Marketing has a stigma about it that causes businesses to think that the only type of marketing worthwhile is that which they pay for. However, there are a lot of other creative ways to market your business digitally.
And one such area of consideration is copywriting.
Copywriting is just one small part of a whole in a large creative industry, but people often fail to realize just how important a good copywriter actually is.
Copywriter is an asset
A creative, innovative, and punctual copywriter is more often than not the key to successful SEO and digital marketing; they’re the ones producing the content read by consumers, after all.
However, it’s a common enough problem for copywriters to occasionally suffer from writer’s block, especially when it’s on a topic that you’ve covered what feels like a million times before. This is the challenge of the copywriter: being able to consistently produce engaging and high-quality copies even when you’re treading old ground.
How can a copywriter stay creative?
It’s, unfortunately, one of those questions without a clear-cut answer, as it is with all creative works. Sometimes, you’ll just be stuck for ideas, and no amount of brainstorming can help you come up with something that no one else has done before.
It’s incredibly frustrating when there’s a deadline looming, and the blank page is staring accusingly back at you, especially when you know how easily a bad or lackluster copy can have a negative effect on your reputation. However, you’re rarely in a position to pick and choose your work, so you have to make the best of what you’re given.
You need to get current
One thing to do is to keep up with the news and current affairs; OR, in Ryan Biddulph’s words – you need to get current. While this isn’t necessarily going to apply to every single thing you write, it will help you keep informed about any current trends, themes, or ideas.
- For example, writing about interior design is a much simpler process when you’re savvy about any up-to-date fashion and design trends.
- Being able to link your copies to any recent new stories is usually a good starting point and will help to keep a flow of fresh ideas coming in.
- Another method is to look at what’s currently out there in terms of content; you can identify what’s popular and what’s been done to death and, with luck, identify any gaps in the market that you can fill with your copy.
To be a successful and prolific copywriter requires open-mindedness and strong skills of observation; the world around you is an inspiration.
Seek others’ opinion
Gaining an outsider’s perspective is always valuable to a copywriter struggling for ideas as well.
- Asking a friend or a colleague for advice or ideas can be much more fruitful than simply trying to brainstorm on your own.
- After all, those that don’t work in copywriting are consumers, and knowing what it is that consumers look for in their content will help you to cater your writing to a wider audience.
- If you feel like you’ve exhausted your options on a certain topic, ask someone else for their opinion and see what fresh perspective they can bring to the creative process.
Is your copy valuable to the readers?
Did you hear something like, “Your content is full of basic information that isn’t valuable to the reader…”
Since quality writing isn’t just about proper grammar and sentence fluency alone, you’re going to have to step it up a notch. But don’t worry. Boosting the quality of your articles is simple.
What I mean is that you can’t let accusations hang. How are people supposed to trust you if you have nothing to back up your claim?
You can put that trust into your piece by proving that your accusations are true. A few methods of doing this include:
- Sharing real-life examples or case studies.
- Finding stats that back up your points.
- Inserting quotes from reputable sources.
Finding this information to back up your claims can be tough if you don’t know what you’re looking for. If your search is too broad, it will take you forever to find something good, but if you narrow it too far, you’ll have a tough time finding good statistics and examples.
Here’s a quick process:
Narrow your method – Before you start searching, know if you’re going to use a statistic or not and if it makes sense in the context of the article. If your claim would be better served with a quote, don’t go searching for a statistic.
Target your keywords to the way people use them – When looking for statistics, I always try to use the term “statistics” or “percent” in my keyword search. However, if I’m looking for a real-life example, I’ll look more towards keywords that would result in someone sharing their experience. In this example, I searched “social media in their job search.”
Skip sources you’re not familiar with – I always want my stats to be trustworthy, so I only go with sites I know people hold high standards. I can save time by skipping over things like skippywrites.wordpress.com. However, if I spot in the description that they’re using a stat from a reputable source, I’ll click on the link so I can find the page they’re referring to. In the end, I want to end up with the source whenever I can.
Small business owners need copywriter’s help in
Writing and sharing their knowledge – You are probably filled with great information about your industry that many people find interesting. Try publishing your own content for your website in the form of news, tips, reviews, and more. Publishing original content is a great way to get the website for business picked up on search engines without having to pay for the results. One proven way to accomplish this is by starting a blog.
Landing Pages – Clearly, your landing pages (usually the home page) are the first most impressions you offer to your online visitors. Therefore, it’s vital to make crystal clear what you do and how you can help them. The ideal copy delights visitors and turns them into customers. Include a clear and direct headline that focuses on your customers above the fold.
For example – consider the WebWave home page.
In the example above, WebWave tried to be as specific as possible, but expressing the fancy and clever creative side of your brand’s appeal isn’t also ignorable – and that’s where the Squawk Voiceover agency website shines with copywriting.
Social Media – Everyone’s doing so. Social media has been great for businesses because it allows them to interact with customers in a more personalized way. It’s also a great way to promote your services and make your content go viral for free. All of your new products and sales can reach millions of people in seconds. If you haven’t already, start some social media profiles for your business.
Podcast – Thanks to the rise of smartphones, people are always looking for free content that they can listen to during their lunch breaks. Be a supplier of that entertainment by doing your own podcasts. Hold interviews, talk about trends, and do anything else you can think of related to your industry. Make it entertaining and fun, and your listeners will do the rest.
Weekly Newsletter – Allow your visitors to sign up for free weekly emails. It doesn’t take long for you to put these emails together, and you can keep all of your customers up to date with new specials. It sure beats having to pay for advertising for every new product you launch on your website.
Final Words
Using this advice, you can get the word out about your company without having to spend a dime. Free advertising is everywhere; you just have to know how to recognize it. One thing that businesses have going for them right now is the internet. This is the age of information, and there are millions of ways for you to reach new consumers every day.
Ultimately, working in copywriting offers many fascinating opportunities for you to express yourself, but the creative process is changeable, and writer’s block is sometimes unavoidable. Just now that there are still ways to keep the spark going and the copies flowing.
