20 Best Advice I Learned As A Copywriter + 2 More

Copywriting is a form of communication that is meant to persuade someone to take action.

That might be buying something from you, becoming a customer, or downloading your app.

However, it doesn’t mean that all copywriting is created equal.

As with any type of writing, there are best practices to follow and worst practices that can result in failure or even worse — bad content!

Learn from the best!

• Read the best copywriters’ work.
• Read the best copywriter’s blog posts.
• Read the best copywriter’s books.
• Read the best copywriter’s articles, which are often published in industry journals and magazines like Copyblogger, The Content Marketing Institute (CMI), and Hubspot.

You can also find great content on Medium, LinkedIn or Quora that is written by top writers in their field of expertise — just search for topics related to your niche!

Read often and widely.

Reading is the best way to learn.

You should be reading everything you can get your hands on, whether it’s books, blogs or articles. You should also be reading things that are bad and mediocre — the more material you consume, the more likely you are to find something useful in there (and if not, then at least it was a quick read). The point isn’t just about quantity but quality too: don’t just read what everyone else says is good; look for those hidden gems that might not have had as much attention paid to them yet but still offer some valuable insights into writing well!

Reading widely will help prevent any one piece of advice from becoming stale or limiting your perspective by only focusing on one specific style or genre of writing. There is no single perfect way of doing anything when it comes down right down here at ground level where we live our lives every day with all our imperfections exposed — so why should there be only one right way?

In writing, simplicity is not an accident.

Stop trying to be clever.

You know what’s more effective than using a fancy word? Using the right word. If you can’t find an appropriate synonym or phrase, it might be best to go with your first instinct and choose something simpler. The same goes for metaphors and analogies — if they don’t make sense or add value, leave them out!

Every word should count. Most don’t.

Every word counts. Most don’t.

Copywriting is all about using words to convince your reader that what you’re selling is worth their time and money, but many people fail at this because they think that writing a lot of words will get them where they want to be. While it’s true that writing in general can be effective for marketing purposes, the best copywriters know how to use their limited space wisely by making every single word count — and that means eliminating any unnecessary filler from their copy so that it’s concise and clear while still being engaging enough that readers keep reading until the end (which should also happen if they’re interested).

Make a promise and keep it.

Promises are what people want to hear.

Promises are what people remember.

Promise to do something, and deliver on it. That’s what makes you credible and trustworthy in the eyes of your readers — and that’s what can make all the difference between landing a client or not!

So what’s the best way to make sure that your promises are believable? By making sure they’re achievable as well! Don’t promise something that sounds too good to be true; instead, promise something within reach (and then overdeliver).

Know exactly who your target is and why you’re writing to them.

When you know your audience, you can write more effectively for them. Here are some tips to help:

• Know their pain points. What’s driving them crazy? What keeps them up at night? What do they wish they could change about their lives or businesses but don’t know how? Knowing these things will help you craft copy that speaks directly to their needs and frustrations.
• Know their goals and values. What does this person want out of life, and how does it align with yours? Are there certain things that matter deeply — family, health, community service — and if so why do they matter so much? Understanding these details will help ensure that any message resonates with people who share similar interests or beliefs (or even just appreciate being understood).

Think from the reader’s point of view, not your own.

• Think from the reader’s point of view, not your own.
• Be aware of what the reader knows and doesn’t know, wants and needs to understand.
• How will this help them in their life? In their work?

Listen to your audience.

Listening to your audience is the best way to understand what they want, need and like. You can do this in a variety of ways:

• Social media — If you’re not listening to social media, you’re missing out on a wealth of information about what consumers think about your brand or product. Look at the comments being left by users on Facebook posts and Instagram photos; see how many likes they get; check out how many people click “share” when you post something new online. It’s all valuable data that will help shape future content creation efforts (and save time).
• Surveys — Surveying customers is another great way to learn more about their preferences without having them tell us directly what they like (or don’t). By asking questions related specifically toward topics like product features or service experiences we can glean valuable insight into how well those offerings are resonating with consumers across different demographics within our target market(s).

