Copywriting Secrets to Generating More Leads for Your Business
Copywriting is a key player in any business’s lead generation process. Every campaign email, advertisement, blog, or landing page you write must be engaging and impactful enough to convert your visitors into leads, and those leads into sales.
The trick to achieving this lead conversion is to create content that captivates your visitors. You need to get them interested in your products and services, keeping their interest long enough to convince them to invest in what you offer.
Here are 6 essential tips to create copywriting that generates more leads for your business and boosts your bottom lines as a result.
1. Bear Your Customers in Mind
Your copywriting should always focus on the needs, interests, and demands of your target audience. If your headings, topics, and calls to action aren’t converting visitors into leads, it may be time to consider updating your content strategies. If your content grabs the attention of your visitors, this will reflect in your improved conversion rates.
One effective way to ensure that your copywriting strategies are to take the reviews and opinions of past customers into consideration. Read up on past testimonials, reviews, and customer communications to find out the most notable benefits of your products and services from their points of view. You can incorporate these strengths and benefits into the future copy to ensure that you’re highlighting your business’s offerings in a positive and compelling way.
The copy on your sales pages should showcase customers’ positive reviews and experiences with your products in a way that tells your leads exactly what they can expect when they invest in them. Your sales copy or content copy can also touch on how you have addressed past product concerns or updated your offerings to meet the changing needs of your target market, showing that you’re attentive to your customers’ preferences and open to their suggestions.
For example, instead of headlining your landing page with a simple headline such as
● ‘Freelance Job Finding Tool,’ you could use the headline ● ‘Instantly Find Great-Paying Freelance Jobs Online with Us.’
The latter benefit-based headline immediately tells visitors they can expect excellent service from your business and that they can benefit directly from buying your offerings.
Creating captivating written content that increases your lead generation rates will also require an in-depth knowledge of your core audience. You need to know your target market in and out if you want to be able to use the right persuasive language to convert them into customers.
You can write your content using certain personas to help you engage with your audience more effectively. This approach allows you to address specific age groups, demographics, interest groups, and pressure points with content that’s relevant and approachable to them.
Approachability is key when it comes to lead generation, and by writing using a persona, you can make your brand’s identity seem more relatable to potential customers while offering them persuasive media that truly resonates with them.
2. Focus on Calls to Action
Calls to action (CTA) are an obviously crucial element in any business’s written copy. However, what many companies don’t realize is that their copywriting strategy should have its basis on a single, focused CTA rather than multiple, general directions.
You can use focused, imperative language to instruct potential customers on which steps they should take next. CTAs like:
● ‘call us now,’ ● ‘book your spot now,’ or ● ‘sign up for a free trial today’
are all effective, as long as a single, clear action gets priority in your text. Terms like ‘inquire’ and ‘contact us’ may suit B2B businesses more, while B2C companies can use CTAs such as ‘buy today.’
Don’t suggest further reading, flood your readers with pop-up ads, or bombard them with unnecessary actions.
Use your sales and service web page copy to tell them the benefits of your product or service and instruct them to take direct action to reduce the incidence of choice paralysis. This is one trait of being a good copywriter.
In contrast, your blogs must offer useful and actionable information that adds additional value to the products and services your brand already offers, like how-tos, guides, and relevant news.
3. Work on Your Customers’ Emotions
Copywriting is as much an art as it is a science. Using emotive language can go a long way in pointing out the benefits of your products and engaging your audience.
Headlines like ‘Take the Stress Out of Supply Chain Management’ allow your content to resonate with your readers’ potential stress points and give the impression that your brand empathizes with them. It’s crucial to word your copy in a way that highlights the fact that your readers’ lives will be easier if they invest in your products and services.
4. Be Generous with Your Visitors
You could offer your website visitors a free eBook, guide, or digital download in exchange for their email addresses or contact details. Free gifts like these act as a lead magnet to convert visitors into leads, and they also enhance your brand’s reputation, which could generate even more valuable leads in the future.
5. Focus on Readability
Today’s online audience has a short attention span, and you need to capture it quickly lest you lose it forever. You can make your content more readable by using brief sentences and paragraphs, easily legible fonts, and bullet points to help get your information across quickly and concisely.
Tools like the Flesch reading ease test can help ensure that your content is as readable as possible. This tool measures readability and grade level, helping you find out whether your content will reach the intended audience.
The trick to making your content readable and engaging for your readers is to model each page of written content after a step-by-step process. Use a combination of headings, brief paragraphs, infographics, block quotes, and lists of imagery to keep them immersed throughout. This will also keep your content skimmable.
