Copywriting Basics: The Concept
Every small business or nonprofit should know the copywriting basics. Whether their copy is produced with intention and strategy, or without any direction, every company uses words in their business. Copywriting is the language we read on every product, social media post, and website we see. It’s the compelling messages and stories that convert readers to buyers, visitors to community members. Essentially, copywriting sparks people to take a specific action.
Even though the concept is simple, so few people understand copywriting basics or how to do it well. But don’t feel bad—I had never heard of copywriting before joining a communications team years ago. And until much more recently, I definitely didn’t know there are full-time copywriters out there!
Now, I’m here to pass on some wisdom as a copywriter and communications strategist so your small business or nonprofit can use copywriting to grow.
Copywriting in Practice
Copywriting as a Strategy
Your small business or nonprofit should have an overarching strategy. (If you don’t, let’s chat!) That steers where you spend your precious dollars and how you use your staff’s time. That guiding strategy should have a marketing plan, which should include copywriting. Your strategy—especially as it relates to your mission, vision, values, target audience, and key products/services—will inform your copy. (See how it’s all connected?)
Your most strategic copywriting will be found on your sales/donation pages, in ads, and via direct mail. That said, your storytelling and content marketing also need to be well-written with an end goal in mind.
Oft-quoted advertising mogul David Ogilvy advised, “Consumers do not buy products. They buy product benefits.” Keep that principle in mind when writing your copy. You’re selling freedom, not a plane ticket. You’re pitching a sustainable future, not a $10 recurring donation. Your customers are buying empowerment, not just a handmade bracelet.
As attention spans shorten and online spaces become more saturated, your copy needs to become even more compelling. Give your readers—aka your potential customers—a reason to stick around, or even better, to keep coming back for more.
Copywriting as Storytelling
While visuals in a brand and product are important, it’s the stories we tell and the details we describe that make someone buy. Apple successfully sold a more expensive MP3 player than their competitors because their iPod put “1000 songs in your pocket.” Consumers cared more about living out the tangible picture of convenience and innovation than buying a similar product for its memory space and processing speed.
Storytelling uses a narrative to communicate on a deeper level with your audience. The narratives you select should be based on your brand’s values and your audience’s personas.
Aim to be emotional and engaging. Solicit a universal truth that resonates with your audience and can become associated with your product or service in an organic way.
Storytelling may be used on landing pages, in video scripts, in emails or newsletters, in press releases, in blog posts, even in social media posts. You’ll have higher conversion—meaning your potential customers will actually sign up for your event, buy your product, or hire you for your service—if they know, like, and trust your brand. Stories can establish that connection.
Copywriting as Content Marketing
Content marketing is all about sharing free content to attract and convert prospects into customers. (Or sometimes providing exclusive paid content, as with membership groups and Patreon.) There are few rules when it comes to content marketing, other than it must be valuable to your audience.
Content marketing often comes in the form of blog posts, podcasts, and emails. Regardless of the medium, the audience’s needs should be at the center of all content.
Direct mail copywriter Richard Armstrong explains, “Advertising copywriters focus a lot of attention on creating an ‘avatar’ for their ideal customer, but they don’t always take this additional step of fully inhabiting the persona of the person who is supposedly writing the sales letter. Both are equally important.”
That’s why a luxury skincare brand might write about pasta sauce and meditating, or a natural cleaning company writes about food flavoring in products they don’t sell. These are topics their readers care about, so they want to be at the center of the conversation, driving people to their website. (This was the premise behind the Money Matters series I wrote on behalf of a local early childhood learning center.)
Content marketing is about generosity—spending your time researching so your readers don’t have to, then sharing that knowledge with no strings attached. It’s about being approachable and enjoyable. It should never look or feel like an ad. Finally, content marketing attracts the right people. It gets them on your website or social media channels via SEO and creates organic brand advocates when they share your content.
Copywriting for Growth
By now, hopefully you understand some copywriting basics and why the words you use in your business matter. With clear, values-driven stories and content, you’ll be poised for growth.
Everything you produce will be more effective if you keep your audience at your center. Tell the stories they want to hear. Share the knowledge they’re craving. Become their go-to source and you’ll have leads convert to paying customers and one-time buyers transform into loyal, recurring purchasers.
Let me know what your biggest copywriting pain point has been so far, or what your favorite medium is to reach your audience!
If you have any questions about your current copy, how to create a content strategy, or anything in between, I’m here to guide your way or implement compelling copy for you. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
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