What is ‘copywriting’ for business?
All businesses need words to describe what they offer to prospective customers. Ads, brochures, letters – all these things have to have ‘content’ created for them. Websites even more so – unless yours is an incredibly visual product or service, your website can eat up a lot of text.
They all need clear, engaging words that drill down to the wants and needs of your clients. Words that tell your story.
Some copy is designed to engage with an audience, build a following and attract interested prospects to your offering. Some is all about selling. The purpose may be different, but the basic techniques are the same.
If you’re like most business owners, you’ll feel that you ought to be able to write your own copy. At least you do right up until you sit down in front of the computer, and find that your brain has somehow ceased to work. It’s a bit like public speaking in that respect.
Why? I believe it’s this…
We’re taught to ‘write’ at school, but we’re not taught to create written messages designed to excite people into taking action.
And that’s what writing for business is all about.
So, it’s really no mystery why it’s so hard to write words about our own business. Seriously, it is. Don’t beat yourself up if you’ve been trying to create content or ad copy and somehow it’s not happening – it’s a really common problem in companies of all sizes.
And we’re too humble!
Another fact – a lot of owners and managers find it a tad embarrassing having to blow their own trumpet. When you’re out there competing with your rivals, you have to pull out all the stops. Much copy written by business owners is so understated that it’s sometimes hard to work out what they’re selling.
The ‘Curse of Knowledge’
Yes, it’s a thing. It refers to the belief that most of us have that once we know something, everyone else knows it too. In a business situation, it’s positively dangerous. From failing to include your shop opening hours on your website (seen that done) to assuming prospective clients already understand the benefits of your product or service – being as close as you are to your business can limit how effectively you communicate about it.
The value of an outside eye – working with a copywriter
Working with someone who has a fresh view of your business can breathe real impetus into your marketing material.
- They won’t be making assumptions about any aspect of what you do.
- They won’t be too shy to say exactly why your products and services are so brilliant.
- And they will have a toolkit of writing techniques that will be designed to get straight to the heart of what you want to achieve.
It’s not just that writing comes naturally to copywriters. They have learned a set of skills that are specifically honed to help promote your company and sell your goods and services. To hunt down and draw in the prospective customers waiting out there to find you.
Need help with any of these?
- Sales letters and adverts
- Brochures and folders
- Booklets
- Training material
- Website content
- Social media updates
- Articles for LinkedIn etc.
- White papers and reports
- Blog posts
Sue Portman has spent a good deal of time getting to grips with the subtleties of copywriting for business and is really rather good at it.
- Copy designed to engage your prospects.
- Copy that drives sales.
- Copy that builds long-term business relationships.
“I can help you with any aspect of the words you need for your business.”