Using descriptive headings will allow your audience to find the areas of your content that they’re most interested in.
6. Create and Stick To Strategy
Your copywriting strategy should always focus on creating a copy that generates leads and converts them into paying customers. Once you’ve gained a keen understanding of your audience, use specific strategies to stand out and highlight the benefits of your offerings in a relatable way.
Copywriting Tips for Writing Emails That People Open
Use these 8 elements of high-opening email subject lines to craft emails that people are more likely to open.
#1. Self-interest
Using terms like ‘you’ and ‘your’ allows you to address your readers directly and to engage them with communication that speaks to their own interests.
Examples include:
○ ‘Simplify Your Life with These 3 Time Management Apps’ or ○ ‘Pressed for Time? How [your tool] Can Help You Streamline Your Work Schedule Today’.
#2. Curiosity
Email subject lines that get people curious about what the mail contains are a great way to ensure that your emails actually get read. You can draw your readers in by adding intriguing headlines like:
○ ‘Open for a Surprise’ or ○ ‘You Won’t Believe Our Festive Deals This December’.
Give your readers just enough information to arouse their interest and then leave the real explanations for the body of your mail.
#3. Offer
Nothing catches someone’s attention quite like a great deal or a special offer. Your email subject lines for offer-related emails need to be short, concise, and catchy in order to distinguish them from the many other emails your target audience receives daily.
Headlines to use include:
● ‘Spring Sale—Offers Just for You’ ● ‘Get 15% Off on All Purchases Today’ or ● ‘Sale Alert! Up to 40% Off Your Favorite Beauty Products’.
#4. Urgency
Conveying a sense of urgency in your email subject lines will compel your readers to click immediately. It’s essential to persuade your readers to read your promotional emails the second they receive them, as most people don’t go back to review past emails. Examples of urgency include:
● ‘24 Hours Left on Our Special Offer—Don’t Miss Out!’ and ● ‘Only One Week Left to Take Advantage of Our Free Webinar Program’.
#5. Humanity
The personable language will prevent you from sounding robotic in your sales emails and allow your readers to better relate to your brand’s identity. Terms like:
● ‘oops’, ‘our bad’, and ● ‘woohoo’ can add a human touch to your email correspondence.
#6. News
Most people will appreciate updates on your business. You can use subject headlines like:
● ‘We’re Open Late This December! Our New Holiday Shopping Hours’ or ● ‘We’re Going Online—Here’s What You Need to Know About Our New Online Store’ to share important news about your enterprise.
#7. Social proof
People are more likely to trust a brand that others have rated positively before them. You can make your emails more persuasive by adding subject headlines like:
● ‘It’s Overwhelming How Much Love We’re Receiving!’ or ● ‘Here’s What Chicago’s Best CFOs Have Had to Say About Our Products’.
Remember to include photos and designations of the people giving the testimonials in your emails, as this adds credibility to the message you’re sending your target audience.
Tips for Writing Attention-Grabbing Headlines for Blog Articles
Your blogs’ headlines have the power to captivate your readers—or drive them away. Catchy headlines are especially important if your goal is to gain more leads.
Attention-grabbing headlines will motivate your audience to click on and read your blog posts. They may even convert potential customers into active ones, which is crucial to your business’s success. Readers who are bored by your headlines will likely go elsewhere, and it may take more effort to recapture their attention in the few.
Here are our top tips for writing attention-grabbing blog article headlines every time.
1. How-to headlines
‘How to Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines for Your Blog Articles’ is a good quality headline for a blog article. It addresses your readers directly and focuses on people’s need to gain valuable new skills.
Computers, mobile devices, and the internet have made it easy for people to find answers or information. All you need to do is determine what problem your product addresses, and what the solution is. Once you have this information, point your readers in the right direction with how-to guides designed specifically to answer their most pressing questions.
2. List headlines
List articles are popular because psychologically speaking, humans crave certainty and predictability. A blog headline like ‘10 Ways to Earn Money Online While Traveling’ tells your readers precisely what they’re in for—that there are 10 different ways to earn money online while they travel. They can also decide if they have the time to read all ten listed methods.
3. Curiosity
This is another psychological copywriting tactic that plays on people’s natural curiosity. Your readers want to learn, and they want to know what their peers know too. Questions are an effective form of writing a copy for headlines as they prompt readers to think about the answers to the questions. For example, a headline reading ‘Are You Really Ready for Marriage?’ would get plenty of attention from single people, people in relationships, and even those who are engaged who want to make sure that they’re ready to take the plunge.
