Is your website getting the results you expect? How many visitors stay and how many of those who do are taking action?
You hope they subscribe to your list or, better yet, buy something. Instead, many say “Ho-hum” and leave, never to be seen again. To do?
Improve the writing on your website. Or set up special sales pages with powerful marketing copy, also known as copywriting.
How I discovered the power of marketing copywriting
About 10 years ago, I was a professor of linguistics in an English department and the resident grammar guru. And then… I discovered internet marketing.
More specifically, I found that when I read certain sales letters, I couldn’t get my credit card out of my wallet fast enough to buy what they were selling.
“That…?” I thought.
Since my area of expertise was studying the language used for persuasion, I was intrigued. These writers were masters of persuasion, far beyond what I ever imagined possible.
And right around the same time, I was getting letters in the mail from AWAI, about their 6-figure copywriting course.
And yes, those letters were very persuasive. So much so that I soon became the proud owner of said course and started working on it.
I thought that since he was skilled at crafting language, this would be something he would be good at as well. And it turned out that he was.
I landed my first paying client, a legal marketing company, shortly after completing the course. Eventually, I left academia to pursue marketing full time.
What is copywriting, also known as marketing copywriting?
Copywriting comes in several categories, and they all work together. Here are five of the main ones:
- sales letters
- Website Marketing Copywriting
- subscription pages
- Lead magnets and pre-sales reports
- Email Marketing Writing
Is that how it works:
Sales letters or sales pages are freelance web pages with highly focused persuasive writing that strive to sell a product or service.
The key is to keep the visitor reading until they have the product or service on offer.
Website marketing copy is a little less “salesy” and more personal, and is designed to draw the visitor in and keep them reading… preferably until they decide to take some sort of action.
Subscription pages offer their readers a type of action that is relatively low risk. In exchange for an attractive “giveaway,” also known as a lead magnet, visitors provide their email address so you can follow up and build a relationship with them.
Some of these lead magnets are pre-sales reports – special reports that provide information on a specific topic that the visitor is interested in.
They also make the reader realize that they need and want to take “the next step”, conveniently suggested in the report, usually with a link to a sales page.
Email Marketing: The Crucial Next Step
Once your visitors have signed up for more information, you can send them a series of carefully crafted emails. They will help them get to know you, like you, and trust you.
Eventually, these emails will persuade many of them to become your customers and buy what you offer or recommend.
Will they all buy? Not entirely, but a much higher percentage of visitors will buy than they would without the follow-up emails.
Obviously, the better the emails, the more people will take action!
More marketing writing
In the meantime, there are more ways to harness the power of marketing copywriting or copywriting.
Have you ever watched a (sales) video that seemed absolutely endless and you really wanted to do something else, but just couldn’t stop watching it? And when it was over, could he even have bought what was offered?
Guess what! That is also writing. Someone crafted the text that was narrated in the video!
The same is true for social media messages and ads.
How can you benefit from marketing copywriting?
If your website isn’t bringing you the leads and customers you expect, it might be time to look at ways to supercharge your marketing writing.
You can use the tips above to work on it yourself. Or you can get some feedback from an experienced copywriter.