Copywriting for Small Businesses

10 Copywriting Secrets for Small Businesses

1. Know your customer

• Who is the perfect client for you?
• What are they concerned with?
• What are the aches and pains?
• How do they talk about their issues and themselves?
• What do they hold dear?
• What can you do to help them? 

Effective copywriting means knowing the answers to these questions.

Your unique value proposition (USP), tone of voice, language style, and values are all influenced by this.

Knowing your audience will enable you to provide material that appeals to them.

The following advice will help you in getting to know your client:

Use these four tips below in order to better understand your customer.

• Create a customer persona – give your ideal customer a name, a backstory, and a story. This will allow you to write directly to them, making your copy more powerful.
• Discover their pain points – what is the most pressing issue for your customers? What enrages them and motivates them to act?
• Understand their values – is price, quality, convenience, speed, exclusivity, sustainability, geography, or something else their most important purchase consideration?
• Use PAS (Pain/Agitate/Solution) – this tried and true copywriting formula begins by identifying the problem, then doubles down on the consequences of inaction, and finally introduces a solution (your product or service).

2. Keep things simple

You can’t beat the KISS philosophy – keep it simple, stupid.

It works in almost every aspect of life, including copywriting!

The key is to avoid overcomplicating your writing.

Resist the urge to use big words, complicated language, or technical jargon and acronyms.

Instead, use language that your audience would use in a conversation.

Re-read and edit your copy to ensure it is clear and error-free.

Nothing is worse than potential customers judging your company based on spelling or grammatical errors.

Edit your copy to put your best foot forward and instill confidence.

Here are some pointers to help you write better copy:

Use these tips to create copy that works:

• Always read what you write aloud; if it sounds clumsy or difficult to say, it will be difficult for others to read.
• Check your writing with free online tools – Grammarly and the Hemingway App will detect obvious spelling and grammatical errors before you hit the publish button.
• Consider the reader’s perspective: imagine you have no prior knowledge or experience. Is everything clear after reading your copy?

3. Stay on message

Don’t feel compelled to put everything on every page.

It is critical to stay on message in order to reach your reader.

This means focusing on one main point per page rather than attempting to cover everything.

You risk diluting your message and losing your reader if you don’t.

Consider what you want your customers to get out of the copy.

If it’s to buy a product, don’t confuse or distract them by also asking them to join your mailing list or download a free resource.

For the best results, stick to one main message.

Here’s how to improve your message:

Use these tips to make your copywriting ten times more effective.

• Focus on benefits, not features: You may be open around the clock, but what does that mean for the customer? Explain how your product or service benefits them rather than simply repeating features and expecting them to connect the dots.
• Talk to the customer directly: Instead of talking about the customer, talk to them directly. “We’re here to make your life easier,” for example, is more powerful than “our goal is to make our customers’ lives easier.” Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of direct messaging.
• Have a clear goal in mind: what is the goal of your copy? Is it to increase product sales, educate readers, increase brand awareness, or something else? Have a clear goal in mind to help you nail your message.

4. Break up your copy

One common misunderstanding about copywriting is that you must fill the page with text.

In fact, it is better to embrace white space and avoid overburdening the reader with words.

Nobody wants to read a wall of text; it’s a surefire way to lose readers.

When it comes to copywriting, less is more.

Don’t write for the sake of writing; instead, write only what is necessary to make your point.

The key is to make it simple for your customers to understand what you do and what you have to offer so that they can act.

Here’s how to divide your text and increase conversions:

The tips below will make your copy easier to read which will in turn, boost conversion.

• Use headings and subheadings: Using headings allows readers to quickly scan your content. These are also excellent ways to incorporate keywords naturally.
• Use bullet points: Consider using bullet points to emphasize important points by breaking them up. These are easier to read and have a greater impact than regular text.
• Use images and graphics: Using images, tables, graphics, and other visuals to intersperse your content can make a big impact without overwhelming your readers.

5. Tell them what to do next

It’s a fact of life that people need to be told what to do.

That is why the call to action is such an important tool in the copywriter’s arsenal (CTA).

This is a button that visitors click to perform an action, such as making a purchase, joining an email list, or downloading a resource.

