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Copywriting Tips & Trends: How to Content that Actually Works in 2023

22 mins read
Copywriting Tips: How to Content that Actually Works i

Aren’t you scared by the thought to start writing the next post for your website? What about making your text sell? We won’t peddle old stuff after saying that qualified content is an amazing opportunity to attract clients. In this article we are going to talk about how to do copywriting literally, taking into account all the trends & copywriting tips.

The Best Copywriting Formula

Whether or not you write well, write bravely

– Bill Stout

C.C.R

This acronym isn’t a copywriting formula in itself. It’s something I picked up in my undergrad literature class. But I have been using it for quite some time now, and it has yielded impressive results and made a few of my clients smile.

It stands for Conflict, Climax, and Resolution.

Fear and Desire

Copywriting is for selling goods and services. At that point, it’s useful to remember a fact that has never changed since time immemorial: “People buy for two reasons — fear or desire.”

If you are writing sales or marketing copy, try to determine what people are afraid of or try to understand what their dreams, aspirations are (the desire part). Then either offers a SOLUTION for their problem (fear), or offer a DEAL they cannot refuse (greed). If you can do that, the copy works, and people start to buy your product or service.

That’s my favorite copywriting formula: write to address fears and desires. It always works.

PAS: problem, agitation and solution

“The most reliable sales formula ever invented”

– Dan Kennedy

My favorite copywriting formula is PAS.

PAS copywriting is a very specific way of writing about your product or service.

It combines three elements: problem, agitation (causes people to be upset), and solution.

The best PAS sales letter has all three elements in it, giving the customer a smorgasbord of reasons to buy from you.

PAS copywriting is about writing sales copy that offers solutions to the readers’ problems. It involves learning your readers’ problems, the questions they want to be answered, and then creating increasingly persuasive offers that gently lead them toward the ultimate desired outcome: “SALE“.

FAB: Feature, Advantage, Benefit

This approach is ideal for more deeply engaged prospects and people actively seeking additional information. It centers on your product’s benefit, the “what’s in it for me” factor. As the old adage goes, features tell, benefits sell. Painting a very clear picture of just how your prospect will benefit from your product or service gives meaning and emotional value to what would otherwise be empty features.

Best Copywriting Tips

So what?

Sometimes when we are writing for a brand, product, or service, maybe even our own, we can get caught up in the details and not remember to think as to why someone else should care about this. It’s important to take a step back and ask yourself “did I answer the “so what?” question.” Why is this information important, relevant, or even useful? Would I continue to read this?

Your audience is looking for very specific answers to their problems or pain points. The more specifically you answer their questions the more engaged they will be.

Be wrong strategically

We are bombarded by advertising and, frankly, most of it gets tuned out.

In my experience, coming out with something that doesn’t conform or is controversial is one of the best ways to quickly grip a reader’s attention.

Oh, and be pithy with your hook. If you can combine the two, your chances of being read spike.

Research

Research should be half the time you spend on a project.

Gives you an edge few others have, ups your success rate, and usually gives you that unique approach that sells.

Makes writing and revising go much quicker, too.

Write with a plan

outline everything you want to say so that you don’t miss out on something. Use those notes as a reference while writing your copy. I try to clear out points that I include in my copy from notes so as to avoid repeating myself.

I find that this gives me clarity and lets me know beforehand if the story or concept works.

Current Copywriting Trends

All of Us are Poets

Patrick Ward, the expert on High Speed, shares his thoughts in an interview for Forbes: “The popular social media for business LinkedIn gives priority to those posts that contain rhythm. It is so sweet to read poems on mobile phones while the manner of narration invites the reader into emotional travel. In such a way, the potential client would like to consume your texts and, as a result, the products even more”.

Indeed, we tend to remember rhyming advertisement slogans even if their literature eminency leaves a great deal to be desired.

  • Be wise – Alkalize
  • Grace, Space, Pace
  • No battery is stronger longer.
  • Wherever you go, our network follows
  • You Only Get an ‘OO’ With Typhoo’

are the first mottos you can come up with.  

Thus, how to use rhyme in copywriting? Rishi Dastidar proposes to use several ideas.

