Are you looking for a copywriter? Is this a skill you’re hoping to develop?

If you’re in business, you’re in sales. All of us are working on ways to sell our ideas, techniques, services, and products. And marketing is one of our biggest time consumers. Dan Pink of To Sell is Human estimates that we spend up to 40% of our time working out the best way to sell something. There are many routes, but copywriting remains one of the most fundamental sales skills.

Whether yours is a physical product, service, or idea, communication is fundamental. Great copywriting explains products and services, so prospective clients understand why they should buy-in. And when it’s done done well, it entices and delights, tying the reader to your brand, beliefs, and culture.

Through our services for copywriting in Vancouver, we support businesses around the city and across the globe. But truthfully, copywriting is a skill anyone can learn. It is mostly a matter of understanding your target audience and crafting copy that resonates with them. Copywriting is what drives effective advertisements, web design, press releases, and SEO. Very simply, copywriting is all manner of content that includes an element of persuasion. It is the written content used to convince, so people are driven to buy/subscribe/donate etc.

Tips for Copywriting

Great writing is never about memorizing the dictionary or using big words. The real trick to copywriting is fine-tuning your language and content to suit your ideal audience (the people you want as customers).

Tips for Better Business Copy:

1. Write naturally—think about the way you talk
2. Less is more. Use short words, sentences, and paragraphs.
3. Eliminate jargon words 
4. Check your quotations.
5. Never publish the day you write it. Read aloud and edit it after giving your brain a break
6. Final editing should be done by an independent reader

The best copywriting is simple, natural, and purposeful. Think about who it is you’re writing for—the audience. Putting yourself in the shoes of the people you’re trying to persuade is important if you want them to act.

Putting together a comprehensive profile of your ideal buyer will make writing for them that much easier. Think about what they like, what they read, where they hangout. Once you understand this, crafting a motivating message becomes much easier. You gain insight into who they are and what makes them tick. This is essential if you’re going to convince anyone to buy your services and products.

The Copywriting Formula

If copywriting could be boiled down to an essential formula, it would be A.I.D.A. (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action). It helps if you are a natural storyteller who knows how to craft a narrative around your audience that addresses their problems. Remember to use the word you—you want to talk to people, not at them. Finally, keep the content short and sweet (aka scannable). Everyone is busy. 

In today’s busy, consumer-driven world, one in nine people work in sales, and the rest of us are figuring out how to market ourselves, our skills, or our businesses. We’re all blogging, tweeting, and advertising more than ever before. Whatever your objective, great copywriting lets you your story in a way that’s punchy and persuasive, and that’s the art of business writing.