Especially a freelance copywriter with a professional marketing background.
In real-world practises, it’s not solely about helping you write things you already can – it’s about tapping into years of sales-writing experience and content marketing expertise, to put it to use across touchpoints like social media, articles, websites, emails and more to move your audience through your sales funnel (or flywheel as it is now).
I was speaking to someone in a networking group this week, and he wanted to know more about what I did.
“What do you do as a copywriter for a client, Chris?”
“Well, I look at your business holistically and then create a suite of content across all of your business’ touchpoints to deliver messages to your target audience that earn their precious attention, offer value and therefore make sales.”
“How? With just words?”
We both realised something that morning:
We were both wrong.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know the power of good marketing; it was more that he couldn’t see how much potential words could have across all aspects of his operations.
It was once I started telling him about FAQs, nurturing EDMs (Electronic Direct Mail) and website blogs that his face changed and his eyes lit up.
That’s what copywriters offer you – the potential of effective words in omnichannel marketing applications.
A common question.
I’ve already covered the benefits a copywriter offers your business - which you can read here.
However, after my meeting, I realised a better approach to demonstrating the value of professional copywriting services is to give some tangible examples of how professional copywriters actually apply our skills every day.
It’s one thing to talk about what copywriting is and what advantages you get, but for most people, examples of applications resonate more.
I can’t stress enough how crucial your website is for your business.
Everyone looks for you online and uses the content you provide there to decide if you offer a relevant solution for their needs.
But it’s not as simple as having an ‘online brochure’ that is boring and doesn’t change for years. This is where a copywriter can help you.
A website copywriter researches the way you like to do business, your brand’s positioning, your team and all other aspects of your operations. Then, we put this together on your website in an effective and simplistic way that connects with your customer.
A good copywriter will also help you with layout and UX (User Experience) design so that customers are not confronted with large slabs of text. It’s all about the slick visual delivery of your content as much as it is the words themselves.
This is the most underrated piece of content, and I don’t understand why.
Customers have thousands of questions and you have answers that may convert them. So, why not give them the answers they’re after?! Convenient information makes a very good impression on the time-poor!
Whether printed, online or both, FAQs are excellent to give to people who are curious enough to look at your brand but not ready to make direct contact or hire you just yet. FAQ can also help people feel more comfortable about your services, so they feel more confident about choosing you.
FAQs are also fantastic for SEO – especially for voice search queries.
A copywriter can help you put these together, from research to guidance, articulation and layout – all things that will help prospects get the greatest value from you.
The majority of FAQs I see attempt to answer advanced questions that their target customer doesn’t care about; resulting in a waste of content. When they approach me, I realign this correctly.
Yes, these are emails and yes, they are very effective when used in the right way.
Sure – spam emails can be painful but not when they add value in the form of nurturing content.
What I mean by this is when they continue to offer recipients value over time, in exchange for keeping your branding top of mind.
For example, I have written medical EDMs where the patients are taken on a three-year journey to help them get the most out of their treatment through tips, tricks, encouragement and support while keeping the brand in a favourable light for ongoing purchases. Win-win.
An email copywriter can ensure your email campaigns are full of value and screen them for being overly ‘salesy’ or waffle-y, while still ensuring primary keywords are included to increase a click-through to the website by the recipient. Our guidance can help you find the right message, use the ideal length of text, and map out frequencies to keep people interested.
Similar to this blog, articles and fresh digital content on hot topics that your customers are interested in will keep your website up-to-date and a destination where people will actually want to come to.
When your brand produces quality content, you gain key opinion leadership in your industry regarding certain topics. This earns respect and attention in areas that you want to be known for.
It’s also great for SEO when written correctly.
A blog copywriter can help you in many ways, from saving you time, to coming up with content topics, research, layout, social media amplification and keywords, as well as the writing itself.
Does your business have a brand guidelines? It should! Because it keeps your brand consistent and strong (especially in today’s omnichannel era).
The same should go for your core messaging. These copywriting guidelines should summarise and direct how your business communicates because this contributes to your overall positioning.
A conceptual copywriter can listen to how you and your team operate and articulate this in distinctive and comprehensive ways. All of these ‘core’ messages can be placed into a guidelines document that becomes the ‘index’ of all of your communications going forward.
You’ll be surprised how effective this is in establishing and ingraining your branding’s intention across the industry and in the minds of both your employees and your customers.
On the surface it is.
But then again, you could say graphic design is just visual pictures and salespeople just make calls.
Yes, they do these things, but it’s not these foundations that offer you true value – it’s about how they can be applied to further your business’ success.
Creative professions like copywriting are not about their basic building blocks, but the overall potential that their medium offers you.
As you can see, a copywriter doesn’t just make words sound great. It’s about the potential that these words offer you across many applications that capture attention and make your brand relevant to the audience you’re trying to target.
To engage your customer and achieve ongoing business success today, you need quality copywriting and consistent content. However, we understand that this is easier said than done.
You’re time-poor and spread thin, and writing isn’t your expertise. So, focus on what really matters, while we take care of all of your copywriting and content marketing needs!
For more information or to speak to a quality copywriter to get the results your business deserves, contact me now by completing the form on this page.
I can sharpen your words to achieve your goals, today!
Christopher Melotti
Melotti Media Copywriting and Marketing Solutions
To be continued.... on your next content offer.......