Why Copywriting Matters: The Benefits of Good Copywriting
If you’ve ever picked up a new book and read the back cover first, you’ll know why copywriting matters. Great copywriting makes potential customers want to learn more about your product; it has them reaching for their wallets faster than an ice-cold drink on an impossibly hot day. Not only does it sell your product, it also establishes your brand’s voice and image in the minds of your audience.
You want your business to resonate with your audience because you want your products or services to sell. You want to connect your audience’s needs to the solution offered by your business.
Well, that’s why copywriting matters. Without copywriting — good copywriting — you simply can’t do this effectively.
Does your copy really speak to your audience? Does it engage and relate, whilst actively (but subtly) selling your business and product? You might think it does, but how can you be sure?
In this blog post, we’ll outline what good copywriting entails, explaining why copywriting matters, why it’s so essential to your business, and what benefits it can have.
What is copywriting?
Let’s start simple. What exactly is copywriting?
Copywriting is the process of creating written content for any medium or platform, but it’s also more than that; it’s a marketing tool. Copywriting isn’t just getting information down on the page (or website, or social media, or aforementioned book cover); it’s getting the message across in the right way whilst achieving consistent, measurable results.
Why is good copywriting important?
You could be forgiven for thinking that anyone who understands your products and business can do the copywriting for you, but copywriting is a skill and a talent that can take years to hone.
We are living in an increasingly visual world, where images and videos are more accessible than ever before. If your writing isn’t up to scratch, then it will be almost impossible for anyone outside of your company to understand what you do, and why they should care.
If you want to know why copywriting matters so much, then that’s your answer; poorly-written copy can cause a whole host of issues for your business and damage the message you’re trying to convey — not to mention your bottom line. Good copy, on the other hand, is vital to the success of your business.
So, we know why copywriting matters, but not necessarily how it works. What is good copywriting supposed to do, exactly?
Engages your audience
Engaging your audience means grabbing and holding their attention. If your copy doesn’t do this, you’ve failed at the first hurdle. Customers are unlikely to go further than the first boring thing they encounter, so they won’t actively interact with you if your copy is dull or flat. That’s why copywriting matters so much — it’s not just flavour text for your landing page, it’s a vital part of customer retention.
Helps you relate to your audience
It’s loud out there! There are a lot of voices, and they’re all trying to say the same things. You want to let people know you’re the best option for them, that you know your stuff, and that you care. But so does everyone else.
If you can’t relate to your audience and make them feel seen and humanised, they’re unlikely to choose you over someone who does. Great copywriters identify the target audience, and know how best to reach out and connect with them through their copy.
Solves problems
One of the essential parts of copywriting is that copy is written to match a need to a solution. You relate to the audience’s need, and you provide the answer — that’s the overall goal of any copywriter.
If you don’t provide a solution or you frame it poorly, your audience has no reason to continue their customer journey with you.
Clearly expresses benefits
This is a big one! It’s not enough to just say ‘we have the solution’ — you need to tell your audience what the benefits of your solution are if you want them to choose you over a competitor.
Put yourself in your audience’s shoes; explain the general benefits of your concept or solution, and highlight what makes you better than other brands in the same market. You need to outline your advantages and frame them in a way that honestly, understandably solves pain points in their lives. Otherwise, you’ve lost them.
5 benefits of good copywriting
Whilst bad copywriting can have negative effects on your business, good copywriting is packed full of positives for you, your products, and your brand. Now that you know why copywriting matters, we can explain exactly how it provides value for your business.
1. Builds relationships
Responding to questions, needs, and concerns — as well as building on feedback — helps build relationships with your customers. Customers appreciate copy that addresses their needs and relates to them individually.
Relationships with your customers are sure to be longer-lasting when you build them through effective communication. This is the key to retention and loyalty, which improves long-term sales and conversions.
2. Provides measurable results
Good copywriting gives you something. More importantly, it gives you something you can measure.
