In digital marketing, we often hear the term copywriting . The role of copywriting is vital. Copywriting is the spearhead in digital marketing. However, what is copywriting ?
Maybe you often realize that articles or writings in the form of solicitations in advertisements for the sale of goods or services are not made haphazardly. These solicitation letters are written by those who work specifically in marketing writing. They are copywriters or often the authors are called copywriters . The task of copywriting is to become a liaison between sellers or advertisers and buyers or consumers through written, audio, image, video, or other types of content.
Definition of Copywriting
Copywriting (Indonesian: advertising script) is a script written by an advertising copywriter and distributed for commercial purposes. For example, scripts for television advertisements, radio, magazines, newspapers, billboards, banners, and so on. Advertising copywriters are commonly called copywriters , while the script or text is called copy or copywriting. Copywriting can also mean writing activities.
In practice, advertising scripts are not only in the form of conventional advertisements or in the above the line category (such as television, radio or print media advertisements), but any promotional scripts required by the industry. For example, website text, calendars, brochures, company or product slogans ( taglines ), sales letters ( sales letters ), press releases ( press releases ), direct mail , newsletters ( newsletters ), and many more.
An ad script writer is required to be able to write text creatively and based on research. He is also required to master writing techniques in many media, such as print, websites, audio and audiovisual.
Quoted from the American Writers and Artist Institute (AWAI) page, copywriting is the process of writing persuasive marketing and promotional materials that motivate people to take some form of action, such as making a purchase, clicking on a link, donating, inviting, to influencing people to contact the sales department.
Copywriting materials can include written promotions published in print or online. They can also include spoken material, such as scripts used for videos or advertisements. You may not realize it, but copywriting is actually everywhere, even if you’re just starting out by looking at your inbox (e-mail), you’ll find some clear examples of copywriting .
Promotions for local restaurants, catalogs, fundraising letters from charitable organizations, or sales letters for various products and services are all forms of copywriting . A copywriting writer is called a copywriter.
Copywriting example
Copywriting is a method of making material, usually in the form of writing, to persuade potential customers to buy or use the goods or services being advertised. The content of the article can be in the form of solicitations, product explanations, subscription information, solicitations to contact sales, promo information, and so on.
At first, copywriting was only used in making articles such as advertorials, sales letters, billboards , and also marketing media in other forms of writing. That’s why this marketing technique is called copywriting . However, in this era of digital and online technology, copywriting is considered an important matter in marketing.
Apart from being able to put it in written form, the current copywriting method can also be applied in making a video or podcast script . In addition, copywriting skills can also be applied to various marketing media, such as text on landing pages , blog articles, social media posts, headlines and meta descriptions , paid ads on Google or social media, titles to YouTube video descriptions . Television commercials, product reviews on YouTube , and short videos on how to use a product are all examples of spoken copywriting .
Types of Copywriting
1. Direct Response Copywriting
Direct response copywriting is a form of written content that directs people to click on pages on a website.
2. Marketing Copywriting
Marketing copywriting is a form of content that conveys sales information to convince consumers in the form of an explanation of product functions and benefits.
3. Brand Copywriting
Brand copywriting is a type of copywriting that focuses on conveying the image and identity of a brand.
4. SEO Copywriting
SEO copywriting is copywriting that focuses on appearing in search engines, that is, when potential customers often have to open a search engine to find out information before buying a product.
5. Technical Copywriting
This type of copywriting focuses more on providing in-depth knowledge about how a product or service works. Generally, this type of copywriting is used for beauty products, technology, or health products.
Who Uses Copywriting?
Copywriting is at the core of almost every business. Without copywriters , businesses or companies will not be able to share their message with potential customers to expand their market. All companies, government agencies, manufacturers, retailers, to non-profit organizations. They all need and use copywriters and their copywriting products .
Take Apple Inc. as an example. If you browse their website, you will find descriptions of their products, like this one for the new MacBook Air. Copywriters are advertisements that are easy to find in newspapers. The product description as published on Apple’s official website was written by a copywriter , you can also see there is a link to the product video.
