Five intuitive tips to supercharge your copy so it sounds like you, but better (and softly sells, too)
How to define, attract, support and convert the clients you want in your own words.
The words that describe your 'why' (what your brand is about, who it’s for, and why it will be meaningful to them) will harmonise your website, social media and emails and connect you to the right people.
This connection will help your audience to know, like and trust you (and invest in your stuff!).
How would it feel to be confident in and actually promote your website?
What could you achieve if you were able to inspire, educate and instill trust through your blog posts and emails?
What amazing opportunities would arise if you could 'speak' to your audience authentically and with empathy?
Get your copy in alignment and the rest will follow.
You’ve got an amazing product or service, you’ve built your business from the ground up and you’re head-over-heels in love with your brand.
But being passionate about what you do and actually communicating that passion to the right people are two very different things.
Ever heard of the phrase ‘can’t see the wood for the trees’?
The closer you are to your business, the more difficult it can be to write decent copy that feels genuine. And that copy has to resonate with your dream clients, because you can’t please everyone (believe me, I’ve tried) but it also has to convert them, too, in a way that feels right for you.
Sooo, I’ve created five top tips to super-charge your copy so it sounds like you, but better (and softly sells, too).
Use these tips to stand out with how you communicate by finding your unique message, voice and style, connect with and reach your ideal audience, write copy that captivates and compels and get your audience to do what you want them to do (eg buy from you).
What does this mean for you? More confidence, better clients or customers and more conversions!
1 Know thyself
Although you know in your heart exactly why you do what you do, when you sit down to really think about it, it can be extremely challenging to put it into words.
But being crystal-clear about your big ‘why’ is key to finding your unique message, voice and style and writing copy for your brand with meaning, purpose and that will resonate with your ideal audience.
So, how do you actually untangle the spaghetti of ideas in your head and turn them into simple, clear, and succinct words that will communicate your values, your message and your voice and tell your story?
Be authentic, real and honest.
If you offer a one-to-one service, people are not only looking for how you can help them but also if they can connect with you. You may be one of several similar offerings out there, but no one is doing it the exact way that you are.
Don’t forget: your biggest selling point is YOU. We’ve all been there: lacking the confidence to do our own thing, we play copycat with what the competition’s up to.
This works – for a while. But the magic really happens when you accept that you are you.
If you're at the beginning of your brand’s journey, the copywriting process will help you uncover those foundations to understand how you want to be perceived and, importantly, to whom you want to connect.
A deeper understanding of your brand will better inform your story, and an authentic story will resonate with the people you want it to matter to the most.
Action: Dig deeper into yourself and your business by asking (and answering) some hard questions. Grab some healthy snacks, get out your fave notebook, treat yourself to one of those classic Biros with four colours or open a good old Google doc and ask yourself:
WHO are you writing for?
WHAT are your services and products and what problems are you solving?
HOW are you the right person for the job? What sets you apart from the rest?
WHY do you exist? After earning a living, what’s your purpose, cause or belief?
2 Don’t try to please everyone
One of the biggest mistakes creative entrepreneurs make when marketing their businesses is trying to sell to everyone. But you can't make everyone love you.
If you try to have something for everyone, in your desire to help as many people as possible and book as many clients as you can, you’ll end up speaking to no one. Everything, from your voice and messaging to your copy will be bland. Forgettable. Meh.
Brands with personality aren't afraid to attract their dream audience and repel the rest. It makes sense, when you think about it. You don’t want to sell to people who don’t get your or your services.
And, let’s face it, there are SO many people out who do the same thing as you. But they aren’t YOU. You are the magic ingredient, the special sauce, the je ne sais quoi. Be yourself, be real, be authentic, be honest and unashamedly you. Your people will love you for it.
Action: More questions! Ask yourself:
Do your services align with what your ideal client needs?
Could you tailor them to suit your audience better?
Can you get rid of any services? (Offering too many options can be overwhelming, think of when you go to those restaurants with menus that go on forever and you just. can’t. cope.)
Can you simplify them?
Can you change the wording and use phrases that resonate with your audience?
Is it completely clear what you’re actually offering?
If you don’t know, ask! People love to talk about themselves.
3 Understand your ideal customer or client
The secret to attracting better leads, making conversions and building your business is targeting the right audience. But how do you know who the right people are?
Do your research. It’s not enough to know where your ideal client or customers lives, how much they earn, what papers they read and how they take their morning coffee (or tea, if you’re like me).
And it’s not enough to focus solely on their pain points, either (although you absolutely do need to be crystal clear on the problems you can help them overcome).
