awesome copywriting - Express Writers

ContentWritingChat April 26 2016 Recap: Creative Copywriting Tactics 101

December 31, 2020April 29, 2016 by Rachel Moffett

Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this week? There’s no need to worry, my friend! I’ve rounded-up some of the tweets from Tuesday’s chat so you can get caught up. Dive into our recap and learn more about the wonderful world of copywriting! #ContentWritingChat April 26 2016 Recap: Creative Copywriting Tactics 101 Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, April 26th at 10 AM CDT with guest host @PooPourri! pic.twitter.com/vBuBvgxYw6 — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) April 19, 2016 This week, we were joined by Nicole Story, the Vice President of Creative at Poo~Pourri. We are huge fans of Poo~Pourri here at Express Writers because they are consistently creative and amazing with their brand’s copywriting. If you want to learn how they do it all, you’re in luck because Nicole shared some of her top tips with us! Q1: How important is online storytelling and creative writing to brands today? In case you weren’t convinced that both online storytelling and creative writing are important to brands, just check out these tweets from Tuesday’s chat: @ExpWriters A1: Storytelling is huge. It’s the HUMAN factor in an e-engagement. #ContentWritingChat — Poo~Pourri (@PooPourri) April 26, 2016 @ExpWriters A1: Instead of shoving a product down peep’s digital throats, tell them a relatable story they’ll plug into. #ContentWritingChat — Poo~Pourri (@PooPourri) April 26, 2016 As Nicole from Poo~Pourri said, storytelling is the human factor in online engagement. A relatable story will truly resonate with your audience and attract them to your brand. A1: Online storytelling is basically marketing in 2016 so it’s extremely important. It can make or break a brand #ContentWritingChat — Searcy Sledge (@SearcySledge) April 26, 2016 Searcy knows the importance of storytelling. She says it can make or break a brand these days! It’s a good reminder to think about your brand’s story. What story are you telling with your brand? Is it resonating with your audience? A1. Not a matter of importance, but one of relevance. Storytelling is the new marketing. Content > CTAs #ContentWritingChat @ExpWriters — Rachel Jolley (@iamracheljolley) April 26, 2016 Rachel says that storytelling is relevant to brands today. Focus on providing great content to your audience! A1: Very important! Essentially brands are combining their benefits into audience’s pain points #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/pDTbqF52vv — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) April 26, 2016 When telling your brand’s story it helps to share the benefits you can provide in relation to your audience’s pain points. It’s one of the best ways to reach them and really pull them in. Q2: What do you need to know before you create online copy? Before you start writing copy for your brand, there are a few things you should know! Keep these tips in mind: @ExpWriters A2: WHO are we talking to. WHAT are we talking to them about. And WHY the crap should they care? #ContentWritingChat — Poo~Pourri (@PooPourri) April 26, 2016 @ExpWriters A2: And WHAT do we want them to do? Have a call to