Guess who wrote the script for that video? You guessed it, a copywriter . And if you scroll down the page, you will see this description for the special security chip that comes with the laptop. It is also made by copywriters .
Copywriting as we know it today has been studied and recognized as an important part of marketing for decades. However, the history of copywriting goes much further back. Undoubtedly, merchants on the streets of ancient Rome needed to use persuasion when they bartered with potential customers.
Steps to Make Interesting Copywriting!
Now surely you want to know how to make interesting copywriting , right? Easy, here are six steps that you must master when learning copywriting :
- Study your product or service.
- Understand audience needs.
- Choose a catchy headline .
- Support headlines with compelling leads .
- Write quality copy .
- End with persuasion.
Let’s see the detailed explanation!
1. Study Your Product or Service
Without recognizing the product, service or content being offered, you will not be able to market it properly. This is why product understanding is an important part of learning copywriting . This doesn’t just apply to copywriters working for a company. Even for those of you promoting your personal business, this is an important thing to remember. Unless you create the merchandise.
So, after learning about what you’re selling, it’s a good idea if you write down the information you get in the form of a description. This is done so that later you will have a reference in the writing process. To make it easier for you to create product descriptions, try asking yourself these three things:
- What’s unique about this product?
- What are the features?
- What benefits do consumers get from this feature?
Now, we will explain what you need to write based on the three questions above.
a. What’s Unique about the Product?
Ideally, every product (and service) has a unique selling point or USP. That is, the product has a uniqueness that is not found in its competitors. For example, you want to market herbal facial soap. Even though there are many other herbal facial soap manufacturers, your product is 100% free from animal elements. These are elements that you can use as USP.
b. What are the Features?
Apart from being unique, your product or service certainly has several features, right? While not all of them need to be mentioned in the copywriting text , it’s a good idea to write down these features in a list so they’re easy to remember when needed.
From the example of herbal facial soap, you can mention the special ingredients as features. For example, the soap is made from lemongrass leaf extract.
c. What Benefits Do Consumers Get From These Features?
If you only mention the features of a product, your audience may not necessarily understand the benefits. Therefore, you also need to explain the advantages of the existing features. For example, mention that the lemongrass leaf extract contained in your soap products not only gives you a natural fragrance, but also prevents acne breakouts.
2. Understand Audience Needs
Knowing your audience is no less important than understanding your own product. Why? Because the essence of copywriting is not about your profit, but the benefits they get when using the goods you sell.
Imagine if someone offered you a car perfume sample, even though you only have a motorbike. Of course, you refuse the offer because it’s useless, right? Apart from that, you also need to understand your audience so you can create marketing text that really sounds personal, aka right on target. If you can do that, it’s guaranteed that many people will be interested in buying from you.
Well, the first step that needs to be taken to study the audience is to give surveys to existing consumers. This can be done easily if you already have their email address beforehand. That way, all you have to do is send an email whose contents invite consumers to fill out a survey.
In the survey, there are several questions that must be included so that you can understand consumers as fully as possible, including:
- “What attracted you to our product?”
- “Have you ever used a similar product?”
- “How was your experience using it?”
Depending on what you’re selling, you can also ask more personal questions like the following:
- “Tell me about yourself (age, place of residence, amount of income)”
- “What is your profession?” or “What business do you run?”
- “What everyday challenges can our products solve? What’s unsolved?”
- “What would you like to be able to achieve in your job or business?”
With the answers to the questions above, you can create a picture of your target audience called a buyer persona . Like the product description, this image is also used as a reference.
3. Define Captivating Headlines
Eight out of ten audiences will only read your title or headline . That means you have to be able to create a title that really grabs attention. High creativity is needed to make strong headlines. However, the practice is not as difficult as many people think. The following three tricks are proven to be able to turn ordinary-sounding titles into interesting ones:
- Describe the benefits you offer.
