Copywriting Services
What is copywriting?
Copywriting is a form of writing that creates compelling messages. Good copy will communicate, inform and persuade with the ultimate aim of prompting the reader to take action to buy the product or service that you are selling.
Great copywriting is a powerful sales and marketing tool. It helps you to establish your brand, communicate your marketing message, attract attention, convert customers and build relationships. It’s also a defined skill. Whether you are looking for website content, article writing services, brochure text, blog writing, advertising slogans or just engaging content, the team of copywriters at Ideal Marketing can help you create the right impression.
What do copywriters do?
It sounds obvious, but they write content! The creation of relevant, high quality content is crucial in both inbound and outbound marketing success. Content comes in a range of different forms and styles including:
- Newsletters
- Direct mail
- Flyers
- Website content
- Landing pages
- Blog content
- SEO optimised copy and online articles
- Case studies
- Writing and editing articles
- White papers
- e-commerce
How does copywriting work?
Good copywriters will be aware of what is happening in their clients’ industries so they can identify key issues and relevant topics. An important part of their role will be taking a clear client brief and finding interesting subject matter to write about. This is based on having a good understanding of what their client is trying to achieve with a specific piece of copy.
Once the aim of a piece of copy has been established along with optimal length and inclusion of internal or external links or offer codes, the copywriter should have everything they need to create the copy which will then be sent back to the client for their approval.
What is the secret to great copywriting?
Being a successful copywriter is all about knowing your audience and communicating with it in a way that will engage interest. The best copywriters will do their research so they know who their target audience is and what they are interested in – as well as knowing about the product or service that the copy is selling. They need to know what their audience’s problems are and then demonstrate how their product or service could solve that problem.
Some writers get carried away with the power of their own prose but effective copywriting is a tool for communicating with customers or prospects. Ultimately, it should be all about sales even if the content is not overtly ‘salesy’ in tone and subject
Using the right style of copywriting
Good copywriters will adjust their style depending on who they are trying to communicate with. Different styles of copywriting are suited to different audiences, products, services and goals. The trick is to choose the right style for your particular audience and purpose. Are you aiming to inform, reassure, inspire, explain, educate, challenge, attract, engage, shock? And underlying all this is the ultimate goal to persuade.
David Ogilvy, one of the most successful copywriters in marketing history commented: “If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think.”
Sometimes plain text that is direct and straight to the point is the best way to gain your audience’s attention. presenting the facts and the benefits to the audience in a simple, easy to digest way.
Sometimes it is better to tell a story, putting people at the heart of what you are writing about to improve empathy and engagement. This kind of copy is often based around a conflict or problem with an appropriate resolution.
Sometimes a conversational style will be more appropriate and enable you to communicate with your audience on their level. This kind of copy often begins with phrases such as ‘imagine’, ‘close your eyes’, ‘just think’ or ‘what if you could?’.
A good copywriter will find out what you are trying to achieve, who you are trying to communicate with – and then use the most appropriate style.
Copywriting for different media
Different styles of copywriting are important to bear in mind when writing for different types of media. From using different lengths to different links, what is required for one type of media may not be relevant for another. Here are some examples of what is required for some of the most common types of media copywriting:
Copywriting for websites
Depending on the purpose of the website and whether it’s promoting information, services or products there will be many different types of copy required. However, the crucial factors when copywriting for a website are:
- Making the copy easy to read and digest and
- Making it easy for a user to find the information they are looking for, whether on that page or another page that the copy leads them to.
When writing for websites, including words that people use to search for relevant services or products in the copy can increase the likelihood of that particular website page being found in search engine searches.
Copywriting for advertising and print media
Editorials, advertorials or columns all involve a copywriter creating just the right amount of copy to fit on a specific page. When writing for print media, there will almost always be a word limit defined by an editor, so making sure that a client’s message can be read loud and clear often needs doing in just a few hundred words.
Similarly, whilst many adverts and advertorials work well with several hundred words, others only require a title and a short amount of copy, especially if the purpose of the advertisement is brand awareness rather than to sell a specific product or service.
Copywriting for social media
Social media copywriting is often overlooked by people requiring copywriting services, however it’s becoming more and more important. Imagine having a fantastic article published or a blog on your website that is highly likely to attract customers that will buy something there and then. How do you promote this on social media to an audience that in most cases will already be willing and ready to buy from you?
Do you share links to your website just as links, or say something like ‘Take a look at our latest blog’? The chances are if you’re doing this, you’re missing out on an opportunity. By putting time and thought into copywriting for social media as you would do copywriting for your website or a brochure, you have far more chance of putting the right messages across to the right people. Similarly, social media advertising requires strategic copywriting, just as an offline advertisement does.
Copywriting for design
Companies and institutions alike require design services for things like brochures and leaflets. The copy for these can vary dramatically – for example, a software company brochure may need to be technical and in-depth, whilst a brochure for a university may need to be far less detailed and more ‘top level’.
Speak to a specialist marketing copywriter today
Few companies can afford to employ a team of copywriters and all too often it is a task that is handed to the ‘best writer in the office’ who may not really understand the skills and techniques involved.
At The Ideal Marketing Company we have a team of copywriters who can create the right content for your purpose. To find out more about how our team of writers could help you to communicate more effectively with customers and prospects email helen@idealmarketingcompany.com or call 01858 374 170 today. Your initial consultation is free with no obligation to use our services.
