5 Tips for Writing Copy that Delivers Results [Video]

With all the talk about content marketing, blogs, and the importance of SEO to a well-rounded marketing strategy—it can be easy to forget about the standbys, like being able to craft solid sales copy.

This brings us to your next question, "What's the difference?" And how can you create copy that draws in customers while creating strong content to keep the rest of your audience engaged until they're ready to buy?

We will start with a quick rundown of the basics of sales copy, followed by our list of the top 5 tips for writing the kind of copy that gets results.

How Is Sales Copy Different From Other Content Types?

The short answer is that it comes down to timescales. Content like blog posts, eBooks, and whitepapers is for long-term engagement with your audience, while sales copy is about driving a specific action right now. Both share the goal of imparting knowledge about the wonders of your widget to your target audience, with sales copy taking the lead when it comes to succinctly conveying the immediate benefits. 

For this article, let's picture a software company set to release its new wonder widget—an app that takes the guesswork out of quilting. Your general content pieces can cover subjects such as:

• The history of quilting

• Quilts from around the world

• The modern blending of new and traditional quilting techniques

• How apps are set to save traditional crafts

Your sales copy should look more like this:

• How Quiltron 3000 will save you hours estimating supply quantities

• How the integrated chatbot in Quiltron 3000 uses cutting-edge AI to help you select the perfect patterns

• How your quilting circle will rave about your newest masterpiece when you use the layout function for your next quilt

• How quilting is being brought into the 21st century by millennials, social media, and mobile devices

Using specific benefits and touting them through snappy copy directed right at your target demographic, your sales copy will drive people to buy because they see how your app will help them with their craft-related pain points. And for more, it's time to run through our five tips for creating catchy, memorable sales copy that will help your audience convert to happy customers.

1) Know Your Audience

At the risk of sounding redundant (we seem to use this in most of our “tips and tricks” pieces these days, with good reason), the most critical thing you can do when creating sales copy is to be sure you know your audience—better than they know themselves.

Buyer personas are critical to any content and sales process, so it stands to reason that they will be vital to creating excellent sales copy, right? Create personas for each demo you're targeting; you can start with the ones you used during the development of your app.

So you already know that you have two primary groups to target: traditional quilters embracing modern mobile technology and millennials who have taken a shine to historical crafts. What's important to remember is that these two are coming from different directions. The older generation has been quilting for years and probably learned from their mothers and grandmothers, while millennials learn from YouTube videos. They love quilting and rely on their mobile devices, so aim for that common ground.

2) Keep It Focused

Sales copy has one goal—to drive a specific action. Generally speaking, that action is going to be to make a purchase. Still, it may be to click a CTA for more information or some other action your sales team has identified applicable at different stages of the buyer's journey.

Your new quilting app, Quiltron 3000, has three key features:

• An estimator that calculates how much fabric and other supplies you'll need.

• An AI chatbot that helps you select the perfect patterns.

• A forum where you can share your creations, ask questions, and chat with like-minded global community quilters.

  More on Content Marketing HubSpot vs. Salesforce: When to Integrate and When to Migrate

For sales copy to land, it must focus on just one of these features at a time. Additionally, your copy should focus on a particular pain point of the quilting community and explain why Quiltron 3000 is the ideal solution based on that feature.

3) Be Conversational

One of the most overlooked aspects of sales copy is that it can't just be all sales-y. You need to engage your audience, making them see the benefit your widget will bring them. And the way to do that is to remember that people trust other people more than corporations. So be the trusted friend, bringing the message that you understand their pain points so well you know just the thing to solve them.

By presenting your sales message in this way, you build trust in yourself and your widget and position yourself and your company as the source of this trusted information so you can play on that trust again.

4) Be Engaging

Here, we're talking more about getting your audience to do an action rather than keeping their attention with your pithy one-liners and great rhetoric. You're engaging them with a solution to their problems, so offer something concrete to further that goal and ask them to do something in exchange. Like, click a CTA for gated content like a webinar recording or an eBook full of testimonials about how awesome Quiltron 3000 is and how it's changed these quilters' lives forever.

Hook your audience with the sales copy, get them to click through to deeper content or landing pages, and they'll be that much closer to converting to those happy customers you're looking for.

5) Talk About Benefits, NOT Features

We touched on this earlier, but it's so crucial it deserves its entry on the list. The number 1 key to excellent sales copy is that it addresses a pain point. The way to address a pain point is to show how your widget and its benefits will take care of it. How it does that via features is accurate; however, it's also true that your audience can read the complete feature list on the product page. So, keep the sales copy focused on problems and benefits to drive sales and business growth eventually.