No matter what you try to sell on the internet, you need to properly communicate with the interested buyers. Shoppers are not at all easy to convince because of the fact that there are so many market alternatives that are available. The job of the copywriter is to write something that converts, something that draws the person in and activates the idea that a purchase should be made.
It is a shame to see that there are so many different small businesses at the moment that do not actually understand what needs to be done through copywriting. They believe that anything would sell as long as the product is really good. Well, you can promote the best product in the world in your industry and not sell anything if the one that sees your ad does not realize that he is looking at something of real quality.
In order to help out, let us briefly talk about some very common copywriting mistakes that you need to stop making right now.
1. Not Taking Your Target Audience Into Account
If you do not know what a target audience is, you need to start learning this as soon as possible. We need to understand that we cannot satisfy all people from around the world with the product that we are about to sell. With this in mind, the copywriter needs to understand what the product is aimed at.
For instance, let us think about a protein supplement. The target audience would be mainly made out of athletes and people that want to lose weight. If we communicate with them as if they are old, really young or love fast food, there is a pretty good possibility that we will not succeed in making sales.
Make sure that your product descriptions are really well written so that the target audience is clearly defined. You have to identify the customer that is more likely to make a purchase and write your copy according to what his desires are.
2. A Failure To Explain Buying Benefits
Since we talked about the protein supplement as being a product that we promote above, let us just continue with this example. There are currently hundreds of supplements on the market. What makes the one that you promote stand out of the crowd? Maybe it includes more protein per serving or maybe it has a better protein source than others.
Through proper copywriting, you need to clearly highlight the benefits associated with buying the product you promote. This can include anything from discounts that are offered to studies that showcase results. You need to make it clear that what you sell is of high quality and whenever possible, prove it through concrete examples. That is what helps in increasing sales.
3. Exaggeration
Would you believe someone that told you something like: “this pen is the best one that you will ever use”? There is a pretty good chance that you will not think that such a statement is true. It is such a shame to see that a lot of copywriters still make the mistake of over-hyping the products that are sold. Online customers that actually make large purchases are not stupid. They will not believe the hype, or at least not believe the hype that you present.
While it is not a bad idea to add some words that can be considered as hype, you need to perfectly balance everything with proper descriptions and a focus on the benefits that we highlighted above.
You can easily tone down the sales letter with something like “among the best” or “recommended by athletes like X because” in order to engage attention and make it seem like you are not trying to make a sale. When the interested buyer is bombarded with hype and aggressive sales text, there is a pretty good chance that he will close the window and never consider the product again. Stay focused on facts and proof since that is what converts best.
4. Using Content Formats
It is usually a great idea to be inspired by campaigns that were really successful in the past but that does not mean that you should copy the format of that campaign. For instance, you can easily find information about content formats that are successful in marketing. The trick is to take the information into account and modify it so that your text does not look like all the others that are present on the internet.
There is a huge possibility that the shopper already saw the formats that you use and they did not like something that was bought in the past. Even if your product is really good, by using a format that was already overused in the past, you are hurting your conversion ratio. Be inspired but come up with something new! After all, this is why copywriters are paid so well these days as they are capable of coming up with new ways to engage the targeted shopper.
5. Not Including Social Proof
Humans are social by nature. Think about a fair. When there are many people that are lined up in front of a store, many others will follow and will try to see what the big fuss is about. A similar thing happens with marketing. When you offer enough social proof that the product is really good, there is a pretty good possibility that a sale can be made even when you have missing on-page elements that should be there. Examples of social proof include testimonials from high authority figures in the industry, media reports or products sold in numbers.
Copywriting Requires Patience And Attention To Detail
To sum up, the 5 mistakes that were mentioned above are some of the most common that we see but, unfortunately, many others can be mentioned. Copywriting is not at all easy. You need to constantly adapt to your target audience and make changes as they are needed. If you see that something does not convert well, do not be afraid to make modifications so that you can drive more sales.
