I recently saw a post about the different “types” of copy.
And how you must tailor your copy for different media.
While this is true to an extent – there are different media. I don’t believe there are different types of copy. Not in the sense that what you’re doing is writing in a completely different way.
Over the years, copywriting has come to mean really one thing in my mind;
This is a very 1st-grade sort of definition – but why complicate things…
“The communication between Party A (business or organization), and Party B (Target Audience) where Party A tries to convince Party B to take some sort of action.”
That action can be a multitude of things,
- ORDER NOW
- DOWNLOAD THE E-BOOK
- SCHEDULE A CALL
- BOOK A DEMO
- !!!GIVE ME YOUR ATTENTION!!!
You get it…
So, to say there are different types of copywriting, I think, puts a skew on things, especially for beginners.
Suddenly, the newbies are scrambling for a course on website copy, email copy, e-commerce copy, social media copy… and on and on.
Business owners that are trying to learn copy to promote themselves are at a loss for which way to go.
“Does my social media post sound right,”
“What about my print ad?”
This keeps all the course creators thrilled, obviously.
The rush to learn the “types” of copy often leads newbies to drown in a sea of unfocused learning.
And your focus is the key to success in anything you want to do. So, try to focus on this if you want to write copy for yourself or others…
Learn to write clearly and openly about anything.
This takes practice, practice, practice. Even the A-List pros are always writing.
They always stretch that muscle, even if they have a break in paying projects. They are continually writing something – journaling, working on that novel or writing a social media post.
Get this into your head about copywriting…
If you can’t sit down and clearly write out what happened today in your life… work on that first.
This is an excellent exercise if you want to be a better writer of anything.
In the evening, sit down and write about your day. Try to be as specific as possible and shoot for 500 words daily. In the morning, read back to yourself what you wrote.
Is it clear?
If you hand it to a stranger, would they be able to read it and tell you how your day went?
The ability to convey thoughts on paper clearly is the first step. Once you learn to get a message across through the written word, THEN you can work on how to structure that message so it leads the reader to take some action.
Enter the basics of buyer psychology and persuasion.
All the tricks of the trade. (This article is not about those)
However, in the end, think about what you would say to an actual person about the product or service. Would you really tell them that your new washing machine is AMAZING? Would you really use that word if the two of you were sitting down and chatting over a coffee?
Only address their needs and possible concerns… IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!
To uncover those needs and concerns, mountains of research should be conquered.
If your eyeballs are not bleeding by the time you’re done with your research… keep at it. We will talk about research more in future articles. Most businesses think they know their target market, yet their knowledge of this priceless information is often very thin.
Now that your research is done and you’ve wiped the blood off your face, it’s time to start writing.
Start with a letter…
Does anybody remember those?
Your target’s name is Rupert… he’s a 36-year-old plumber who would love his own plumbing business. He’s just not sure how to go about it.
Now, fit in with Rupert’s train of thought with your opening/headline… “How you can escape the employment trap and create your own profitable business in 90 days.”
Pique his interest, make his ears perk up like my doggo hearing the word “treat.”
A good layout for this is the AIDA format: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
So, how would you talk to Rupert to gain his attention, raise his interest, create a desire, and then have Rupert take some action?
Type out your first effort in a flurry.
Become a whirlwind of words.
I can hear you saying…
“Yeah, but I just need a social media post or a short ad… so I don’t need to write very much.”
I don’t give rat’s behind what you think you need… create a whirlwind of words.
Get it all out, meet Rupert’s objections, dig down, and hit a real benefit for him. This is a brainstorming session more than anything… so don’t hold back on what you want Rupert to know.
Once you write a letter to your target audience, you will be amazed at the variations you can pull from it.
Ideas will start popping up like the whack-a-mole game… suddenly, you will have short-form ideas, long-form ads, and thoughts for video scripts, newsletters, emails… etc., etc.
And whatever type of copy you need, you will be much better suited to write.
Do you want to write an email thanking Rupert for signing up for your newsletter? Well, you’ve already had a long conversation with him.
The two of you should be pretty chummy by now.
Just tell him thank you and how much you appreciate his support. This doesn’t take a special course… once again… course creators will hate this.
The need to fit your copy into this space or that space should never override what it is you’re actually doing.
You’re one human, talking to another human, trying to convince them to do something.
So, don’t sweat over the small stuff, don’t buy a course on every type of copy out there.
Learn to talk to Rupert without sounding like a robot.
That type of copy will fit in any media. And it will always perform better.
Have a great day, everyone.