It’s essential to be positive. Drill down into their dream scenarios, rather than just pain points. Highlight the ‘villain’ of their story – it could be anything from lack of time to self-doubt – then build on their confidence by showing them that they already have the tools they need to succeed, but that your product or service is just empowering them further.
Finally, make them feel special. In a seriously saturated online world, they want to feel special, understood, seen. They’re looking for a ‘oh my god, she’s read my mind and I need this now’ moment.
Action: Say you’re a life coach. Your dream client doesn’t just want to talk about the hurdles they’re facing. They want to take control of their life and be the best they can be.
Or you sell gorgeous scented candles. Your ideal customer doesn’t just think, ooh, I want to buy a candle to make my house smell nice. They want to feel cosy and relaxed in the evenings or to buy the perfect gift for a friend.
So, tap into your people. Why are they coming to you? What problems are you solving for them? And what’s the wonderful transformation that will take place once they’ve bought your product or worked with you?
4 Captivate your audience: get them to know, like and trust you
This journey is designed to get into your audience’s head so they can get to know, like and trust you. They need to know that you’re relevant to them. They need to feel satisfied by their interaction with your brand – that they came, they saw and they conquered.
First, listen. Really well. To all the little things: their turns of phrase, what they value, what’s not important to them, what their offline life is like. Reflect it all back at them. They’ll feel seen.
Second, have compassion. Acknowledge the challenges your audience faces but focus on their future success, not the struggle. Harping on about their shortcomings (a classic neggy bro marketing move) will just make them feel bad about themselves. Instead, focus on the transformation they'll experience after working with you or buying your product.
Instead of using questions like:
✖️Fed up with …?
✖️Too tired to …?
✖️Stressed out about …?
Try using uplifting openers like:
✔️Imagine if you could …
✔️How would you feel if you …
✔️What would it take for you to …
Get them to start imagining their wins and visualising the changes that can really happen when they get in your gang.
Third, think about how your ideal client connects back to you. Why would they be attracted to you/your brand/your products/services? Why would they enjoy working or engaging with you? Why would you enjoy working or engaging with them? Why would they choose you over another good option?
Action: Trawl your reviews, testimonials and any feedback you receive via email and social for the little phrases and words they use. Craft your copy in their language, and they’ll feel like your words are personalised to them. It’ll seem like you’re talking directly to them.
Or get it from the horse’s mouth. Call or email one of your previous clients or someone you’d love to work with, explain that you’d like to work with more people like them and ask them if they’d be willing to answer a couple of Qs for you.
Write for your dream client instead. Harvest your emails, testimonials, DMs and social media comments for words and phrases they use and sprinkle them in your copy. Speak their language and make it easy for them to connect with you.
5 Compel and sell: put it into action
So, you’ve done your research. Time to build out those ideal clients. Don’t get overwhelmed – just flesh out two (or three if you’re feeling frisky). They can be based on people you’ve worked with before, seen on Instagram, met IRL, yourself or literally your dream client: a figment of your imagination. Write a paragraph about them in story format, like this:
‘Sarah is an ambitious but soulful business owner in her late twenties to early fifties. She started out on her own when she had children because she was fed up with the relentlessness of the corporate world and wanted to actually spend time with her family. She requires flexibility, freedom and fun along with work, so she can stay energised and decompress from the rigours of working life (as running your own biz can be even harder than a 9-5). She loves swimming in the sea, being in nature and staying active. She is unashamedly into ‘woo’, into women supporting women and the power of rest. She is as comfortable mainlining Strictly on a Saturday night as she is taking part in a midnight charity run, knows she spends too much time on Instagram for work but is addicted to clicking ‘buy’ on Hush, Sweaty Betty and Whistles. She values good marketing, a wicked sense of humour and excellence. She would love working with me because I take the time to understand exactly what she’s about (in fact we’d probably be good mates), empathise with her pain points as I’ve probably been there and I communicate really well.’
The result is a polished, editorial-style and super-personal inspiration piece that you can refer to when you lose your way and amend as your relationship with your clients deepens.
Now, the next time you're writing a newsletter, posting on Instagram, editing your portfolio, adjusting your services, creating a new offer or responding to an enquiry, keep these people in your head. Your job is to attract them and repel the rest!
Book in for a 30-minute chat to see if we’re the right fit. We’ll talk about you and writing for business and how we can use strategic storytelling – that’s teasing out elements of your skills and experiences in a way that resonates with your dream clients or customers – to shape web copy that captivates, compels and sells.