  • Brevity is the sister of talent. Do not write too much. As well, do not rhythm for a long time. Fine minutes are enough;
  • Technique ‘eyeball kicks’ has been invented by science fiction writer Rudy Rooker: you need to use two incompatible words in one phrase to impress the reader. People tend to trust those who cause contradictory feelings. Let us illustrate what has been said before. Bedding made by Finetra proposed the following ads: ‘Where even nightmares come to rest’. At the same time, Unilever’s Lifebouy played over fears of germs on the arms of people by saying: ‘You eat what you touch’;
  • Use comic quatrains, for example, to create an original description of “About Us” on the website;
  • What about poetic prose? A white verse can be an excellent text in the form of a short letter, a postcard, a factoid, a humorous genre in a serious style, or a surreal story.

Pain is the Engine of Progress

Especially it works when we come down to the client’s pain. Deev Manicum from Dell Boomi is talking about how the understanding of good texts has been formed:

Earlier, we created content that details the product and its properties. But afterward, our team realized that it was necessary to share articles demonstrating consumer pain points.

Deev Manicum

Of course, the transition from a functional description to a focus on solving the problem allows you to show more thoroughly the values of the company.

How to build content based on consumer needs?

We offer an action plan:

  1. determine who your target audience is, and create a portrait;
  2. think about where your target audience lives, monitor forums, and watch what topics people are interested in;
  3. select three to five main problems that concern the audience, and draw up a thematic plan; for that, come up with some interesting headlines and outline what you are going to write about;
  4. offer personalized content, tell stories in which people recognize themselves so that they would trust you to be interested in your products;
  5. do not forget to show a way out of the described situation – contact the experts and give some valuable tips to make your audience use immediately after reading the post.

By the way, network marketing often works based on this principle. For example, you are told a long heart-breaking story about unhappy family life, the betrayal of a beloved one, and the failures that accompanied the main character exactly until the moment she ordered “magic diet pills”. Although everybody is informed about the harmfulness of such products, while reading the story, a lot of women recognize themselves. At least, they will be interested in goods, and, maybe, order.

Also, psychologists turn to the concept of human pain in search of clients. I did the research to find proof and analyzed the profiles of consultants, trainers, and other experts in the field of self-development in social media. Conventionally, they can be divided into two groups. Some offer services using terms not understood by most people who are far from psychology. They offer to “work on incontinence”, “hold a coach session”, “work out guilt”, “pump femininity”, and “achieve success by changing the environment”. Indeed, we face daily each of these aspects. But, having read such a proposal, we do not see the benefits to obtain. 

For example, how often do we wake up with the thought: “Do we need to work out cognitive-behavioral reactions?” I bet never. Let’s articulate simpler: “how to start earning 30% more”, “how to teach a child to communicate with peers” or “how to find a common language with a teenager” – and our imagination draws a certain result. 

However, let’s go back to the study. Most of all likes and reposts get those psychologists who offer specifics, least of all – abstract posts. The reason is that the latter delve into the wilds of the subconscious, and the former work with the “pain” of the client.

Voice Search and Keywords

People use Siri, Google, Alexa, and similar communication channels. On the one hand, it is much more convenient than typing a request by hand. On the other hand, work has been added for copywriters who now need to know the exact requests of customers in order to use them in SEO materials.

For instance, Carmine Mastropierro claims that instead of asking, “New York’s best lawyers,” you’ll have to write, “Which lawyers are best in New York.” Well, the phrase “Toronto 2022 population” should be replaced by “What is the population of Toronto in 2022?”

How to Create a Post of Your Dream

According to the market research conducted by Neil Patel, a perfect blog should include the following elements:

  • practical pieces of advice – do not propose the reader’s strategies or ideas, instead, you need to show how to use them;
  • specific information, graphics, statistics will support your point of view;
  • a logical structure and good formatting will help the reader to better understand the content;
  • SEO materials;
  • compliance with grammatical, spelling and stylistic standards;
  • a unique style will allow you to be different from a billion other blogs;
  • video and visuals will make blogs more informative: according to Joe Reagan, 45% of all Internet users listen to podcasts, and 40; while millennials fully trust a form of content such as video.

Content Marketing Platform

  • 100,000+ media publications;
  • get backlinks to your product;
  • scale work with content distribution.

