12 Best Copywriting Tips For Small Business Owners

Applying the best copywriting tips in your content will make it sales-worthy. It will persuade the readers to purchase your products or services.

More than 70% of professional marketers use content marketing to actively promote a business and boost its branding. For a small business, attracting new customers to their website is essential. The average user will only stay on a website for 15 seconds though unless the content of that website has something that captures their attention.

Related: Easy Ways To Improve Content Marketing

This is why it is important that the content of your site and blog is high-quality, interesting, easy-to-read, and informative. It should also be specific to your target audience. Ultimately your copywriting can make your business a success and increase your top-line profits. 

Here are the best copywriting tips for content marketing success:

Copywriting Tip #1- Do Your Research

Both content writing and copywriting use well-researched writing as a marketing tool to attract customers. This can help persuade the customer to use your service or buy your product, but first, you must do some research.  For blog posts, articles, and general information on your website, it is essential that the content is completely accurate. When you are doing your research, make sure that you have a solid understanding of the benefits and features of your business.

If you want to lift your sales features, back these up with credible facts. You will also need to thoroughly research your target audience, so that you can exceed your customer’s expectations, bringing back repeat business time and again. Make sure that you also research your competition, because if you can’t match up to their services, your business will struggle. 

Copywriting Tip #2- Underpin Statistics With Studies

Did you know that 73.6% of statistics are made up? The fact is that statistics are extremely valuable in your copywriting and can be used as a powerful marketing tool. For instance, if your company manufactures robot vacuum cleaners, it would be good to quote a statistic on your website about how many people don’t have time to regularly vacuum. You can then argue that your product will solve this problem. The statistic that you use however needs to be underpinned by genuine research from a legitimate study and you should quote your source. 

Related: Best Digital Marketing Tools For Small Businesses

Copywriting Tip #3- Provide Testimonials

Testimonials are one of the most important copywriting tips. 92% of customers use testimonials and reviews to help them make their mind up about whether to purchase a product or service.

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You should include genuine testimonials on your website to help build your brand and give your customer a positive impression of your business. This is an important part of your marketing and also proves that your company is authentic and takes responsibility for a good quality service. 

Copywriting Tip #4- Add Plenty of Interest 

It is important that the writing on your website is accurate and factual. That doesn’t mean that it has to be boring though. There are many ways that you can make your content interesting. Tell the customer personal stories about your products and services that have a positive and uplifting outcome.

Make your blog posts entertaining, and even humorous (as long as it is appropriate to your target audience). You can even include information that might attract controversy or be up for debate. You should also make sure that your writing is laid out in a visually appealing way, adding photographs and infographics. 

Copywriting Tip #5- Make Your Headline Stand Out

According to advertising expert David Ogilvy, only 1 person out of every 5 will read the main body of text after reading the headline. To make your headlines stand out (for the right reasons), opt for simple, straightforward headlines.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to B2B Content Marketing Strategy

You can use the strongest phrases within your writing as headlines and subheadings. Make sure that your headline is specific, unique and urgent. Your headline should paint a vivid picture that provokes interest and curiosity.  

Copywriting Tip #6- Include Personality To Suit Your Audience

If you speak your customer’s language then they are more likely to empathize with your business. The best way to leverage this copywriting tip is to inject some personality into your writing where it is appropriate. Your articles and blog posts don’t have to all be written in a formal tone or style.

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If the customer feels like you are on their side and understands their life experiences, then they will be more amenable to your style of branding. The odd joke, a little humor, and a relevant story can go a long way. If you are trying to persuade your customer to buy something, then it is advantageous to write in the vernacular.  

Copywriting Tip #7- Simplify The Facts

Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Simplifying your writing doesn’t mean being condescending to your audience and you certainly don’t need to leave out any relevant technical information. You just need to make sure that the message you are delivering is concise and clear.

The customer needs to be able to understand the benefits of choosing your business quickly. They should also be able to easily grasp any special offers. Don’t try and be too clever with your wordsmithing, if your audience can’t decipher your meaning, then you will lose customers. 

Copywriting Tip #8- Make Your Writing Visually Appealing

Using imagery in your writing is the first way to make your website visually appealing. It will help your customers to instantly understand the benefits and reasons for using your company to provide them with what they need. Try and include a catchy headline underneath each image that you present. The headline should include something to identify your company and a call to action. For instance, underneath the picture of some beautiful large windows looking out onto a summer garden, you could write “Coopers Windows – bring the light into your life!”  

Using pictures isn’t the only way of making your writing visually appealing. Make sure that your text is laid out in an easily legible way. Paragraphs should be short and well-spaced out. Add in bullet points or numbers for lists and make sure that you use bold and italics where it is suitable. Using infographics, charts and diagrams is another good way of not only making your writing visually appealing but don’t forget to back up any facts and research that you are including. 

Copywriting Tip #9- Make Your Blog Informative

Blogging is an excellent way of promoting your business and proving your industry knowledge to your customer base.

Related: Top Benefits of Blogging

Yes, it is often used to promote SEO keywords and boost your website traffic, but a blog is so much more than this.

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You can use it to provide your customer with great value, asking nothing from them in return.

Consider this: would you rather click on a post that reads “How to let natural light into your house,” or one that said, “Buy my windows.” The most important thing about a blog though, is that it’s informative. The function is not to simply fill up space on your website or to offer a blog just because every other company has one too. Your blog should give customers advice and opinion so that they can make up their own mind. 

Copywriting Tip #10- Appeal To Emotion 

Achieving emotional engagement with your customers not only means that you will gain their loyalty and trust, but it will also boost your profits. According to research done by Capgemini, 70% of customers that are emotionally engaged with business, will spend twice as much money with that company.

For a small business, this could be an essential boost in profits. In your articles and blog posts, consider the positive emotions that you want to appeal to, such as exclusivity, flattery and salvation. These sorts of emotions are not always governed by rational thought. You will need to ask yourself what your customer’s deepest desires are and tailor your writing to that. 

Copywriting Tip #11- Look For A Unique Angle 

Researching your competition is essential if you want to give your website content a unique angle. It will help you to be able to offer your customers something that no one else is. Perhaps your products and services simply make life easy? You could also appeal to your customer’s FOMO (fear of missing out) — many companies do this now, by setting up a waiting list to get on a ledger for an exclusive product.

Perhaps you can go for the “save money” angle along with “you have nothing to lose.” Whatever you choose, tailor your copywriting to your unique business angle.  

Copywriting Tip #12- Check Your Writing

Finally, it is imperative to check every word of your writing. Research done by Website Planet found that 85% of people will leave a website if it contains spelling and grammar errors. That could be extremely costly for your small business. It is worth using an online grammar checker such as Grammarly to make sure that every comma, apostrophe and question mark is in the right place.

Related: Best Content Writing Tools For Content Writers

Typos are a definite no-no as well, they put 90% of customers off from using a website. If your writing is sloppy, what does that say about your business? Being thorough when checking your writing pays off in dividends. 

Final Thoughts

If you are a small business owner, it is imperative that the content on your website is engaging, accurate, and interesting. Good quality articles and blog posts can help boost your branding and gain valuable customers. Make use of the best copywriting tips discussed in this article to elevate your content marketing efforts.