action—surprisingly, engagement can be as simple as that. #ContentWritingChat — Poo~Pourri (@PooPourri) April 26, 2016 Questions you need to have the answers to: Who are you talking to? What are you talking to them about? Why should they care? Knowing why is so crucial! Also, know what action you want someone to take next. Include a call to action so you can tell your audience what the next step is. A2 Why you’re writing? Who you’re writing for? What do you want readers to do once they’ve read content? #ContentWritingChat — Shannon Mouton Gray (@ShannonRenee) April 26, 2016 Shannon also agrees that knowing your why is important when creating online copy! A2. The obvious answer is who your audience is, what they care about, where they are engaging, etc. #ContentWritingChat — Brittany Brander (@BrittanyBrander) April 26, 2016 It may be obvious, but it’s important! As Brittany said, you need to know who your audience is. What do they care about? Where are they engaging with you? When you take the time to truly get to know your audience, you can create tailor-made content just for them. .@ExpWriters #ContentWritingChat A2. Every copywriter first needs to know the details – Who, What, Why, When, Where and How. — Pratik Mohapatra (@mohapatrapratik) April 26, 2016 As Pratik said, you need to know who, what, why, when, where, and how. These questions are essential! A2: Also, ultimately what’re YOUR goals. What are you hoping to achieve with said content? #ContentWritingChat — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) April 26, 2016 What are your goals with the content you’re creating? You should have your end goal in mind so you can create the exact content that will help you achieve the results you want. A2) Your first move should be to look from the customer’s perspective and ask the question, “Would I care about this?” #contentwritingchat — Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) April 26, 2016 As Kyle suggested, ask yourself if you would care about the copy you’re creating. If not, it’s time to go back to the drawing board! Q3: What are key elements of successful creative online copywriting? To make sure your creative online copywriting is a success, take a look at these tips from Tuesday’s chat: @ExpWriters A3: For Poo, it’s all about grabbing immediate attention through OMG-did-they-just-say-that humor & delight #ContentWritingChat — Poo~Pourri (@PooPourri) April 26, 2016 @ExpWriters A3: Be concise. Be funny. Be hyperbolic but relatable. If it’d make people reply w/ #preach ? …slam dunk. #ContentWritingChat — Poo~Pourri (@PooPourri) April 26, 2016 It will be different for your brand, but when it comes to Poo~Pourri, they love the kind of humor that really grabs your attention. A3: Engaging topic, strong visuals, & an action item. And anything you can give away is a plus. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/iTwJzGjWKR — Eliza David, Author (@elizadwrites) April 26, 2016 Eliza says to make sure you choose an engaging topic and include strong visuals. They are two key elements to creating great copy! A3. Personality, voice, clarity! #contentwritingchat — Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) April 26, 2016 Kristen’s key elements of successful copy include personality, voice, and … Read more

