How To Attract More Clients And Customers | Content Writing
Is your website getting the results you're hoping for? How
many visitors stick around, and how many of those that do are taking action?
You hope they opt in to your list, or, even better, buy
something. Instead, many say "Ho-hum" and trundle off, never to be
seen again. What to do?
Upgrade the writing on your website. Or set up special sales
pages with powerful marketing writing - also known as copywriting.
How I discovered the power of marketing writing
About 10 years ago, I was a linguistics professor in an
English Department, and the resident grammar guru. And then... I discovered
internet marketing.
More specifically, I discovered that when I read certain
sales letters, I couldn't get my credit card out of my wallet fast enough to
buy whatever it was they were selling.
"What the... ?" I thought.
Since my area of expertise was studying language used for
persuasion, I was intrigued. These writers were masters of persuasion, far
beyond what I had ever imagined was possible.
And just around that same time, I was getting letters in the
mail from AWAI - about their 6 Figure Copywriting Course.
And yes, those letters were very persuasive. So much so that
I was soon the proud owner of said course and started working my way through
it.
I figured since I was skilled at crafting language, this
would be something I'd be good at too. And as it turned out, I was.
I got my first paying customer, a legal marketing firm, soon
after I finished my course. Eventually, I left academia to go into marketing
full-time.
What Is Copywriting, AKA Marketing Writing?
Copywriting comes in several categories, and they all work
together. Here are five of the main ones:
- Sales
Letters
- Website
Marketing Writing
- Opt-in
Pages
- Lead
Magnets and Pre-sell Reports
- Email Marketing Writing
Here's how it works:
Sales letters or sales pages are standalone web pages with
highly focused persuasive writing that endeavors to sell a product or service.
The key is to keep the visitor reading until they just have
to have the product or service that's offered.
Website marketing writing is a bit less "sales-y"
and more personal, and it's designed to draw in the visitor and make them keep
reading... preferably until they decide to take some kind of action.
Opt-in pages offer their readers one type of action to take
that's relatively low-risk. In exchange for a compelling "free gift,"
also known as a lead magnet, the visitors provide their email address so you
can follow up with them - and build a relationship with them.
Some of these lead magnets are pre-sell reports - special
reports that provide information about a specific subject the visitor is
interested in.
They also make the reader realize that they need and want to
take "the next step" - conveniently suggested in the report,
generally with a link to a sales page.
Email Marketing - The Crucial Next Step
Once your visitors have signed up for more information, you
can send them a series of carefully crafted emails. They will help them get to
know, like, and trust you.
Eventually, these emails will persuade many of them to
become your customers and buy what you're offering or recommending.
Will everyone buy? Not quite, but a much larger percentage
of the visitors will buy than would have without the follow-up emails.
Obviously, the better the emails, the more people will take
action!
More Marketing Writing
Meanwhile, there are more ways to tap into the power of
marketing writing, or copywriting.
Have you ever watched a (sales) video that seemed absolutely
endless and you really wanted to do something else, but you just couldn't stop
watching? And when it was over, you might have even bought what was offered?
Guess what! That too is copywriting. Somebody crafted the
text that was narrated in the video!
The same is true for social media messages and ads.
How can you benefit from marketing writing?
If your website is not getting you the leads and clients
you're hoping for, it might be time to look at ways to power up your marketing
writing.
You can use the tips above to work on it yourself. Or you
could get some feedback from an experienced copywriter.
Are your website visitors taking action and opting into your
list or buying your products or services? If not, you might benefit from giving
the copy or the marketing writing on your site a makeover.