14 copywriting tips for outstanding content
Content creation is at the heart of all online marketing.
But creating content that works for people and algorithms is not as easy as it might look.
There is a lot to learn about great online content. It took me years to get where I am today. Some things I figured out by chance, some I learned by getting feedback for guest posts and a lot of things I learned from you all, through your feedback and questions you sent me. Thanks for that!
Here are 14 quick copywriting tips to help you create better content that your audience will read and love:
#1 Start with research
The more you know about a topic the more valuable content can you create. Plus, research will help you to create the best content people can find on this topic. Find out what content exists on this topic and create something more thorough, better structured, easier to read, more entertaining...
#2 Make it more interesting
How?
Add structure, add (helpful) images, make it entertaining, tell stories, add controversy.
#3 Add personality
It is you and your personality that makes your content unique. Successful content is personal.
#4 Focus on your headline
Learn to create better headlines. It is one of the most important copywriting skills.
Once you have the content and the headline, double-check if the content delivers on the claims of the headline. Don't promise something in the headline that the content does not deliver.
#5 Simplify
Reread your content. If any passage is hard to understand, rewrite it. Your readers want to understand what you are telling them even if they only skim the content.
#6 Tell stories
Stories make content more interesting. Stories help to build curiosity and emotionally draw your audience in.
#7 Make the content visually appealing
Online content is harder to read than a book. That means that you need more structure:
Easy-to-read type font, short paragraphs, use bold, italic and underlined text to highlight important passages, bullet points and numbered lists, headings, subheadings.
#8 Purpose
Don't just create more and more content. Make sure that you know for every piece of content why you create it. For SEO traffic? For social media shares? Because your audience will love the topic? To sell? To get more signups?
#9 Mix up sentence length
I often read that you should use shorter sentences. And that is good advice. But a text full of 5-word sentences can become VERY boring.
A good mix of different sentences that are easy to understand is usually best.
#10 Find a unique angle
You should be trying to create the best content on the topic you are covering. Sometimes that is not easy.
What can help your content to stand out is a unique angle or a piece of information that other existing content does not have.
#11 Don't make empty claims
If you make a claim, always add a reason why it is so.
Good ways to back up your claims are quotes, statistics, case studies, testimonials.
#12 Use images
Images help to keep the attention of your audience. They add focus points for the eyes and make the text easier to read. Visuals also add something people's brains will remember.
#13 Use examples
Can you remember school mathematics? Many students have trouble understanding an equation. But when you add an example, for many of them it gets far easier to understand it.
That is also true for copywriting.
#14 Build credibility
Always deliver what you promise and add proof where you can. Proof can come in your own story, testimonials or case studies or quotes from experts.
There is a lot to learn to master copywriting but you should not get intimidated.
The best way to learn to create better content is to read a lot and figure out what you like and why you like it.
What was something you learned about copywriting that was a real game-changer for you?
Great tips, Amy.
Mine look a little bit different but surely start with a market research in mind. I believe it's the most important step.
Let's say you have a video editing app. And you just released video subtitling feature.
I'd go in the wild, searching for what are the deepest pains, emotions, barriers, and frustrations that my audience is experience.
For me, typically it's Facebook Groups, Youtube comments, answerthepublic.com, Quora, forums, Reddit...
I then break down my article in 3 main steps:
Story: I start my articles by writing a quick story that drives directly into action. Show to the audience I understand their needs, their pains, and frustrations. I give them a reason to keep reading my article.
Discovery: I write some short paragraphs about how my audience search online for a solution, and how they waste their time and effort on things that do not work.
And finally – what they experience during this journey. Y
Im trying to emphasise with them.
They need to listen to how you went through the same journey.
They need to recall what they lost while searching for a solution. And how they are about to find one.
I know this sound like a Lord of the Rings book 😂 but there is a reason why people read such books.
There’s a Reluctant Hero journey component. There’s storytelling.
I try not to make my article about “Top 10 tools for project management” s**t.
Such articles will only frustrate even more my users.
And here's why...
Instead of showing them the exact solution, you just give them a list of 10 more possible things they have to research. What the heck...
I give them a reason to get started with me by providing a good deal and easy onboarding.
Kind of a big comment. I know 😅 but I love your tips
#11 tip where you say don't make empty claims. This is a great tip for beginners as well as experience writers.
thank you for the helpful content you share :)