Understand your reader’s expectations.

• Understand what your reader wants to achieve.
• Understand what they think they want to achieve.
• Understand what they are worried about, afraid of or concerned about.
• Understand what they care about, so you can connect with them emotionally and build trust by addressing those concerns in a genuine way that shows empathy for their situation (because people don’t just buy things — they buy from people).

Your copy shouldn’t focus on you. It should focus on your reader.

You know who your audience is, and you should write for them. But how do you know what they want?

The easiest way to figure out what your audience wants is by asking them. You can do this by sending surveys, asking questions at events or on social media, or simply talking to people in person (or on the phone). You could even use tools like Survey Monkey or Polldaddy if you prefer not to create an email list manually.

Once you’ve collected enough feedback from real customers, now it’s time for some analysis! Look over all responses together as a whole — don’t just look at individual comments — and try to find patterns in what people say they want versus how they actually behave when using products/services like yours. Use these patterns as inspiration when writing copy that will resonate with those audiences best; don’t be afraid of being unconventional if there’s evidence showing that unconventional strategies work better than expected!

Use a conversational tone.

You should write your copy as if you were having a conversation with the reader. That means using contractions and conversational words, like “you” and “your,” rather than words like “the.” It also means avoiding jargon, buzzwords and industry terms that might not be familiar to them.

If your writing has a lot of passive voice (for example: “The report was written by our team”) then rewrite it using active voice (for example: “We wrote this report”). This makes it clearer who did what and makes it easier for someone else to understand what you’re saying if they come along later on in their career when they may have forgotten some things about how the business works.

Use short sentences where possible — 3 or 4 words at most — but longer ones where necessary because shorter paragraphs mean more white space which makes them easier on the eye when reading on screen or paper!

Tell, don’t sell.

Tell, don’t sell.

A lot of copywriting advice will tell you to do the exact opposite of this. You’ll hear things like “sell the benefits” and “showcasing your product’s features is good.” But here’s the thing: if you’re writing for a website or blog, there are no customers in front of you — and even if there were, they would not be able to see or touch your product before buying it. In fact, most people go through an extensive research process before deciding whether or not they want something as simple as a pair of shoes! So how can anyone make an informed decision without being able to see (or feel) what they’re buying? The answer is simple: by telling them about it instead!

Let me explain further…

Make the first sentence count!

The first sentence is the most important part of your copy. It’s the one that readers will judge you on, and it has to be good.

The best way to make sure your first sentence stands out is by making it count:

• Use a strong opening line — one that grabs attention and makes readers want to keep reading. You can do this with an interesting fact or statistic, or by posing a question that forces people who read it into action (e.g., “What are you waiting for?”). The most common way writers accomplish this today is through the use of clickbait titles — headlines designed specifically for social media sharing purposes — but there are plenty of other ways too!
• Establish context quickly so readers don’t get lost in what exactly they’re reading about before deciding whether or not it’s worth their time; otherwise they’ll just move onto another article instead!

Avoid words like “Amazing” and “Revolutionary”.

Avoid buzzwords and jargon.

Buzzwords, like “amazing” and “revolutionary,” are overused to the point where they’re meaningless. They don’t help your copy stand out from the crowd, and they can even make you look unprofessional if used incorrectly. Instead of using these words (or any superlatives), focus on specific details that are relevant to your audience and product or service. For example:

• If you’re selling a weight loss program, say that it helps people lose inches instead of pounds because inches matter more than pounds when it comes to fitting into clothes! So many people have tried diets before but failed because they didn’t see results fast enough — but this one works differently because it focuses on inches instead of pounds! You’ll see results within just weeks of starting our program!

Always keep SEO in mind when writing, but don’t write for search engines. Write for people!