25 Web Content Creation ROI Tips: Copy That Sells (Infographic)

January 1, 2021November 3, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Creating great web content online is the best way to help push site conversions and bring in awesome new clients. But, how can you create content that sells? In other words, have content ROI? Content that is crafted well has the ability to return on investment, or ROI, for your brand. In this infographic, we take a look at the top reasons you need great content, with 25 useful, fundamental tips to help you get knee-deep in the creation of copy that sells. Full transcript below. Enjoy! And if you like this, we’d love a share and comment! Transcript Why is Awesome Web Content Vital? You have approximately 8 seconds to convince someone to stay – after that, you could lose them. Around 96% of site visitors are not ready to buy yet, and content keeps them coming back until they do. If you create and publish around 31-40 landing pages, you’re likely to generate 7 times the amount of leads than those who don’t. And 40+ generates 12 times more. Visual content like product videos can increase purchases by 144%. Research shows that Google consistently ranks posts over 2,500 words. 25 Surefire Ways to Create Web Content that Sells (Content ROI) Here are some great ways to create wonderful content that can help boost your sales and bring you ROI. Emotions Help Motivate. Emotions are an incredible way to motivate clients to act. Peer pressure, self-improvement tips, and more are excellent motivators. Weave these in your copy. Create a Sense of Urgency. When writing your content, make sure you create a sense of urgency. Show that there is a demand for your product. Tie in brevity to urgency to compel your reader. Create a Case Study. 63% of UK marketers think that case studies are excellent marketing tactics. You can use them to show customers information about your company and product, convincing them to choose you. Create Evergreen Content. Well-researched, in-depth, long-form blogs that answer timeless questions are considered evergreen. These pieces can convert readers and rank you high in Google if done right. And, they’ll always stay relevant. Have Excellent Headlines. Half of your content creation time should be spent coming up with a persuasive headline. Make it useful, have urgency, be unique, and specific. Plug in power words and adjectives to transform an otherwise typical headline. Don’t Be Afraid to Have a Conversational Voice. Think of this like how you’d talk to a client who is also a friend over coffee. Enrich your content with a lively, fun, conversational tone. This can help immensely with building connections that will convert. Find Your One “Thing.” Each company has a “thing” that sets them apart – yours included. Find your “thing” and focus on it with your content. Research Audience Needs. Content that sells needs one crucial element – audience research. Know what your audience needs and create content they can use. Stay Authentic. Marketing now requires authenticity, especially if you plan to market to millennials. Be unique, for example showcasing pictures of your office on Instagram, and your daily grind—and have fun while you’re doing it. Your brand fans will love it! Create a Plan for Content. Plan out your content through various tools such as editorial calendars. You will find it easier to maintain a consistent content plan with one. Make Important Info A Focus. Simple tip, but a vital reminder. This goes for pricing, calls to action, and any other pertinent info. Don’t let it get lost on site or else you’ll lose visitors. Refine Your Approach. Compile a full list, or “brain dump,” of your ideas for content pieces. Next, narrow down and refine your approach. Create content on just a few of your narrowed-down, hot topics for impactful results. Make Vital Points Standout. People only read about 20% of all of the content on your page – make what you want them to see stand out from the rest. Remove Distractions. Too many choices can create higher levels of anxiety for visitors, which can negatively impact conversion rates. Focus on your highest seller or main pain point and dwindle down anything else. Make Your Content Easy to Scan. Only 16% of readers will read all of your blog content, but 79% of visitors will scan. Writing easy-to-scan content will help you reach out to every visitor and reader. Break your content up with sub-headers. Use the Power of One. The “power of one” helps you establish one big idea that you can focus on. This can often be your one “thing,” as well. Focus on one thought for every page or post. Know Which Content Types Work Well. Multiple content formats are excellent, but before you jump into each, make sure you know which ones will work the best. Test, analyze, and check the engagement of your content types; and tweak or change your habits accordingly. Utilize Visual Content. When an image is used, tweets see more engagement with 18% more tweets, 89% favorites, and 150% re-tweets. And Facebook saw a growth of 3.6x in the amount of videos used on the channel. Write Long-Form Content. Long content gives the perception of added value, making people more likely to trust and read. Posts over 2,500 words also do very well in the rankings. Create Relevant Content. You don’t want content that is outdated or doesn’t make sense to your audience. Instead, write content on trending topics within your industry as well as content you know your audience wants and needs to see. Bloggers, Include a Subscription Box. Email subscription boxes are a great way to give visitors access to content, eventually converting them into leads. (For every $1 spent on email marketing, average revenue is $44.25.) Test Different Calls to Action. Just by changing and testing the copy on their calls to action, Mozilla saw higher download rates for Firefox. They went from “Try Firefox” to “Download Firefox – Free”, and saw more clicks. Try and test actionable verbs and adjectives to convince people to click, purchase, and share … Read more

