Copy that converts: copywriting techniques that help your business grow

Digital marketing is a lot like football. It’s not the way you play, but the results that matter. A slick, shiny website with great imagery and flowery language that ranks highly doesn’t mean anything unless you’re getting sales.

If we continue the footballing analogy, then copywriters are your creative midfielders. They’ll not only provide the exciting type of footballer that brings in new fans, but they can also provide the killer final ball for your striker to convert.

Because getting people to convert is tough. Unlike football, you’re not just playing against one competitor – but a whole battalion of them, all looking to steal your ball.

You need to use every tactic available to you to win. Have every player, playing at their best. So how can you make your creative midfielder copywriting guru play the game of their life? Here’s how – write copy that converts.

How to write compelling and persuasive copy that converts

1. Front load your content

You’ve got very little time to grab people’s attention. While writing drop intros or filling your copy with ornate phrases might seem like a way to engage and entertain, what you’re actually doing is just moving the key content away from your users. Front load the key information on the page in the first few paragraphs, the key takeaways from each paragraph into the first lines, and the keywords in each line to the front.

Why this helps conversion: Attention spans are narrowing, according to a study by the University of Denmark. Capture attention fast to keep people on site.

2. Know your audience

Knowing who you’re writing for and why is key – are you creating sales copy for a product page, writing helpful guides for people in the consideration phase, or crafting engaging copy to attract new users? Each one of these needs a different approach to copy writing. You can even adjust your copy for whether it’s mobile users, people reading at work or based on demographics (age, gender, location etc). Coke – who knows marketing better than anyone – saw sales increase 7% with their personalised bottle campaign.

Why this helps conversion: If people feel you’re talking with them, not at them, they’re more likely to think highly of your brand – and buy.

3. Know the brand

What is your brand selling – and why are they best at that? What is their USP? Know that, and you can write about how that can help solve user’s questions or provide a product to help them. Also, if you know your brand’s tone of voice, you can flex that across delivery methods to provide a smooth and consistent user experience no matter if they’re reading a text or deep into a complex guide.

Why this helps conversion: You can highlight the user benefits easier if you know what they are.

4. Answer questions

Do your research and find your audience’s pain points. Use SEO tactics to discover the most relevant keywords for your topic. What questions are they asking in Google, forums, or directly to the customer helpline? If you can create copy that answers these questions clearly and directly, you’ll have a happy customer who thinks highly of your brand.

Why this helps conversion: Addressing audience fears and concerns can increase conversion rates by up to 80%, according to Marcus Sheridan’s Inbound 2019 experiment.

5. Be honest

You might be tempted to bend the truth when creating sales copy. But if you’re promising the world on a category page only to disappoint when people click through to product details, they are quickly going to leave. Be honest and consistent with your promises and people will know what they are buying when they come to click ‘Buy Now’.

Why this helps conversion: People are protective over their money – if you’re being lied to, you’re less likely to open your digital wallet.

6. Move people at the right time

Don’t be precious with your copy. I’m sorry to say but few people are going to read all 2,000 words of your expertly researched article. You need to know when to move them on to other pages. Adding contextual and highly relevant hyperlinks throughout can help move someone from blog to category page, or guides to products.

Why this helps conversion: Once people have made their decision or got their information, you need to keep them on site – ideally moving them down the content marketing funnel.

7. Know when to bring product in

Informational copy isn’t about selling your product. It’s about giving answers. That’s not to say you shouldn’t add links to products. But you need to know when. If your product is part of the answer to the user’s question, then add a clear CTA at the end. If it’s not, think how you can use supporting content (all that web page content that isn’t the blog itself) to add product modules or CTAs – whether it’s a floating nav with a conversion CTA or a discrete banner linking to more commercial pages.

Why this helps conversion: Adding product CTAs to copy at the right time increases click throughs by 121% compared to banner ads, according to HubSpot.

8. Make it easy to say yes

Your users have enough problems – your website and copy shouldn’t be one of them. Make life easy for them with clear copy that provides concise answers. Offer CTAs that are clear on what they are getting (the days of ‘click here’ are over). If you’ve got a product page, help reduce purchase anxiety by using copy to highlight returns policies, guarantees, warranties etc. Or add reviews into copy to provide social proof – testimonials on page can boost conversions by 34%, according to VMO.

Why this helps conversion: Removing barriers and worries helps people feel more comfortable buying.

9. Learn and refine

A piece of copy is an organic thing – it should change and evolve as time goes by. Check how it’s ranking, which links people are using, or how long they’re spending on page. We’ve got so many data points to use, there’s no reason for your content to ‘fail’. If it’s not working after all that, pull it. Then take those learnings on to the next piece.

Why this helps conversion: Obama’s campaign website was launched and constantly refined, pushing conversion rate from 8.26% to 11.6% using small tweaks.

10. High quality

This might be the most important copywriting tactic – all content written should be high quality. No typos or grammar mistakes. No false claims or dodgy statistics. Well written, well researched and aimed at your user’s needs.

Why this helps conversion: Poor quality copy suggests poor quality products.

Words are powerful – but the wrong phrase is just as likely to turn off a potential new customer as help them to convert. At Edge45®, we are copywriting and content creation experts. Contact us to discuss your copywriting needs.