Good copy is so much more than selling. Good copy aims to solidify foundational trust between you and your customer and move them along the buying journey.
So how do you build trust and move your audience?
With precision copy.
On this episode of Flip My Funnel, we interview Lee Rowley, precision copywriter, about what precision copy is, how to write with impact, and how a little research goes a long way.
What’s precision copywriting?
According to Rowley, most people skim text, passing over important details and messages, so in order to clearly convey an idea, you need to use as few words as possible.
With fewer spaces for words, copywriters must make every word count. This means not only choosing the right words, but leveraging those right words to influence how the targeted audience feels.
Asking, “what does this customer need to hear?” will inform the best vocabulary, syntax and cadence that will resonate with them.
Crafting resonant copy
Copy that resonates with your customer is copy that is relevant to them.
Rowley says that many marketing teams have made the mistake of gloating about their products and what they can do rather than addressing the needs of their customer.
The purpose of content is to inspire action and if it has nothing to do with helping your customer, it won’t resonate.
Imagine your prospect asking, “can you solve my problem?”
How would you respond?
Most likely, with problem-solving.
Understanding your customers’ problems and generating useful solutions around those questions will enable you to write precise copy that attracts them to your products.
Why they’re ready to change and why you’re ready to help
Driving with empathy
The basis of relevant, precise copy is empathy.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
If you want to connect with your audience and understand what motivates them, you need to research. A lot.
Rowley says that he spends 80% of his time researching his target audience and conducting “avatar immersion”—where your audience hangs out and what they say when they think you’re not listening—to learn what they like, dislike, what they say about your competitors, etc.
Copywriters need to be able to relate to their audience and then show them that they empathize with them.
According to Rowley, aside from getting their asses kicked a few times here and there, copywriters must know how to put themselves in the prospects’ shoes and have the tact to demonstrate that the brand understands what’s going on in their lives, that they’re not alone, and help is available when they need it.
Exploring complex ideas with storytelling and metaphors
Clarity is another challenging facet of precision copywriting.
Some of the time, copywriters are going to have to explain not-so-eay-to-explain products.
The key is to simplify the ideas as much as possible, all while maintaining that sense of empathy and relevance you’ve already carefully constructed.
Painting a clear picture through storytelling and metaphors is one of the sure-fire ways to communicate the abstract.
These methods simply show your prospective customers something they’re already familiar with and aims to represent how the product will ultimately simplify their lives.
Allow them to visualize what they’ll look and feel like once they invest in the service and you’re well on your way to becoming a precision copywriting pro.
These are a few fundamental ways to write impactful copy that incites action and moves potential customers further along the buying journey.
To learn more, you can listen to the full episode of Flip My Funnel here.