7 Ways to Write Awe-Inspiring Copy for Yawn-Inspiring Niches

December 31, 2020April 10, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Let’s face it: not all brands that we hear about are as hip, recognizable, popular and well-established as Old Spice, Coca Cola or Red Bull. As a content creator, you may have to craft killer copy with a real substance for plumbing companies, accounting firms and businesses selling construction supplies. In all honesty, such players operating on yawn-inspiring niches are far from being glamorous, so how could you use your mind and your pen to make these industries shine on their own? [Tweet “There are no boring subjects, only disinterested minds.”] How Do You Actually Define and Represent a Yawn-Inspiring Product? If you were to adapt G.K Chesterton’s statement to make it reflect the realities of the content marketing world, you would most likely reach the conclusion that there are no boring products; only boring content specialists who fail to capture and highlight the essence of the stuff that they have to market. Just think about it: no matter how generic, outdated or mundane it might be, any category of goods or services still manages to respond to the needs and demands of a narrow niche of potential buyers and yes, those people want to hear everything about them. How much do they cost? Are they really that good? How are they different from other available options and why should they actually buy them? These are only a few questions that a good copywriter should have in mind when it comes to promoting less trendy, innovative or interesting products in an effective manner. 7 Ways in Which You Can Resuscitate Your Copy for an Allegedly Boring Concept So now that we can all agree on the fact that there is no such thing as a 100% boring product, let’s assume that you’re stuck with a run-of-the-mill line of goods whose looks, functionality and promised benefits do not actually stimulate your brain cells. Your inspiration is long gone and you can picture yourself losing sleep, chewing on your pencil, drinking way too much coffee, praying for creativity, crying and pushing the intimidating deadline over and over again. How can you avoid such a dramatic episode, give 110% at work and turn the copy for those unremarkable products into one of your most notable written works of art? Here are a few ways in which you could do those yawn-inspiring businesses justice. Your Product Evokes At Least One of Four Key Emotions: Prove It! Have you ever wondered what separates viral content from the one that sinks into oblivion soon after its production phase? According to recent research made public by the University of Pennsylvania, viral content owes its popularity to a mix of four key attributes: surprising, awe-inspiring, emotional and positive. No matter how dull your product may be, chances are that it can actually be associated with at least one of the four characteristics listed above. If you can’t find the link between your concept and these adjectives, create it yourself. Add a surprise element to your copy to accentuate the uniqueness of your product; create a stimulating story around the things that you’re struggling to market in order to craft emotion-rich copy that convinces, converts and sells better than anything else. The possibilities are endless; you just have to learn how to play with the right mix of emotions to get to your readers’ hearts. Think Outside the Box. The mere thought that you have to come up with an original idea and become the creator of something that has never been said or written before can be quite frightening. How can you overcome your anxiety and report amazing results during this challenge? According to a recent article published by Entrepreneur, ironically, thinking outside the box implies following certain rules and guidelines. Did you know that too much creative freedom can actually kill your concentration? Neither did we. Here are three strategies that you can apply to guide your brainstorming session in the right direction. Set up Parameters for Your Brainstorming Process. Start by setting up a deadline for the overall process; this will keep you focused and organized. Next, strategize by putting pen to paper. Make lists. Enumerate the uses and benefits linked to your product. Circle the ones that could make your prospects’ hearts skip a beat and spend the rest of your time trying to figure out how you could emphasize them. Search for Inspiration in the Most Random Places. This way, you will stimulate your brain to make new connections that it wouldn’t normally establish. Put Quality over Quantity. You don’t need one hundred directions for your copy, so make sure you focus on one or two key aspects of your goods, rather than filling pages with unnecessary words that nobody has time or patience to listen to. Turn Features into Benefits. Here’s another shocking truth that you should be prepared to handle: prospects don’t really care about product features; they are all looking forward to hearing more about the benefits promised by the products that you’re representing. So instead of saying that a certain laptop has a rugged design, choose to highlight the fact that the gadget can withstand years on non-stop abuse. Disclose the fact that you can spill countless cups of water on it without suffering the consequences. You can drop it from a height exceeding 6 feet and expect to get it back in one piece. So basically, when you’re turning features into benefits you’re actually learning how to say the same thing in a different manner while getting the readers involved by stimulating their imagination. Find the Simplest Way to Electrify and Elevate the Ordinary Benefit. Let’s continue with the same exercise, shall we? You can say many things about a last-generation laptop. Its battery lasts for ages, its roughed design is pretty impressive, the laptop can withstand most stressors, yada yada yada, the price-quality relationship is also an advantage. By listing all these favorable things, you will most likely confuse or bore your readers and kill their focus. … Read more

