Good copywriting – worth the effort

If you want to project the right image about your company, your products and your service, you will most probably have given care and attention to your branding, your website, marketing material, maybe adverts, social media and a whole range of ways that give content and presentation to your message.

Having done all of that, you shouldn’t jeopardise it with mediocre copy. After all, the visual presentation of your company is vital, but the way in which this is supported by words is equally important. This is, after all, your chance to communicate directly with your target audience, so striking a cord with them is what you’re after.

If you’ve worked hard to offer your clients high standards of service, a unique niche product or simply have lots to share, then be sure that this is heard through copy that is accurate, concise, well-worded and aimed directly at your target audience.

What makes good copywriting

A copywriter should combine two sets of specialist skills: marketing knowledge and writing ability. In other words, a good copywriter has to understand markets, how different audiences represent market segments in terms of age, income, education, gender or cultural background – and how to produce copy that will enthuse each of these groups.

You have to grasp the nature of a company – it’s activities, where it stands in the market, what its strengths and competitive advantages are, and also where those who drive the firm are coming from. A professional copywriter is the medium through which the latter express themselves, as it is their message he or she is putting into words.

All this knowledge has to be processed and converted into case-specific texts that cannot be standardised but have to reflect not just the company and its activities, but also what it is all about. Today more than ever, promoting a company in this way is about more than cold facts and figures; you have to engage with your audience.

Different applications

Different applications likewise require a difference approach. A website text, for instance, is typically shorter than an article written in a magazine. Its main task is to inform and engage the reader, all the while promoting the company or product in a non-overt way, whilst incorporating relevant keywords into a text that is clear and pleasant to read.

Whilst an editorial feature may focus upon a person, company or product, it should do so with the reader in mind. This applies to all marketing-driven writing – it is vitally important not to write for oneself, but for the person you are communicating with. This also applies to blogs, shorter online articles that should offer news in an intelligent but punchy way.

Advertising texts and slogans should be catchy but not cheesy or brash, which is not always an easy balance to maintain, while newsletters have to state the facts before launching into silky descriptions. This time the reader is an editor, an advertising agency, an industry peer or a member of the public, so bearing this in mind avoids wasted opportunities.

All of this may seem obvious enough, but in practice the differences between those who have underestimated the important of professional copywriting and those who appreciate the worth of investing in it are all too apparent and all too frequent. Remember, the written word is one of the main tools available to you to stand out from the crowd.