Copywriting secrets that can help maximise conversions

Today’s content marketing industry is predominantly concerned with the importance of storytelling in all content. While a picture can speak 1 000 words, storytelling is vital in the copywriting activities done as part of a marketing campaign. In fact, if campaign copy isn’t optimal from the start, it might render the entire project a failure. This is because without hooking potential customers with well-written, conversion-friendly headlines and other copy, there is little chance that they will look any further into what the brand is trying to achieve. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at three tried-and-tested copywriting secrets that could help your conversion numbers:

Leverage reciprocity

Speaking to your readers on a personal level is critical in the new normal copywriting. This takes knowing your audience and understanding – among other details – how they make their decisions. One secret that many copywriters, businesses and others know about is the reciprocity effect. In other words, give to your readers without expecting anything in return. Apart from stimulating the reader’s natural affinity for free stuff, they will see you as being generous and kind. Neil Patel says that “When we give to others without expectation, it creates a feeling of indebtedness in them, making them more receptive to your eventual pitch.”

Optimise headlines

What exactly goes into a headline? Copywriters should know that a headline isn’t just a headline. It’s a carefully selected group of words; like a well-tied fishing fly. There are a few headline types a copywriter can use, each having been proven effective in converting readers into enquirers:

• Audience reference: These are headlines that speak directly to the reader. For example: Why you should never eat cheese again.
• How to: Content that is meant to explain or uncover a process might have a how-to headline. For example:  How to improve your golf swing in 7 days.
• Numbered: Psychologically, people are drawn to numbers. They give structure and certainty to our lives. For example:  This 5-minute workout will change your life
• Questions: Headlines that are questions will naturally cause the reader to ask it themselves, and seek the answer by reading further. For example:  Does Donald Trump really have COVID-19?

Go back to basics

If you’ve ever studied a bit of marketing, you’ll have come across the AIDA formula. AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. While these have been updated since the rise of the Internet and digital marketing, they are still generally applicable today:

• Attention: The piece of content’s heading should do its best to grab the reader’s attention. Copywriters can use the tactics listed in the previous section while also using emotive adjectives and positive verbiage as far as possible.
• Interest: The next part of the piece should pique the interest of the reader. Copywriters often do this effectively by including facts into opening sentences or asking questions of the reader who hopefully seeks to find answers in the rest of the content.
• Desire: After the interest is established, a copywriter needs to garner a desire in the reader for the product, service, etc. This is often done with mention of the product/service’s features, benefits to the user, pricing points, and other details.
• Action: This is how one finishes off a piece of copy following the AIDA principle. The reader needs to be motivated to taking action. They can be asked to call in, send a message, fill in a sign-up form, or find out more.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

Think you have what it takes to make words jump out at readers as they take in your expertly-written pieces of copywriting content? If a career in copywriting is what you’ve been dreaming of, consider our accredited National Diploma in Copywriting and Digital Marketing. This recognised course gives students a holistic understanding of how copywriting fits into the broader marketing mix. Launch your marketing career today!