Purr-fection: How Friskies Does Copywriting

January 1, 2021June 23, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image source: walmart.com Friskies – that wonderful cat food company with all of those wonderful commercials; whether you are a cat owner or not, you know this brand and what they do. They’re a huge contender in the cat food industry and they always play on the fun aspects of a cat’s personality. They are part of the Purina food company, which is one of the top pet food companies and many vets prefer Purina over any other store bought brand. Today, we are going to focus on Friskies and how they do copywriting. While you might not think you can learn anything from a cat food company, you may actually find some helpful tips and gain some awesome inspiration. Let’s take a look at this purr-fect company! Friskies Food For All Cats Friskies has a huge selection of wet and dry food for cats and they make sure to market this selection as much as possible. They have food for indoor and outdoor cats, elderly cats, kittens, and a number of foods that you can use to spoil your cat such as their new breakfast food line. Friskies knows what it takes to bring customers in and they make sure always to have something fun and new for their client base. Friskies know the universal truth of all cat owners – they spoil their cats as much as possible. How does this help you in your copywriting? Friskies understands what their customers want and what their customers do. This is a prime example of researching your client base and offering them something that appeals to their interests and needs. While it may seem boring at first, research is one of the best marketing ploys out there. The more you know about your client base, the more revenue you bring into your company. Start researching, much like Friskies, and start offering products or services that your client base wants and needs. It’s All Fun And Games One step that Friskies made that raised a few eyebrows and created a lot of funny YouTube videos was the decision to release iPad games for cats. This sounds dangerous, but cat owners love to spoil their pets and with proper protection for their iPad, the cats won’t damage it. These cat game apps were the first ever to be released by a cat food brand and cat owners loved the idea. This is a great marketing ploy for Friskies because they know people are more apt to trust a company such as Friskies instead of purchasing an app from a company they do not know. It also helped bring in more customers for Friskies. If people didn’t use the Friskies brand, they most likely switched to the food brand after purchasing these games. Another way Friskies involved their clients was by providing them with a link to a live cat stream on Facebook. This live stream enabled viewers to control the cat toys and zoom cameras in or out. This was a great way to involve cat lovers with something they all enjoy, playing with cats no matter who the cats belong to. One of the nifty little catches to this marketing technique? If a person found that they really adored a little cat from this stream, the person was able to adopt the kitty and take him or her home. Such a great marketing ploy on Friskies part! Giving cat people to ability to do what they love – play with adorable cats and adopt one that needs a loving home. This shows the importance of fun elements and client engagement in copywriting. Friskies knows that they will only continue to grow if they continue to interact with humans and their cats. This is something you need to learn, as well, in your marketing techniques. Engage with your clients in a variety of ways and try to make the engagement as fun as possible. This promotes a positive attitude from clients towards your company and makes them more likely to tell others about your company, as well. Grumpy Cat Sponsorship One of the best marketing ploys Friskies has taken has been using Grumpy Cat as their spokes-cat. The company is using this opportunity to meld something that is incredibly popular with the food brand. This promotes both Grumpy Cat and Friskies; a match made in heaven. They have several videos with Grumpy and she became the face of The Friskies, an award show created by the company. This award show gives awards to various Internet cats and their accompanying videos and photos. It is a great way to market off of the Internet’s love of cats while bringing in more customers for the company. But we all know that Grumpy Cat does copywriting very well. The Grumpy Cat sponsorship is a great example of doing something involving current trends and being relevant with your content. If Grumpy Cat was not popular, Friskies would find another famous Internet cat or whatever the current trend was. They will continue to do this as trends change, staying up-to-date with what their customers enjoy. You should take their example and continue to stay up-to-date on trends on the Internet, as well as trends within your field. Always stay relevant; customers will appreciate it. Friskies Copywriting: In Closing You can learn a lot from the Friskies brand and how they do copywriting. Visit their site and take a look at all of their other items and content they offer. They are constantly coming up with unique ideas to engage their client base and bring in new customers. You can watch them over the coming year to see how they adapt to changes within trends and see how they shift their approach in order to continue to market relevantly. Start crafting content that is fun, trendy, relevant, and something that everyone can enjoy. Once you do this, you will watch your client base begin to grow and you will start bringing in more revenue!

Awesome Copywriting: Can It Replace A Commercial For Your Brand?

