What you’ll learn about building strong copywriting skills: 

• We learned a lot at our recent visit to the Inbound 2020 Marketing conference
• According to Kelsey Formost, there are three copywriting skills that lead to big results
  1. Clarity
  2. Connection
  3. Conversion

Last month, we had the opportunity to join the Inbound 2020 Marketing conference online. Of course, it wasn’t how the organizer had planned it would happen, but that’s 2020 for ya. This year’s host of marketing gurus was truly incredible. The bonus? All their content is available to re-watch over and over.

One talk that really stands out to me is Kelsey Formost’s ‘3 Copywriting Skills to 3x Results’. If you need some copywriting inspiration, there are so many amazing nuggets of wisdom on her website.  

Here are our key takeaways from watching her mini seminar: 

1. Clarity

One thing Kelsey emphasizes in copywriting is ‘Clear over Clever’ — and for good reason. Our audience has a short attention span.

Now, you can blame it on Instagram, but the fact is, we don’t want a montage worth of copy explaining why you need something. We want the cold hard facts — and we want them fast. 

The most popular memes aren’t paragraphs for good reason. If no one can understand what you’re offering, no one will buy it. Every channel you use to reach your audience is saturated, so be expeditious with your message.

If you’re writing long-form content, keep this in mind: 80% of readers only read the headlines and sub-headlines. If something catches their eyes there, they might dive in further. So, what does this mean for your content? The amount of time you put into Van Gogh’ing every sentence might be all for naught. It’s the 80/20 rule at play.

Here’s a trick Kelsey shared.

The Highlighter Trick:

Print out your piece of content, and grab a highlighter. Anything that isn’t essential to understanding the offer, or isn’t paramount to you remembering the main point — nix it. There’s no need for it. Cut the fat, deliver the message. Move on.

2. Connection

What is your content doing for your audience? We’ve already told you they don’t care if you’re a wordsmith. They care about one thing: what’s in it for them. 

So address it. Whatever you’re selling solves a pain point. Address that pain point and tell them how you’ll solve it.  When you’re writing copy, imagine the FAQ that you’ll have to answer. Infuse these into your copy so nothing is left to the imagination. And wherever you can, add authority and trust via testimonials.

Mine Reviews:

Look at Yelp reviews and comments to find what people are saying about your product, business, or blog. Great reviews come from your target audience. What better way to explain how great your product is, than to use the exact language someone who loved it used? 

The more you practice this tip, the more you’ll pick out repeated phrases that describe the problem you’re solving.

3. Conversion

To take a page out of Kelsey’s playbook and focus on clarity over cleverness, I’m just going to come out and say this. Conversions matter the most. We do what we do for the win, the buy, the email capture — and your copy should keep this paramount.

Set copy goals. What is the action you want readers to take from this piece of content? Are you building buzz about an upcoming sale? If that’s the case your copy should be slim and cutting, getting right to the point about the savings, nothing more. 

Your content should also offer several opportunities to achieve whatever your goal is. Trying to capture an email from a blog post?  Your audience should have several opportunities to opt-in, so keep the CTA’s very clear and ever-present.

Aim for the Inbox:

Kelsey talks a lot about the psychology of humans, and what we’re about to share next was mind-blowing, and a total AHA moment for us:

Statistically, we need to receive a message 7 times before we take action — whether that’s buying something or opting in with an email. There is no better place to be seen on a consistent basis than in someone’s inbox. Sure, social media is great, but your message is fleeting, glossed over in the scroll.  The inbox is ever-present. I bet you have your inbox open in another tab right now. Think of your inbox as your apartment on the web. Full of all of the knick-knacks that define you. What better way to deliver a message than by having it plastered all through your apartment?

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Photo by Luca Onniboni on Unsplash