Is your website getting the results you’re hoping for? How many visitors stick around, and how many of those that do are taking action?
You hope they opt in to your list, or, even better, buy something. Instead, many say “Ho-hum” and trundle off, never to be seen again. What to do?
Upgrade the writing on your website. Or set up special sales pages with powerful marketing writing – also known as copywriting.
How I discovered the power of marketing writing
About 10 years ago, I was a linguistics professor in an English Department, and the resident grammar guru. And then… I discovered internet marketing.
More specifically, I discovered that when I read certain sales letters, I couldn’t get my credit card out of my wallet fast enough to buy whatever it was they were selling.
“What the… ?” I thought.
Since my area of expertise was studying language used for persuasion, I was intrigued. These writers were masters of persuasion, far beyond what I had ever imagined was possible.
And just around that same time, I was getting letters in the mail from AWAI – about their 6 Figure Copywriting Course.
And yes, those letters were very persuasive. So much so that I was soon the proud owner of said course and started working my way through it.
I figured since I was skilled at crafting language, this would be something I’d be good at too. And as it turned out, I was.
I got my first paying customer, a legal marketing firm, soon after I finished my course. Eventually, I left academia to go into marketing full-time.
What Is Copywriting, AKA Marketing Writing?
Copywriting comes in several categories, and they all work together. Here are five of the main ones:
- Sales Letters
- Website Marketing Writing
- Opt-in Pages
- Lead Magnets and Pre-sell Reports
- Email Marketing Writing
Here’s how it works:
Sales letters or sales pages are standalone web pages with highly focused persuasive writing that endeavors to sell a product or service.
The key is to keep the visitor reading until they just have to have the product or service that’s offered.
Website marketing writing is a bit less “sales-y” and more personal, and it’s designed to draw in the visitor and make them keep reading… preferably until they decide to take some kind of action.
Opt-in pages offer their readers one type of action to take that’s relatively low-risk. In exchange for a compelling “free gift,” also known as a lead magnet, the visitors provide their email address so you can follow up with them – and build a relationship with them.
Some of these lead magnets are pre-sell reports – special reports that provide information about a specific subject the visitor is interested in.
They also make the reader realize that they need and want to take “the next step” – conveniently suggested in the report, generally with a link to a sales page.
Email Marketing – The Crucial Next Step
Once your visitors have signed up for more information, you can send them a series of carefully crafted emails. They will help them get to know, like, and trust you.
Eventually, these emails will persuade many of them to become your customers and buy what you’re offering or recommending.
Will everyone buy? Not quite, but a much larger percentage of the visitors will buy than would have without the follow-up emails.
Obviously, the better the emails, the more people will take action!
More Marketing Writing
Meanwhile, there are more ways to tap into the power of marketing writing, or copywriting.
Have you ever watched a (sales) video that seemed absolutely endless and you really wanted to do something else, but you just couldn’t stop watching? And when it was over, you might have even bought what was offered?
Guess what! That too is copywriting. Somebody crafted the text that was narrated in the video!
The same is true for social media messages and ads.
How can you benefit from marketing writing?
If your website is not getting you the leads and clients you’re hoping for, it might be time to look at ways to power up your marketing writing.
You can use the tips above to work on it yourself. Or you could get some feedback from an experienced copywriter.