January 1, 2021May 16, 2014 by Adam Oakley

You’re sitting there and you have just gone through your site’s traffic statistics. You just released a snazzy new advertisement but have seen little change in the number of visitors coming to your website. You also haven’t had many calls or emails asking about your company or product. Your thoughts could be along the lines of, “What’s going on? I gave them the old razzle dazzle, and still nothing!” Here’s a handy tip: commercials and advertisements aren’t actually going to bring in that many viewers. Sure, they may spark interest here or there, and advertisements are a great way to get your company out there but you shouldn’t be focusing solely on that method. This blog is going to talk about how you can move your content marketing strategy away from purchasing several crazy expensive ads and how awesome copywriting can bring in customers. It is possible! Commercials Are Expensive Nowadays We all want to make sure we stay within our budgets and this can be difficult when advertisements cost so much. We see the prices, but we keep remembering all the marketing tips we used to hear, “Advertisements are worth their weight in gold! Invest in ads!” This isn’t the case anymore and you can actually save money with your content. You read that right, if you have great copywriting, you can bring in more viewers and save a couple hundred dollars in advertisement costs. Chipotle Went The Extra Mile A great example of using content marketing instead of traditional advertisements is Chipotle. We all remember that amazing infomercial they released in 2013. It told the story of a down-and-out Scarecrow who wanted his little garden to flourish into a well-working farm, but it was tough due to all the processed food business bullies out there. The video keeps going until we see this little garden grow into the Scarecrow’s dream farm and we see him setting up shop with a little cart to sell great quality food. This wasn’t run as a typical ad on a major network like CBS or NBC; this relied solely on the Internet and going viral. It didn’t advertise anything specifically about Chipotle, it just told their story. Because of the layout of the video, people watched all the way through and were more apt to share this video with their friends online. The only time people will share a straight ad to their Facebook is if it is a hilarious Superbowl commercial, otherwise they don’t want to clog up their friends’ news feeds with even more ads. Chipotle knew this and took advantage of it. This was a great marketing strategy without sounding like a used car salesperson giving a sketchy speech. Going The Extra Mile With Brand Marketing Since you know about Chipotle, and have seen how successful their campaign is, it is time to consider how you can implement this into your copywriting and content marketing strategy. You are probably feeling intimidated because Chipotle has the funding to hire a great marketing agency, but you have to rely on yourself to market your brand. This is why you are sticking with expensive ads – you are terrified that you won’t get more customers if you don’t use them. Well, let’s take a moment to look at a few ways you can implement this into your business, without seeking out very expensive marketing companies: 1. When Storytelling Becomes Your Advertisement. What we saw in Chipotle’s ad was a great example of blending storytelling and copywriting. Instead of making a commercial that sounded like something a politician would produce, Chipotle took a very genuine and honest approach by telling their story. They are a company that took a chance and made a huge decision to cut out genetically modified foods from their menus, meaning they would probably have to start charging more because this world is run on processed eateries. You can see the desperation for a healthier world and you can see that they believe the world is changing for the better. It is very powerful and inspiring, making you want to eat there more than if they simply stated their mission in an ad. 2. Web and Product Design Will Be Major Selling Points. In the Internet Age, your website and product designs must be out of this world and awesome. Great designs work incredibly well with your content, and will encourage many visitors not just to stop by but also to learn more about your company and to purchase your product or service. Learn who your target audience is and go to websites that are popular within that audience. For example, ModCloth is a very trendy website for Millennials – their layout can teach you a lot about designing for the Millennial crowd. You can also look to Accenture for a more professional, older generation look that is still quite appealing to younger generations. Just going to these websites will give you great inspiration on how to design your website. Never underestimate the power of a great design. 3. Active and Engaging Product Descriptions Will Save Money. You will find that product descriptions that are written in an active and engaging manner will save you a lot of money in advertising. A person may be interested in a product but if they do not find a great description, they’ll assume the product isn’t very good. Don’t think your product copy isn’t important and put it on the back burner. This will make a sale or break a sale, and if you treat it like it is unimportant, your customers will treat the product as unimportant, according to David Ogilvy’s tips on awesome copywriting. Focus on making all sales copy sound genuine and engage your audience. Try writing in a style that will speak to them and sell them on your product without coming across as overbearing and annoying. Awesome Copywriting Matters Storytelling, great product descriptions, and incredible web and product design is going to go a long way … Read more