Including call-to-actions (CTAs) throughout your page encourages visitors to follow your lead.

After demonstrating how your product or service can help them, make it simple for them to take advantage of your solution by including a buy now, subscribe, or contact button.

Here’s how to maximize your CTAs:

Use the tips below to make your CTAs more effective and click-worthy.

• Stick to one CTA: Don’t confuse people by asking them to do too many things. You might lose them completely. Concentrate on one main CTA per page.
• Use direct words: In your CTAs, use direct language and action verbs. Buy now, become a member, sign up, download ebooks, contact us, follow us, and so on.
• Check that all links work: You only have one chance to persuade visitors to take action. If your links are broken, you may not only lose a sale, but you may also lose a customer for good. Make certain that each CTA can be followed through on.

6. Figure out your overall message before you start writing

This should probably be higher up the page.

Before you write a word of copy for your small business, start by planning what you want to say.

Here’s a question to think about: “What’s the main message you want your website to convey?”

Let’s say you’re someone who builds houses. How can you stand out from other builders? Whether it’s in your headlines, the words on your service pages, or anywhere else on your site, you need to be different.

There are lots of builders out there, but using the right words on your website can help you get more clients to choose you.

For instance, which kind of houses do you build the most? Maybe it’s Cape Cod, Modern Farmhouse, or Log Cabin styles. Make that really clear so that you attract the right clients and customers.

In simple terms, make sure that what makes your business special (your Unique Value Proposition) is easy to see as soon as someone visits your site.

7. Less is more

Give your beautifully designed website some space to breathe. Your website’s design and the words on it work together.

Having too much text on a website can be really overwhelming for visitors. It might make them leave your site right after they arrive.

When you’re writing words for your small business, make sure you mean every word.

Each paragraph, headline, and even every little dot should have a good reason for being there.

Using too many unnecessary words or long sentences, as well as big blocks of text, can make people click away from your website and never return.

You should have just enough words to explain who you are and what you do – not too much and not too little.

8. Outsource your copywriting

I get what you’re thinking: “Hold on, how can someone who doesn’t work at my business write words for my website? They don’t know anything about me or what I do.”

It’s totally normal to have these concerns, but a good digital marketing agency or freelance copywriter knows how to bridge this gap. They have a plan to make sure the person writing the words understands your brand and message.

At first, they’ll have meetings with you. This lets them learn about you, your work, your clients, and the kind of tone you want on your website.

A skilled copywriter will work closely with you to make the words just right. They’ll keep adjusting until everything is perfect.

Even if your business is complex, a good copywriter can chat with you to understand your expertise. Then they’ll use simple words that your customers will understand.

So, while you might worry about letting someone else write for you, it’s not like that.

Instead, an agency or a freelance copywriter will help express your own thoughts and feelings about your business in writing.

To hire an agency or a freelance copywriter, start here.

9. Connect emotionally with your readers

One of the really important things in copywriting is connecting with the people you want to reach.

Sometimes, new business owners and writers make a mistake.

Instead of talking about what the people care about, they talk about how amazing their company, product, or service is.

But what really matters is showing how it benefits the prospect.

Sometimes, those two things can be the same, but it’s really important to write in a way that focuses on what the customers want and need.

Here’s an example: Instead of saying, “ABC Company has a new, amazing feature, X,” you could say, “Use X, our brand-new feature from ABC Company, to save time and have more staff for important business tasks.”

Do you see the difference?

Start by telling how it helps the customer: how it makes their life easier or solves their problems.

Here’s a trick: To understand your customers better, you can create customer profiles that represent them, called buyer personas. This helps you think like your customers do.

10. No hard sell

Do you find it hard to talk about what you offer because selling your stuff feels kind of uncomfortable?

We’ve all experienced pushy sales tactics, so it’s not surprising that many of us want to avoid being too pushy or obvious when we’re trying to get the word out about our products or services.

But here’s the good news: You can still promote what you have to offer in a way that’s helpful and friendly.

Instead of just trying to make a sale, you can focus on showing how valuable your stuff is, how it benefits people, and how it helps your audience.

This way, you can explain why people should choose what you have, without sounding salesy or making anyone feel uncomfortable.

Final Thoughts on Copywriting for Small Businesses