Having a copywriter at your side is your secret weapon in business. But, many entrepreneurs don’t see this potential. They still believe writing copy simply means putting some fancy-sounding words on a page. Copywriters do so much more than that!
They conduct in-depth customer research and give advice and guidance on marketing campaigns, funnels, and launch strategies. They even provide suggestions for the design of your websites and sales pages.
Working with a copywriter means that you won’t have to agonize how you communicate your products and services to your audience. You won’t be alone having to make all your marketing decisions. And you won’t be left wondering why your sales page didn’t perform and how to fix it.
Here are five things great copywriters do to help you reach and convert your dream customers.
1. They start early
Suppose you’re ready to launch your new online course to the world. You’ve written a sales page and a couple of emails to go with it. Now, it’s time to hire a copywriter to polish your copy. To add that little extra, that’ll make your course sell like ice cream sandwiches on a hot summer day.
The truth is, if you wait until the last minute, you’ll miss out on a huge chunk of the value that a copywriter can provide. Not to mention that most copywriters won’t even polish existing text.
Ideally, copywriters build copy from the ground up. And there’s a valid reason why. Copy that converts is based on thorough research, a deep dive into the hearts and brains of your target audience. Copywriters uncover your customers’ pain points, goals, and objections by conducting surveys and interviews, mining reviews and forums.
Why go through all this trouble? Because your audience should feel like you’re reading their mind when they read your sales page. They should feel like you completely “get them” like no one else does. And that’s how they trust and buy from you.
Another reason for not waiting until the last minute to hire a copywriter is that most copywriters can offer their guidance on your launch strategy. What should your funnel look like? How many emails do you need? Should you run ads? These are questions copywriters can help answer. They’ve witnessed launches shoot through the roof and others underperform. You can tap into their experience and expertise.
And another reason is that copywriters can help you optimize your offer. They can advise on crafting the right guarantee, upsells, downsells, and limited-time bonuses. That’s crucial because even the best copy in the world won’t sell your offer if it isn’t something your audience wants.
Oh, and yet another reason: The best copywriters are booked out for months. So you can’t expect them to jump at your project right away.
2. They’re invested in the process
Even the best copywriters aren’t mind readers. They need to get to know your business really well to do a great job. And this information is mostly inside your head. That means answering some hard questions, having your business turned inside out, and your assumptions challenged.
Business owners often falsely believe that they can just hand over a project to a copywriter and it’s done. That hiring a copywriter is another box to check off on their marketing plan. What they have to realize is that what you put in is what you get out. If you aren’t investing time in collaborating with your copywriter, the results will be mediocre at best.
For example, copywriters will want to know why you’re in business in the first place and how you’re different from the competition. They’ll want to understand every little detail of your product or service and even try it out themselves.
I often get pushback when I arrive with my long list of questions, but it’s the fastest way to extract the crucial information I need. The alternative would be writing generic copy that has no advantage over your competition. And nobody wants that. So answering questions shouldn’t be a chore but a way of discovery. You’ll likely learn something new about yourself and your business.
Also, that’s why I prefer to work with my clients long term. I don’t have to start from scratch every time and can start writing much faster.
3. They test and experiment
There’s one thing that copywriters don’t do: give a guarantee for results. There are simply too many moving pieces besides the copy that the copywriter can’t influence. If there’s no product/market fit, if the traffic coming to your sales page isn’t a good fit for your offer, and if the offer itself isn’t something people want, then there’s little hope that the copy will make a difference.
What copywriters DO guarantee is learning. Copywriting means testing and experimenting. It’s an ongoing learning process. A copywriter is like a scientist using tactics and tools to methodically work towards success (aka conversions).
The most important experimentation tool is A/B testing. Your copywriter will be happy to suggest variations for headlines or button copy to test. Besides, there are plenty of tools to help you and your copywriter further improve the copy. For example, Hotjar can show you where you’re losing people on the page. And on-site polls and exit surveys help you discover what people expect and why they might be leaving.
4. They’re involved in the design
If you’re building a landing page or website and you ask a copywriter what you should focus on first – copy or design – she would obviously say copy. If you ask a designer, you’d likely get the opposite answer. The thing is, how will the designer know how to structure the page without seeing the copy?
I’ve worked on a website project where the design was 80% done when the client brought me in. Once I started to write, we soon realized that the proposed design didn’t accommodate what we needed to communicate. The result was a lot of rework for the designer that could have been prevented.
The job of design is to amplify the copy and make it easier to read. Words will convince someone to buy, not pictures and graphics. But, even little details in the design can make a difference to the conversion rate. For example, a person’s picture should look at a button and not in the other direction.
If you hire a conversion copywriter, she can provide guidance for the design and will be happy to review any design drafts.
5. They expect trust in their expertise
When a doctor just stitched up your hand after you’ve cut yourself trying to make avocado toast (it’s a thing), would you look at them and go “That doesn’t seem right, let me do this again!” No, you wouldn’t.
Still, after a copywriter has delivered the copy, many business owners can’t help themselves but mess with the text. Soon after, they’re wondering why the copy isn’t performing and blame it on the copywriter.
When copywriters choose words, sentences, paragraphs, there’s a good reason for it. Everything on the page fulfills a purpose. So, removing a section because you feel the page is too long will disturb the big picture.
As the copywriter presents the final copy, she can explain why she made certain choices. If something still feels off, address it right away so you can work together on a solution.
Most importantly … they’re your partner
At first, hiring a copywriter may seem like more work, much like hiring an assistant. You have to invest the time explaining your business and getting onto the same page.
That’s why it pays off to build a long-term relationship with a copywriter you can trust. You won’t have to start from scratch every time you need a new sales page or email sequence.
When you involve your copywriter in your marketing decisions, she can help you best and will be invested in the success of your business.
P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you grow your business with copy:
- Discover what’s currently not working on your website and let me show you how to fix it: website audit.
- Skip the blank page syndrome and get a landing page or sales page that converts: One Page Copy
- Let me turn your website into your 24/7 salesperson: Full Website Copy.