When writing copy, always keep SEO in mind. You want to make sure that the words you use are relevant and will help your page rank higher on Google. However, don’t write for search engines — write for people! While there are certain factors related to SEO that should be considered when writing webpages (like keywords), don’t let them become too much of a priority or else it will be hard for readers to understand what your site is about.

Don’t overlook the landing page copy.

Landing page copy is an important part of the marketing process. You can’t just send your visitors to a blank page and expect them to click on anything. Your landing pages should have clear calls-to-action (CTAs) that tell visitors what you want them to do next, like buy something or sign up for a newsletter.

If you’re using landing pages as part of an existing campaign, it’s important that all of the content — including the CTA button text — is consistent with the rest of your marketing materials so that it looks professional and trustworthy. Your copy should use similar language as what’s used elsewhere on your site: same tone and voice, same style guide, etc., because this makes everything feel familiar when someone lands there unexpectedly through Google search results or social media sharing links from friends/family members who’ve already visited those pages before!

Customize your offers based on where a lead is in the sales funnel.

The more customized your offers are, the better.

Customize your offer based on where a lead is in the sales funnel. Your offer should be different for each stage of the sales funnel:

• Introduction — “I’d like to learn more about your company and how we can work together.”
• Consideration — “Here’s what I think might be most valuable for you right now.” (Or, if it’s already been introduced: “Let me tell you why this process is so important.”)

Include testimonials.

Testimonials are a great way to show off your product or service, and they’re also a powerful marketing tool. Testimonials can come from anyone — even your customers! You could even go so far as to ask them for their testimonials before they’ve actually used your product/service.

When writing testimonials, make sure that they’re authentic and honest; if someone says something bad about your brand or business, take it as an opportunity to improve yourself rather than try to hide the truth behind false praise.

Use design to enhance your content, not distract from it.

• Avoid using too many colors.
• Use white space to make text easier to read and digest.
• Use graphics, illustrations or photos to break up text and illustrate your points visually.
• Use design elements like fonts, colors and images to give your content personality!

Make it skimmable and scannable (i.e., use headers and bullet points).

When you’re writing for the web, your audience will likely be skimming and scanning. That means they’re looking for key points, so make sure you use headers and bullet points.

Skimmable content is good content — and vice-versa. Skimmable content makes it easy for readers to understand what your message is at a glance; they don’t have to read every single word of it before they know what’s going on.

If someone reads something that’s not skimmable (i.e., if the words are all jammed together), then they’ll have trouble understanding what the writer wants them to know or do next — which means they’ll probably stop reading right away!

Test headlines and optimize them using A/B testing or tools like CoSchedule Headline Analyzer.

• Test headlines to see which ones convert the best.
• Use tools like CoSchedule Headline Analyzer, which will tell you whether your headline is strong enough to stand alone or if it needs some work.
• Use A/B testing to optimize headlines by changing one word at a time and seeing how that affects your overall conversion rate.
• Don’t use more than 2 headlines for testing; otherwise, it’s too difficult to tell which one is working best because they’re all being tested together (instead of against each other). Also, don’t test headlines too often — you’ll just waste time without getting any real results!

Be yourself.

When it comes to copywriting, there are two things you should never do:

• Try to be someone else. Whether that’s someone with more experience or a more popular brand, there is no reason for you to change who you are as a writer in order to fit into a specific mold. If they can’t see past the fact that they may not have written like this before, then they shouldn’t hire you anyway!
• Try too hard to sound like another brand (or anything). It’s easy enough for people who write all day long on social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook; but when it comes time for an important project like writing copy for an ad campaign or website content — the stakes become much higher! Your job isn’t just about getting clicks; it’s also about making sure those clicks convert into sales/leads/etcetera… which means being able to adapt quickly based on feedback from clients/bosses etcetera…

Conclusion

Copywriting is a science, not an art. It’ll take years of practice and study to become a master copywriter like those we mentioned above. I hope that this list has helped you find some good tips for getting better at writing your own copy!