Every year brings a new raft of weird and wonderful ‘rules’ for successful copywriting. Most of which turn out to be anything but useful.
Contrary to popular belief, there’s no magic formula for quality copy. Nor are there year-by-year updates to the figurative copyrighting rulebook. It’s simply a case of producing engaging, relevant and unique content that resonates with your audience.
So rather than buying into nonsensical tips and tactics for the year ahead, focus instead on these essential best-practice copywriting rules for 2019:
1 – Understand Your Audience
First up, nothing matters more than developing the deepest possible understanding of your audience. Unless you know your audience inside-out, you can’t expect to fulfil its requirements. Get to know your ideal customer and general demographic, studying its demands, its needs and its expectations. Only then will you be able to create compelling and engaging copy.
2 – Consider Your USP
Copywriting gives you the opportunity to create a unique and influential voice for your brand. It’s also the only opportunity you have to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Think about what makes you unique. Why would your ideal customer choose you over your closest rivals? Your USP should be reflected at every opportunity in the copy you produce. Publishing generic copy simply for the sake of it is a waste of time.
3 – Focus on Headlines
The headlines you create will determine whether anyone bothers to read the rest of your content. Without high-impact headlines that engage immediately, the rest is inconsequential. The same also applies to the sub-headings you use throughout your copy, breaking blocks of text into more digestible chunks.
4 – No Allowance for Errors
We’ve reached a stage in time where even a single typo can destroy the credibility of an entire piece. Flawlessness is the only acceptable standard in the eyes of today’s web user. Before any of your work is published, ensure it is proofread multiple times – ideally by more than one person.
5 – Inject Your Personality
As touched upon above, producing generic copy presented in a robotic voice is a waste of time. This is your chance to inject your own unique personality and voice into the content you publish. Credibility is established on a foundation of authenticity – the confidence to be yourself and let your personality shine.
6 – Establish Your Goal
Every piece of content you publish should be engineered with a specific goal in mind. Some copy entertains, some articles inform, some posts nurture loyalty and so on. When a post doesn’t contribute to a specific objective, it’s a generic piece of content that isn’t worth publishing.
7 – Edit for Specific Platforms
If you intend to publish content across a range of online platforms, don’t fall into the trap of copying and pasting verbatim. In accordance with your chosen platform, it may be necessary to edit the post significantly for maximum impact. An effective post on Facebook may not have the same power or influence on LinkedIn, for example.
8 – Monitor Trends
Last up, if you intend to capitalise on any emerging trends, you need to stay one step ahead of the curve. The more time that passes, the more likely you’ll be seen as simply jumping on the bandwagon through sheer desperation. Trends can be powerful things, but only if you’re right at the front of the queue.
Learn how to take the influence and engagement of your web content to the next level – get in touch with the team at Christian Michaels today.
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