5 ways to write like a copywriter

What is copywriting?

Have you ever wondered who writes the words on your favourite websites and social media accounts? Who comes up with the catchy slogans on billboards and radio ads? Who puts together the funny little snippets on the back of your smoothie bottle?

All these words (either written or spoken) are what we in the business call “copy”, and behind every piece of copy is a copywriter.

With one of the most critical roles to play in marketing and advertising campaigns, most copywriters have spent years perfecting their skill, training to craft words that will connect with audiences and encourage people to take action.

Do I need a copywriter?

Most businesses hire in-house copywriters as part of their marketing teams, although many have entire departments dedicated to copy and content, while some outsource it to agencies or freelancers.

Whether you’re running a chain of restaurants, an independent hair salon, or an online business selling power tools – at some point or another you’re going to need some copy. If you want to have a go at writing it yourself, here are five ways you can learn to write like a copywriter.

1. Speak to your audience directly

It’s important to make your readers feel like you’re talking to them, rather than at them. Address their personal needs, answer their questions, and use familiarities in your writing to shift the focus away from you and your business, and onto the reader instead.

Not bad: With 10 years’ experience in home baking, we’re the best choice for birthday parties and celebrations.

Better: Go on, treat yourself to a special birthday cake this year. You deserve it.

1. Say more with less

When writing copy for your business, it’s tempting to use fancy long words and corporate jargon in an attempt to sound professional and impressive. But good copywriters truly understand the meaning of “less is more”.

To avoid alienating your readers, skip the long words, pointless jargon and clichés. Instead, keep things simple and to-the-point. Keep your words and sentences short, and your language simple. That way, you’re more likely to keep your audience interested.

Not bad: Our home design products are ergonomically engineered with your comfort in mind.

Better: Experience the comfiest sofa you’ve ever sat on.

1. Inject personality

Every brand has their own unique voice, style and personality. A great way to grab people’s attention and build a connection with your audience is to show yours off.

Don’t be afraid to steer away from corporate, professional language in your copy, and opt for light-hearted, conversational words and phrases instead. Think of writing your copy a bit like talking to a friend – you’re not trying to bore anyone here.

Not bad: Take 50% off our products over the bank holiday weekend.

Better: Enjoy 50% off our entire range as a special treat this bank holiday weekend. How can you resist?

1. Write how you speak

You may have heard of B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer), but the best copywriters out there almost always write from another perspective – H2H. Human to human.

Whoever your audience is, consider how you’d speak to them if they were sat in front of you. Learn to embrace apostrophes and use words like ‘it’s’ instead of ‘it is’ and ‘you’re’ instead of ‘you are’. Keep the flow natural, and vary the length of your sentences to add a conversational pace to your writing.

Basically, learn to write how you speak.

Not bad: We are skilled and experienced at accounting.

Better: When it comes to accounting, we know what we’re doing.

1. Consider the format

When you’re writing your next blog post or landing page copy – remember to assume that no-one will read the whole thing.

We haven’t got time to read full pages of endless text, we’re busy people! So most people will skim over your webpages looking for the exact information they need.

It’s a great idea to consider the format of you copy and break up your text using subheadings and bullet lists to segment the information. Creating blocks of information will help your readers to find what they need, without getting bored and leaving your site.

Not bad: We have over 20 years’ experience in graphic design, enabling us to deliver quality products for print from business cards and flyers to multi-page brochures.

Better: Looking for a graphic designer? We can help with:

• Business cards
• Flyers
• Multi-page brochures

And much more!

We hope you find these copywriting tips helpful! If you’re planning your next advertising campaign, or you want to refresh your website and you need a specialist copywriter’s eyes on it – get in touch and let’s chat about how we can work together.