If you have a brand you’ve definitely done some copywriting (not to be confused with copyrighting), even if you didn’t know that’s what it’s called. The captions on your social media graphics and pictures, the wording on your website, the information on your advertisements and business card; those are all forms of copywriting.
What is copywriting ?
So according to Wikipedia, copywriting is defined as “the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action.”
Much more simply put, our homie over at Kopywriting Kourse says that copywriting is a form of salesmanship. Neville, the owner, says “Copywriting is re-arranging words to make things sell better.”
Common copywriting mistakes
1. Multiple CTAs on the same page
When I revamp a website for a client I always see the same few copywriting mistakes over and over again. The first one is that people put multiple types of CTAs (calls to action) on the same page. If you have 5 different buttons on your page you want something like BUY NOW, BUY NOW, BUY NOW, BUY NOW, BUY NOW instead of BUY NOW, CLICK HERE, SIGN UP, CALL TODAY, JOIN US.
Too many different demands confuse the reader and makes it difficult for them to make a decision. If they’re confused, they’ll likely simply go to a clearer website than stay to figure it out. This in turn will kill your conversion rate since the CTAs muddy up your message.
So pick one solid CTA per page to enjoy better conversion rates and clearer messages to your audience.
2. The page is too busy
Too many different colors and sections of wording make your page look chaotic. They’re tough to read and all the different elements become too distracting. This will also hurt your conversion rate because if it’s a lot to take in, it won’t get taken in; the potential client or customer will just go to a clearer website.
Make the simplest version of your page possible as a mail chimp landing page to test it out, see which page gets higher rates on your best metrics.
3. The subheadings don’t guide the readers through the article
The best subheadings tell a story all on their own without the additional text. The text under each subheading should be an expansion of the subheading itself. Because often someone coming to your website from Google is just looking for a quick answer to a question so they’re skimming your article, looking at the subheadings.
4. Next steps aren’t clear
You have to actually tell your audience what it is that you’d like for them to do next. Otherwise the reader may exit your website unsatisfied and unclear on what that experience even was. Also without giving action steps your website can easily be lost in translation without them remembering that they’ve even visited it at all. To get around this, you can literally add an ‘action step’ section after each paragraph or segment – however it makes sense with your content flow. You can even add a cheatsheet on the website detailing a path of every action they can take.
This increases the chances that you’ll delight your audience and that they’ll buy or sign up for something with you ! Giving action steps also helps instill your purpose into their mind so that they’re more likely to refer you to others.
5. You have spelling errors
When words are spelled incorrectly it’s less likely that the content will be found through a Google search. Typos also make the audience unsure of how much they should trust your expertise.
To Wrap It Up
Improving the copy on your website can really boost your business. 4 easy improvements you can make this week include unifying your CTAs, simplifying the design of your page, adjusting your subheadings to guide readers through your information and providing clear action steps.