Successful copy will:
Increase engagement on social media, blogs, and websites
Improve time spent on pages
Improve your reach
Reduce drop-off
Increase conversions and sales
You can always see whether your copy is working or not by looking at your analytics data. If your engagement is low and your drop-off rate is high, then you probably need better copy!
3. Creates unique, value-driven content
Every sentence of your copy must serve a purpose. It must be tailored to the needs, wants, and consumer profiles of your audience. A good copywriter knows this; they spend time meticulously crafting bespoke copy that engages the audience, offering constant value that is unique to the reader. This creates customer trust in you and your brand, ultimately increasing the likelihood of conversions.
4. Strengthens your brand image
Good copywriting understands the image you want to portray. It understands how you want your audience to see you, and it makes sure that your image is consistent across all mediums and platforms.
A strong brand is essential for your business to survive. Being recognisable, respected, and liked by your target market is the only way you can sell to them.
Errors, misinformation, and incorrect tone can all hurt you. A voice and style that is inconsistent or doesn’t match your brand image can be off-putting. Good content takes your vision and brand identity and portrays them effectively.
5. Sells more when done right
Well-written content has the end goal in mind from the get-go; it needs to sell. Whether it’s a product, service, or idea, you have to sell it, and good copy will help you get there.
Fancy wordplay and literary techniques can engage a customer, but ensuring that an element of marketing is included creates good copy that can sell. In short, well-written copy should increase the number of conversions you get, simply because it makes people want to buy whatever you’re selling. That’s the biggest reason why copywriting matters so much!
Remember the purpose of the copy — sell, sell, sell
Let’s take everything we’ve learnt and put it into practice. For example, let’s imagine you have an all-natural baby food company. Why an all-natural baby food company? Why not? Just roll with it!
Sam is a single parent with a full-time job and three young children at home. They’re worried about additives and nutrition in baby food, but don’t have time to prepare homemade food themselves. They’re looking for low-cost, all-natural baby food to save time whilst ensuring their baby gets the nutrients they need. How do you sell your product to Sam using good copy?
To successfully sell the product, you want a good structure that tells a story. You want to keep it simple, ask questions, sell the product, and speak directly to your audience.
You can start by introducing not just what they need, but also why they need it. Ask questions to engage them and make them think, and then answer them so they feel heard. For instance:
“You want to give your baby the best start in life, and that includes providing the best diet. But do you have the time to do hours of nutritional research, or meticulously prepare your own baby food from scratch? Your busy and demanding lifestyle means you probably don’t.”
Then you can follow up by telling them how your product helps them:
“We’ve done the heavy lifting for you with our all-natural and fully-balanced baby food. Through dedicated research, our infant health and nutrition experts have created balanced meals that contain all the nutrients, minerals, and vitamins your baby needs — without all the additives and chemicals.”
Then conclude and give a call to action:
“Ensure that your baby has the nutrition they need and skip the extra steps with our delicious products. We take the guesswork out of your child’s nutrition, so you save time and reduce stress whilst ensuring a healthy, happy baby.”
“Give your little one a taste of something delicious with our low-cost, high-quality range.”
The above is a very reductive, simplified example, but we hope it gives you an idea as to what a good copy journey should look like. The reason why copywriting matters is because, although it might seem easy at first glance, you don’t want to take risks when it comes to sales. Getting an expert to write it for you ensures that all the details will be there from the start.
Why copywriting matters: the final word
Copywriting is important when you want to portray your company and product in the right way, to the right people. It engages the audience, telling a story about how you can help them and why that’s so important.
We’ve told you what constitutes good copy and we’ve explained how it benefits your business. So, how do you ensure you have good copy? With a professional copywriter, of course!
Professional, experienced copywriters know all the tricks to creating good copy. The ZippyLingo team of copywriters, for example, are a collection of dedicated industry experts with years of experience and a passion for content and communication.
Our expert copywriters work with you to ensure your copy is perfect for your audience, brand, and product, so you can increase engagement and, ultimately, make more sales.
Contact the ZippyLingo team today to start the journey to perfect copy for your business.
