There’s no doubt that, coupled with a top product and/or service, great copywriting can equip a new business with the muscular legs it needs to hit the ground running. For SMEs and larger organisations it can allow them to keep running and leap joyfully over their competitors before landing into the welcoming arms of repeat customers.
These days customers are in control and, in a crowded marketplace, if young businesses want to be seen, let alone heard, they have to be prepared to elbow their way to the front like a dedicated bargain-hunter on Black Friday. Social media strategies, content marketing strategies, e-mail marketing strategies; to be truly effective they all demand mind-gripping, ‘read more’-clicking and bookmark-saving writing at their heart.
So, if you’re an entrepreneur not gifted with the ability to write a blog post with panache, then set aside some of your budget to invest in someone who is. Still not convinced?
5 more reasons to invest in click-worthy copy.
01/ Copywriting is a sales pitch.
Your website is the hub of your business. You have various social media and e-mail marketing tendrils escaping its core but, ultimately, they all reach back to your site. And if potential customers are interested in having a closer look at what you offer, more often than not, it will be the place that they turn to first. So it’s got to be good.
The average reader spends about 15 seconds on a web page so it’s essential that you hook potential customers from the beginning, if you have any chance of reeling them in. According to Tony Haile from Time magazine, “research across the Chartbeat network has shown that if you can hold a visitor’s attention for just three minutes they are twice as likely to return than if you only hold them for one minute.” What does your business offer? How can you meet customer needs? Why are you better than the rest? No doubt it’s a tall order to fit all of that in such a short space of time. The only way you can do it is through irresistible copy, which informs, engages and, ultimately, sells.
02/ Copywriting isn’t just for your website.
Businesses need to convey their values, products/services and benefits in a way which is consistently attractive across all mediums, because most people rarely become customers after reading something once. They might refer to your website, register their interest in a newsletter and open an e-mail before, finally, making a purchase in response to a letter in the post. This is why good copywriting isn’t just for websites – it’s essential for sales e-mails, social media, blog posts, direct mail, pitch writing and more.
03/ People prefer buying from people.
Even if you are a new business selling the best TVs in the world, complete with the top features for viewing ultra HD television, chances are, you won’t reach your full potential without copy which sells the experience. Although most people have TVs in their homes, few truly understand the mechanics of how they work. However, most can understand and empathise with the quality of the HD as ‘an opportunity to watch your old home movies come to life.’
04/ Your story is powerful.
Hiring a copywriter to skilfully narrate how your business has grown from a personal problem or experience can do wonders for your conversion rates, as potential customers are more likely to believe that you can satisfy their needs. For one of my copywriting projects I worked with a travel company who wanted to help holidaymakers plan unique trips across Europe. One of the most attractive aspects of their venture was that it was based on their personal experience of travelling to over 35 European destinations. Highlighting this element of their story gave the company an advantageous edge over other businesses offering a similar service. It identified them as more knowledgeable about the continent and promoted the company as a more reliable and accurate source of information. All from one line of glittering copy.
05/ Good copywriting takes time
Starting a new business can be a bit of a whirlwind adventure. There are so many things to do: domains to register, bank accounts to open, forms to fill in, meetings to organise. For a small group of people, let alone a single person, this can be more than enough to, regularly, take their working days into the early hours of the morning. Combined with budget restrictions and the excitement of just getting out there, it can be tempting to quickly write a few lines for a sales e-mail yourself or, even worse, outsource the job to a freelancer whose empty promise for a quick delivery is topped off by a poor quality of work. Good copywriting takes time. But the good news is that it’s an investment that can reap the benefits for years.
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