The Strength and Power of YouTube | Copywriting Trends

Michael Stelzner interviewed Sin Cannel, an author of Think Marketing Podcast and YouTube Secrets, for Social Media Examiner. It is stated that marketers should be the first to pay attention to Youtube. Sin Cannel brought together 1.5 million subscribers on his channel and shared his reasons for creating a YouTube channel:

  • YouTube boasts two billion active users;
  • At the same time, modern generations, such as Generation Z and millennials, constantly watch videos;
  • 50% of more adults regularly visit this platform;
  • According to statistics cited by Google, 68% of people use YouTube to get an answer to a question.

At the same time, the creators of video content are assumed to meet the following market requirements:

1. Quality is more important than quantity. For example, many bloggers upload videos daily, but cannot find as many views as needed. Sin Cannel recommends downloading 1-2 quality videos per week. “YouTube is a search engine that allows worthy videos to get to the top, and they get the opportunity to stay at top ratings for many years.”

2. Brand management dominates marketing. Imagine, we purchase Nike sportswear, not because of the excellent advertising strategy built on Facebook, but because they have created the brand identity and brand recognition for decades. The videos you upload to YouTube should not only sell but also represent your brand.

3. The Law of Seven in marketing states: “In order to cause your desire to buy any product, you must see it at least seven times.” However, according to Google statistics, 21-25 interactions are needed in order to make a product sellable.

Sin Cannel also talks about marketing curiosity: “You don’t need to think only about the sales. In fact, if you interest people, the human rumor will glorify you. Instead of reporting on product features, just show how good it is and mention that you, for example, “really like eye shadow.” Your audience will ask themselves what it is and what features it has. ”

4. According to Matt Gylan of Little Monster Media Co., the most watched videos are those that show offers with a clear product value. Thus, you should not upload a video that would not attract your subscribers.

5. It is worth considering cybersecurity. Nowadays, attacks can occur not only in the real world but also in virtual reality. The more valuable your content, the more likely it is that hackers may be interested in it. Therefore, think in advance about how to protect your IP address and get to know what is VPN.

How to Write Press Release – Guidelines, Formats, Free Samples

Copywriting Tips & Trends from Experts

Nikolay Krastev, SEO Specialist

Nikolay Krastev, SEO Specialist

The best way to write great copy is to understand what works and what doesn’t. Copywriters should always be testing different approaches to see what gets the best response. One of the biggest mistakes that writers make is trying to force something that isn’t working. Instead, try to figure out why something isn’t working and fix the problem. Once you’ve figured out what needs fixing, you can go back to the drawing board and try again.

1. Avoid overusing buzzwords

The buzzwords on a website once confused me, so I did not understand what they were saying. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t make sense of the sentences after re-reading them a few times. As a result, I left the website discouraged. 

It is usually a good idea to use buzzwords that readers will find interesting. A convoluted sentence with no meaning can sometimes result in people getting carried away. The less the better here. Don’t use jargon or complicated sentences unless you have data to support them. However, this defers from market to market.

2. Put the focus on the benefits

Although this principle seems straightforward, many companies fail to apply it to their web copy. Instead of writing from the reader’s perspective, they focus on what their company does. How can your software benefit them? Let’s start there. Try to describe what you do as “inbound marketing” rather than “increase your web traffic and leads with engaging content” to illustrate the benefits immediately.

3. The use of AI-assisted copywriting

There is no doubt that robots are taking over. Almost everything we do now is aided by artificial intelligence, including copywriting. I won’t go extinct just because of TechRadar’s list of the best AI copywriting assistants. Artificial intelligence is only as good as the algorithms it contains, the data it receives, and its “awareness.” The Hallmark Christmas film, The Christmas on Christmas, was written with the help of artificial intelligence writers. Though AI can automate some tasks, can it replace the humble scribe? We’re still a long way off. Using AI for copywriting is tricky and you shouldn’t use it as it is. Of course, a native speaker should proofread and fact-check the outcome. At the moment, the best you can get from these AI is to have just a draft material.

Conclusion: Copywriting Tips & Trends

Content is highly unlikely to exist with no video, a visual component, and, of course, brand management. Create a unique product and write texts about it! In our turn, we will help you.

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