Shareable content has just become the norm. Share-ability of content is going to be measured not only by the understanding of users, but also by Google’s semantic algorithm that tries to “understand” content-worthiness.

The important elements of good web copy content and how to create copy that boosts the sale of your products phenomenally.

Let us see the ingredients of the perfect content/copy recipe that “sells”.

Do you have a Content Strategy?

First off, do not start with a blindfolded, take-as-it-comes approach. Content strategy is very important, because it is going to be the base for all your marketing analytics. This strategy will include every detail about key players, starting from product info, target audience, target location, primary and secondary keywords, to a well-defined writing style and a uniform brand.

Secondly, who are you writing for? Remember – Google might bring you to the top, but if your copy fails to address the needs of your audience, they will never spend a penny. That is why a content strategy is required, to strike a balance between SEO practices and writing simple copy that converses with your customers and tells them what they need and why they need it.

“Content marketing is not just about amplifying your message to your customer; it is about helping them find what they are looking for.”

– Kaitlin Walsh via bluechipcommunication.com.au

What’s in a headline?

A headline by any other name would still be as important.

Call it title, headline or caption. It is the most important part of your content – the element that is going to decide if the customer will scroll down to read your content and do as instructed or not.

Write a headline that confirms to 3 Cs:

(a) Generates Curiosity, (b) Is Compelling and (c) That Connects

A headline that does all the three is a clincher. Making your customers curious enough to be compelled to read through the end and make a connection that makes them fill up the lead form – you are done.

Does your copy contain a hook?

Once you are done with the headline, decide what element you would want to use inside the copy that serves as a hook. Good copy uses emotions to create that hook. For example, “Never miss out on your granddaughter’s stories anymore – with XYZ hearing devices” will make your customers want to know more, as the emotional hook has them ensnared.

Does your copy tell your visitors what to do?

You may write pages and pages of value, features, and benefits, but if your visitors do not know what to do, they will keep on reading and get lost in the scrolling. Tell them in BIG clear font what to do. “Call to Action” items such as “Click Here”, “Add Me”, “Count me in”, “Get EazyMop now!”, “Step into the inner circle”, etc., can be used as buttons on lead forms that take user information for various outcomes which include subscribing, data input, or actually buying the product.

Size does matter! Long copy Vs. Short and Crisp copy

Long copy or short? How long? These are some questions worth pondering before writing web copy for a product or service.

First off, rule 1, your customers have NO time. Read no time. And that means their attention span is gone in a second. So, if you are writing long copy, know that the product has to be of that much importance and worthiness that the customer wants to know anything and everything about it. If you are trying to sell a mop and you write 3 pages of copy convincing the customer of its benefits, you won’t have any customers left. “Keep your floors sparkling clean with EazyMop!!” works perfect for an ad copy of a mop. On the other hand, if you are selling a washing machine, long copy will help you distribute all the benefits that the customer would want to know before investing in it.

The eternal debate: Features or Benefits?

The best way to convince ghost-convince your customers is to help them visualize what the benefit actually does to them after they have bought a product. Instead of listing features and then benefits, make them SEE the benefit in actual use. For example, you are selling a shirt – show the user how the shirt will look when worn. And there he goes, convinced and ready to hit the big Buy button.

And always, benefits first – preferably visually served. Features next.

Testimonials: Everyone’s used it!

The best way to convince a customer is to tell him/her that they are the only ones left out and that everyone else has tried the product. And how do you do that? You publish lot of testimonials about the product from your happiest customers (Base rule: You better have happy customers if you want to really sell your product). The moment a user sees another of his/her kind praising truckloads about a product, he/she is convinced. Testimonials are the online versions of “Word of mouth” publicity. They work like nothing else. They are deal clinchers.

Surprise!! You’ve got a free gift!

Your product must have a free giveaway, and it must be a surprise. This plays on the emotions of an already-convinced customer to get him to buy more. Much like up-selling.

“I am convinced. I am buying a product. Oh Wow! Free gift! That’s amazing! Let me spread the news. Let me buy one more.”

You get the drift. Surprise is what makes a customer return for more.

Serve them content on different platters

Current most-effective trend in digital marketing is to re-purpose content in a different way. Use of info graphics has become the in thing, as customers understand visual cues better than rolls and rolls of boring text. Using graphs, info graphics and other visual elements such as interactive or response-based articles actually hooks the customer on to the next step without giving him/her a chance to digress from the page.

Final Say:

Just one last thing to remember: always write to the customer, and not for the search engine. What you write has to connect with your customer and genuinely make him feel that it is of real benefit.

It sounds tough but isn’t really. Learn to use these tips in your copy and you are sure to make lasting impressions (pun intended).

Can’t write? No worries!

Contact My Digital Marketing Team here for a quote.