4. Threat and warning headlines
When it comes to writing topics to attract more audience, these headlines are extremely compelling to readers, most of whom want to avoid problems before they occur.
Headlines like:
● ‘Do You Recognize the Warning Signs of Early Dementia?’ or ● ‘Here’s Why Social Media Addiction is the Next Great Health Crisis’
promises essential tips to help your readers avoid these issues before it’s too late.
Headline Template Hacks
Last but not least, these headline templates are all based on highly effective content writing strategies like the ones listed above. Use them in your next blog posts to captivate your readers and improve your blog engagement rates:
● What [#] Studies Have to Say About [Subject]
● [#] [Noun] That Are Proven To [Desirable Outcome]
● [#] Ways To Be [Adjective] When You Don’t [Verb] [Adjective]
● How To [Verb] An [Audience] With The Best [Subject] Tips (+[#])Free [Resources])
● [#] Data-Driven [Noun] From [#] Of The Most Popular [Noun]
● [#]+ Easy Ways To [Verb A [Noun] That Will Skyrocket By [#]% In 1 Year
● How To Use [Noun] To Increase Your [Desirable Outcome]
● The [#]-Minute, [#]-Step Solution For The Best [Noun]
● How To Rock A [Noun] That Will Save You Tons Of Time/Money
● How To [Verb] Your [Noun] For Massive Growth
● To The [Role] Who Will Settle For Nothing Less Than [World-Class Outcome]
● Break All The Rules And [World-Class Outcome]
● How Your [Service Provider] Is Ripping You Off And What To Do About It Right Now
● I Found A [Adjective] Way To [Get Incredible Outcome]
● See Why We Have An [Adverb] [Adjective] [Social Problem] In Just [Short Time]
● [Influencer Or Celebrity] [Emotional Reaction] [To Thing That Basically The Whole World Already Understood]
● Is This The World’s First [Good, Bad, Or Desirable Thing]?
● How To Survive Your First [Good, Bad, or Desirable Thing]
● Who Doesn’t Like [Somewhat Accepted Taboo]? [Unexpected Answer With Tease About Why]
● I Spent [Time] [Working Toward Goal]. I Just [Quitting Statement]. Here’s Why.
● I Don’t Regret __________. But Here’s What I’d Do Differently
● Would You Do [Unimaginable Thing]? I Just Did.
● Who Else Wants __________?
● The Secret Of __________
● Here Is A Method That Is Helping __________ To __________
● Little Known Ways To __________
● Get Rid Of [Problem] Once And For All
● Here’s A Quick Way To [Solve A Problem]
● Now You Can Have [Something Desirable] [Great Circumstance]
● [Do Something] Like [World-Class Example]
● Have A [Or] Build A __________ You Can Be Proud Of
● What Everybody Ought To Know About __________
● How To __________ Every Day
● How To __________ As a [Role]
● Give Me 30 Minutes And I’ll Give You [Desirable Outcome]
● Try These 5 [Tactics] For A Week, And Be Twice As [Productive].
How do you stand out from the competition? What is your strategy to win new clients? Do you have one? We all know that the best prospects to focus on are the people who are already looking to hire someone like you. But, all too often when I search on the Internet for various professionals – whether I’m searching for a photographer, an electrician or a chiropractor, I see very few businesses (if any) whose message truly stands out. If you managed to land on page one on your prospects’ Google search, you can celebrate getting to first base. But, you still need to get to second base. Before you can win the customer you have to first win the click. The key in winning the click is standing out among the competition. Here are 5 simple steps you can implement today:
1. How to stand out from the competition? Communicate the outcome that your customers or prospects would like to achieve when working with you or buying from you.
It’s not enough to simply tell people your occupation or industry you’re in. If you want to stand out among the sea of sameness go further and tell people what specific problems you solve. For example, one of the members in my Marketing Coaching program is a registered dietician and nutritionist. Understandably, that’s what she wrote on her LinkedIn profile. But, what was much more effective at helping her stand out from the thousands of other nutritionists on the Internet was simply communicating the key problems she solved and who she solves it for. Her tagline now included “weight loss specialist for busy entrepreneurs”. This immediately got the attention from the right people she was looking to reach on LinkedIn. Her specific outcome message distinguished her from thousands of competitors who simply stopped at stating their occupation.