- Make readers want to buy immediately.
- Enter the percentage.
a. Mention the Benefits You Offer
You certainly don’t want to lose potential customers, do you? One of the reasons is the unclear title. For example “Easy Ways to Save Work Time”. The headline is brief, but the reader will not immediately know what he will get from reading the entire text.
Try changing the title to “Finish Work 2 Hours Early with These 7 Tricks”. This title is not that short, but the reader can immediately understand its benefits. This method can also be applied to headlines on landing pages . One such example is what The Hustle did . With that message, people who access the page will immediately understand that The Hustle offers business and technology news that can be listened to quickly.
b. Make Readers Want to Buy Immediately
Generally, consumers don’t want to turn down profits. Discounts, for example. However, just listing the discount in the headline is not enough. To create maximum effect, you can indicate that the discount is not valid forever. An example is the one used on the main page of the Niagahoster website.
Apart from websites, you can also use this type of headline in social media ads or Google searches. For example, “Only 7 Days! 35% Discount For All Accessories”. With a headline format like that, it’s guaranteed that more people will be interested in your ad. However, the time limit for your offer must really exist. Otherwise, the audience will lose their trust in you.
c. Enter Percentage
Apart from benefits and limited offers, another element that is no less powerful for capturing attention is percentage. Especially if the number is odd.
Why is that? With a percentage in your headline , readers will be more interested because there are specific results that can be obtained from you. For example this title: “11 Tips to Increase Website Traffic by 37.5%”. If the headline is simply “Tips to Increase Website Traffic”, the number of people who are interested in clicking on your articles, ads, or landing pages will not be many.
4. Support Headlines with Compelling Leads
As the one in the front row, the headline or title must of course be able to attract the audience. However, people are not necessarily interested in listening to your article, newsletter or landing page further after clicking on the title.
For this reason, an interesting headline needs to be supported by an interesting lead or opening paragraph. Here are some ways you can create leads that readers can’t resist:
- Show empathy.
- Start with facts.
- Make the audience curious.
a. Show Empathy
As we mentioned earlier, copywriting is all about your audience. Therefore, this concept also needs to be used in leads . The trick is to empathize with the reader. Open your lead with these three sample phrases to build a connection with your audience from the start:
- “Have you experienced this? [continues with a short story about the audience problem]”
- “You know how [the X problem] can be very disruptive to activities. Fortunately, [product X] can overcome it with [solution X]”
- “We understand that [problem X] can interfere with your activities. Therefore, you need [solution X]”
b. Start with Facts
As with any type of writing, data, facts, or a quote from a trusted source can be used as a lead opener . You can sample the following phrases so that the lead sounds credible and captures the audience’s attention:
- “This year’s [company X] research shows that….”
- “[technique X] has been shown to increase revenue by X%, according to [company X] studies.”
- “It has been proven that [the X platform] is still the number one solution for….”
c. Create a Curious Audience
Of course, the audience must be curious so they want to read your text to the end. This can be done with a simple invitation at the end of the opening paragraph, such as “Intrigued by how? Check out this article!”
In addition, you can also make your audience curious in the beginning by providing surprising facts. For example: “It cannot be denied that [element X] is beneficial to the body. However, did you know that [the X element] has a negative impact?”
5. Write Quality Copy
Even though headlines and leads are important parts of copywriting techniques , you shouldn’t forget the main part of the writing. In copywriting , this section is called copy. There are several formulas you can use to write quality copy , including:
- Use simple words and sentences.
- Write for one person only.
- Explain the benefits to the audience.
- Take advantage of subheadings .
- 8 Advertising Purposes, Their Characteristics and Definitions According to Experts
- 10 Types of Service Business. Who knows it suits you!
- Definition of Advertising: Types, Functions, Benefits, and Tips
- Definition of Entrepreneurship: Concept, Purpose, Nature, and Types of Entrepreneurship
- Advertising Purpose: Definition, Characteristics, Types, and Conditions