Online Marketer’s Guide to Copywriting Checklist
Learning how to write persuasive copy is one of the best skills you can develop as an online business owner. Here’s how to get started creating your own copy…
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Do These 4 Things Before You Write a Single Word of Copy
- Determine what action you want your visitor to do after consuming your content. This answer might be something like ‘buy my product’ or ‘sign up for my coaching services’.
- Consider what problem you’re solving for your reader. Define why your visitor needs your product or service.
- Decide what the goal of this copy will be. If you’re building your mailing list, then the goal of your copy would be to get new visitors to enter your sales funnel.
- Create an outline. You want your copy to be use to scan and consume. Stay on track by creating an outline before you get to work.
5 Elements of a Good Landing Page
- Write your headline. The headline is what convinces your visitors to read your landing page so make it interesting.
- Create the body. The body of your landing page is your chance to connect with your readers. Be engaging and make them want to learn more about your brand or product.
- Make the call to action. Be direct and ask your visitors to take 1 specific action like signing up for your newsletter or joining your mastermind group.
- Add your form. If your visitors will be signing up for your newsletter or coaching services, create a form they can use.
- Test your form. Always test forms on your landing pages in a variety of conditions so you can spot problems before you go live.
- Create your guarantee. Get your visitors to trust you by adding a privacy policy or money-back guarantee to your offer. This eases a visitor’s mind and makes them more likely to follow the call to action.
Write Engaging Copy for Your Online Ads
- Know the goal of your advertisement. Before you decide on a budget or do anything else, pick the goal for your ad. It could be: driving traffic, building your email list, or selling your product.
- Create a short headline. Remember, advertisements may be viewed on mobile devices so short headlines work best.
- Research your image size. Make sure you pick images that have the best dimensions for your advertising platform.
- Write the body copy. You’ll only have a sentence or two to get your idea across; so, focus on what your visitors need and how you can give it to them.
- Set up a landing page for your ad. If you send visitors to your front page, they may get confused. Have a specific page on your site where they can go to learn more about your brand or products.
AIDA: The Copywriting Template Every Online Business Owner Needs
- Get attention. Start with a headline that makes a bold statement or asks a provocative question.
- Hook your readers. Follow up your headline with copy that’s interesting and makes your visitor curious.
- Create desire. Let customers know how easy, simple, and fun life can be, if they only had your product or service.
- Inspire action. Make a short, direct call to action so visitors know exactly what to do next.
Improve Your Social Media Copy with These Tweaks
- Let your followers see your journey. Pull back the curtain and show visitors what an ordinary day looks like for you.
- Offer value. As you share your everyday life, give your fans valuable information. Tell them how to pick the right hiking gear or what low-carb foods to avoid.
- Ask questions. Keep your fans engaged by asking complex questions. The questions that inspire the most responses usually begin with ‘How…?’ or ‘Why…?’.
Using Analytics to Refine Your Copy
- Look at your popular content. Popular content is the type of content that your followers and fans usually want to see more of.
- Consider traffic sources. When you know where most of your visitors are coming from, you can spend more time investing in those platforms.
- Study your demographics. Pay attention to facts about your demographics that surprise you. Keep in mind how you can use this information in your future copy.
The Importance of Using A/B Split Testing
- Stay focused by testing one feature at a time. This will give you the best results and help you clearly see which elements you should tweak or change.
- Track your results. Use a monthly spreadsheet and update it with statistics from your website analytics and social media metrics.
- Continue testing. Don’t just run one split test and call it done. Run multiple tests so you can keep learning about the community you serve.
- Give yourself plenty of time. Ideally, plan to spend several weeks split testing your copy. Make sure to take note of the insights you’re gaining about your target market.