Writing copy for your business is one of the most important things you can do. It’s going to be the difference between driving sales or losing customers to your competition.
So it’s really important that you get it right.
However, there are some big copywriting mistakes that many people make, and these could be affecting your business and costing you money.
These common mistakes are easy to avoid, so read on to discover what you could easily change right now and make a big difference to your business.
This is one of the most common mistakes I come across as a freelance copywriter.
Not taking the time to really get to know and understand your audience. The danger is that you’re not creating copy that resonates with them.
Quite often, the copy is written in a way that feels right to you as the author and business owner.
But are you actually your target audience?
Are you actually the person you are trying to communicate with?
Take some time and do the research. Get to know your audience, what they like, what they don’t like, and what kind of language really resonates with them.
Use this in your copy, and I guarantee you’re going to drive a lot more sales because you’re connecting and talking to the people that are going to buy from you.
So take the time and really get to know your audience.
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As a business owner or entrepreneur, you know what you’re selling really well, and you really understand your services and your products.
You do want to come across as the expert and the authority on the subject matter.
This helps build credibility, of course, but at the same time, make sure you are not using jargon that they won’t understand.
This can make them feel isolated and disconnected from you. It makes that gap between getting to know you and wanting to buy from you bigger because they don’t understand what you’re talking about.
Instead, use clear and simple language that your audience can understand.
This will help build a connection with you; they’re more likely to buy when they know what they’re buying.
Don’t confuse them. Keep it simple, and make sure your language is relatable.
The third mistake that’s commonly made is talking about the features and not the benefits.
Many entrepreneurs, coaches and business owners make the mistake of talking about the features of their products or service.
It’s important people know what they’re buying, but by doing this, you are not helping the person understand how it will benefit them to buy from you.
So what you need to do is take all your features and work out what is the benefit to the customer when they buy it.
The example I like to use is a bottle of shampoo. If you’re selling shampoo and you say it cleans your hair, that is a feature. That’s the job of the product.
But let’s think about that deeper. What does that mean for the person buying it?
It means that they can have beautiful, shiny, strong hair. What if we took it a bit further and told the audience by using this product, they’re going to have beautiful hair that will give them confidence?
Isn’t that so much more important to the customer than just your hair will be clean?
Do you see how we got there?
Take your features and turn them into benefits.
What’s the real benefit and reason they should buy what you’re selling? What does this mean to them?
The answer is what you want to use in your copy.
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This is a really common mistake, and a lot of entrepreneurs, coaches, and business owners will fall into the trap of talking about themselves.
It’s understandable.
You want to talk about your experience and qualifications but to be frank, your audience isn’t really interested.
What they’re interested in is how you can help them.
When you make the copy about yourself, you are missing an opportunity to connect with your audience on a deeper level.
Your customers want to know what’s in it for them and how your product or service is going to benefit them.
As we talked about earlier in this blog, it’s those benefits that you need to highlight.
To avoid this mistake, shift your focus to your customers. What is it that you do that’s going to help them?
What are their pain points at the moment, and what solution do you provide?
Think about that journey from A to B. How do you get them to B? You need to tell them this. You need to show them how you can help use language that resonates with them.
As we’ve already mentioned, avoid using jargon. It’s also worth using lots of “you” language in your copy.
When you are writing, picture one person, your audience persona, and imagine you’re talking directly to them.
Talk about how you help them.
Remember, your customers want to feel understood. So making your copy about them is going to drive a lot more sales.
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Avoiding these common copywriting mistakes will ensure much better results.
Remember, effective copy is all about connecting with your audience, building that relationship, and helping them understand how you can help them.
