Writing content that connects with your readers is one thing; writing content that converts them into repeat customers is quite another. In this blog, we share the copywriting tips and tricks that will help turn distracted browsers into buyers and preoccupied scrollers into shoppers.

1) Know your audience

Look, we know we bang on about this a lot, but that’s because it’s important! If you don’t know who you’re selling to, how are you going to sell to them?  You could write the best content in the world, but it will never convert someone who isn’t in the market to buy your product or services. So, the first step towards writing social media content that converts is to be crystal clear on who you’re writing for.

2) Know your goal

Before you start writing, think about what you want your copy to achieve.  Lots of people stick a call to action at the bottom of their posts as an afterthought.  But here’s a tip that will really focus your writing, pick one Reaction Goal® per post and then write the CTA first. This will help you to be intentional about your copy and focus your brain on your goal.

3) Keep it simple

Do you find yourself trying to squeeze big words into your posts to make you or your client look clever or important? Then you may be surprised to hear that this tactic doesn’t work. In fact, it has the opposite effect. What’s more, reading from a screen is more tiring than reading from a book, magazine or newspaper. That’s why you need to make life as easy as possible for your reader. Try these tips:

• Use conversational language
• Avoid jargon
• Cut the waffle – don’t waste people’s time on words they don’t need to read!

4) Write about what your reader needs to read

When you’re close to the product or service, you’re writing about, it’s easy to fall into the trap of making your content all about you. Take a step back. If you were the consumer, what would you want to know?  The features of your product or service are important to your reader, but it’s really the benefits it provides that will seal the sale. Put this way, when someone has a problem, they’re looking for the fastest and most effective way to fix it. Upshot? They want to know what your product or service will do for them.

5) Use closed questions

Questions are a great way to hook your reader into your copy. That’s because when we read a question, we can’t help but answer it in our heads. Simple questions which don’t require a lot of brain juice are the best. These are known as ‘closed questions.’ In other words, questions that have a yes or no answer.

It’s tempting to use words like ‘exciting’ and ‘awesome’ when you’re describing your product or service. But, when you do this, what you’re actually doing is telling your reader what you think of it, and you’re hoping to magically transfer some of that enthusiasm to them. To combat this, think about why your potential client should feel excited and the impact it’s going to have on their lives. Talk about that instead.

7) Be positive

We know that Facebook, Instagram and all our other favourite social platforms want to be positive places for their users to hang out. This is why using positive language in your posts will not only work wonders on your readers, it will help your posts reach more people too.  It’s easy to switch up negative language.  For example, instead of saying ‘Don’t forget….’, say ‘Remember.’  Or, instead of ‘Fed up feeling like [horrible thing here],’ switch it to ‘Would you love to feel like [lovely upbeat thing here]’.

Conclusion

Implementing these few simple strategies in your writing will make a world of difference to your content. But you need to be consistent. Make sure you include them in your brand voice guidelines so that you commit to using them every time you write content.

Not sure how to create a brand voice guide document? Download our Brand Voice Guide template today.