Copywriting Mistakes Tips

Read these 6 Copywriting Mistakes Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Copywriting tips and hundreds of other topics.

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Not Focusing on the Consumer

One of the biggest mistakes copywriters make is not focusing on the consumer. Naturally when we speak or write th tendency is to speak about what we have to offer, how good our business is or how awesome our product is.

With all of these we's us's and our's the reader can begin to think that they are not the center of attention and the reason you wrote the article in the first place.

Anytime you rite copy do the "we check". If you find you are talking aboiut you more than the reader it is time to rethink what yyou're writing.

I mean...who really cares about you anyway.

   

Don't Make Promises You Can't Keep

"This writing tip is the absolute best you will ever use!"

"This acne cream removes zits instantly!"

"You will gain 2 inches instantly!"

People are tired of haughty promises like these that probably won't deliver. When writing copy it is important to not make promises that you can't deliver on.

When people get your "whatever it is" home and it doesn't perform like it should you will end up with refund requests and possibly even lawsuits depending on the severity of the claim.

You want to make money with your product and your advertising but making promises you can't keep is not the way to go about this. Up-sale the true benefits you offer without all the fluff.

Your readers and your bottom line will thank you.

   

The Art of Closing

Just because you have a product or service people need does not necessarily mean they need to buy it from you. You have to make them want to buy it from you. One of the biggest mistakes copywriters make when writing content is forgetting to actually ask/tell the reader to "click here" or "buy now" (though I wouldn't use those phrases exactly). Before tossing your fresh copy to the Interweb gods as a sacrifice make sure that you have instilled a strong "call to action" - definitely at the end, hopefully throughout - so your reader knows that you are not just a great source for information. You are the resource where they can get the product or service of their desires.

   

Focusing on Word Count

Many people believe that there is some magic number that will allow the search engines, such as Google and Bing, to rank your page properly. This is an obvious myth that can be easily debunked by doing a quick search for any keyword you choose.

The word count for the results will be all over the place.

It doesn't matter if your content is 250 words, 400 words or 2000 (though, this may be off-putting to many readers). What you need to focus on is writing clear, concise content that will appeal to your readers.

   

What Are You Selling?

When I edit copy one of the most common mistakes I find is the writer not actually asking the reader to purchase or receive the service/product they are promoting.

Part of the reason for this is that some copywriters get so caught up in the idea of providing relevant, quality content that they lose sight of their true objective - selling the reader on whatever wares you are peddling. It is important to remember, however, that relevance and quality have nothing to do with selling.

You can provide quality content and still ask your readers to buy into the idea or product your offering - and make it obvious.

Click here to buy this product.

Please ReTweet this post.

Something that tells your reader exactly what you want them to do. You need to remember that your web copy is NOT a shopping mall with the most sell-able products in the front windows so you need to let your readers know they are there - waiting to be clicked.

   

Asking Yes/No Questions

You've read the headline a thousand times in every type of copy imaginable - from web content to print.

While the subject of the headline may change, the problem remains the same:

"Do You Make Mistakes When Writing Copy?"

Upon first view of the headline above it may seem like there is nothing wrong. It's fairly obvious that the article intends to answer questions about common copywriting issues and help the reader hone their craft. The problem with the headline above is that it leaves the reader open to simply say "no". And as we all know, "no" is a killer when we want the reader to read more about the subject.

A commonly used method of curing the Yes/No conundrum is by inserting the word "these" into the headline. In our example it would read like this:

"Do You Make These Mistakes When Writing Copy"

The use of the word "these" in the example above is used to entice the reader with the question of what "these" could possibly be. How could you say no when you don't know what "these" are?

Unfortunately, in the modern age when most readers skim headlines and attention spans have gone out the window people will often miss the intended "these" and say no anyway.

For this reason it is best to avoid the issue altogether and steer clear of this type of headline.

   
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Jeffery Loquist