2. Offer a result based guarantee.
Offering a guarantee takes the risk out of doing business with you. At the same time, having a unique guarantee that competitors do not offer is a great way to help you stand out and differentiate. The restaurant chain, Olive Garden, offers the 45-minute pronto lunch guarantee. If your lunch is not served in 45-minutes it’s free. One of my private clients is the leading expert in sports facility construction. In their industry the standard warranties for installing running tracks are one to five years. My client differentiated among his competitors by offering an unprecedented level of protection with their ten and fifteen year warranties. This level of guarantee is truly unheard of in the sports construction industry and is one of the factors that make his business stand out. What are some guarantees you could offer that no one else in your industry would dream of doing?
3. Communicate the difference.
When I work with small business owners to help position them as the go to experts I often hear my clients ask things like, “How do I stand out when we all really do the same thing?” One dentist told me, “Teeth cleaning isn’t rocket science. I’m sure all the other dentists in town are competent at cleaning teeth.” We didn’t focus on the service. Instead, we focused on the experience – specifically, taking the fear out of the experience by making a visit to the dentist fun! He turned one of his storage closets into a small, cozy game room that fit 3 full size arcade games. Kids now loved coming to the dentist since their reward was unlimited free games in the arcade.
4. Leverage your past experience.
One of the members in a mastermind group I lead is an IP attorney. She is also a former competitive cellist. One of the niche markets she serves is the creative community. Musicians, artists and other creatives instantly bond with her because of her past experience as a trained musician herself. Although her market has access to a dozen other IP attorneys she is the clear stand out because of her past experience helps her understand the unique needs of their creative businesses.
5. Make a unique offer.
You want to put yourself in the shoes of your own customers. Imagine them trying to compare and choose between you and five of your competitors. Take a look at what others are offering. (You’ll be surprised some of your competitors aren’t making any offers!) By you making a unique offer you are helping your business stand out among your competition. A memorable unique offer I came across was of a CPA – 100% refund tax guys. Clients receive 100% refund on their tax preparation when they refer 4 new clients to the firm. Once you’ve developed a list of what makes you stand out among the competition you want to articulate that message into short sound bytes that you can use as headlines and sub headlines on your website, print brochures and business cards. For specific tips and tricks to helping you get the click from Google search results, check out this related post on “How to Get More Clicks.”
6. Get Published in a Magazine
Whatever your industry, find a magazine that caters to your businesses niche. For instance, Lawyers have Super Lawyers. These magazines already have a built in audience that you can cater to. Contact a niche magazine and ask about advertising or having an article written about your business.
QUESTION: How do you communicate your difference when you explain what you do? Share your elevator pitch here:
If you want expert help in re-positioning your brand, crafting your wow factor and building a lead generation machine, I invite you to book a complimentary discovery coaching call with me here.
Do your contacts engage with your emails the way you would expect them to be? How many of your readers do actually open the emails and reply to you?
While no magic wand can help you convince everyone to open your emails and reply back, there are some tips that you can implement to improve your email campaign results. But, before implementing the tips that we have prepared for you in this email, you should start by creating clear goals for your email marketing campaign.
The most popular objectives for email marketing campaigns are the following:
Increasing the email open rate
Personalizing the customer’s experience
Establishing a connection with the email subscribers
Improving the emails click-through rate
Succeed in retaining the target customers and turn them into valuable brand advocates
Now that you have more clarity on the ways email marketing can help you, are you ready to find more about the 12 clever ways you can use to get a response from your recipients?
Tip #1: Create intriguing subject lines
You compare your subject lines with the movie trailers. Would you be curious to see a movie if the trailer is dull and unexciting? Most probably not! The same happens with the subject lines.
For example, the scarcity tactic seems to be working very well these days. A subject line that looks like this: “4 HOURS ONLY! 75% off ALL Jackets in Stores. Go!” would make any “fashionista” grab a cab and go to your store immediately.
Another successful tactic would be adding punctuation and questions directly in the subject line. By using this tactic, you start a conversation with your prospect directly from the subject line. For instance, if you ask a question in the subject line, you intrigue your prospect to give you an answer.
Take the example of Sephora, which sends an email with the subject line “Rough Day?”. In other words, the brand sends an invitation to dialogue and intrigues the recipient to immediately open the email and find more about the company’s proposal.
Imagine that your reader opens your email after an exhausting day in the office. Would he/she be impressed by an email that includes phrases highlighted with red, yellow, green, while others are written in italic or bold? Or would he/she like an email that is easy to read and includes different bullet points that make it easier to understand the main idea?
Instead of using special fonts or different colors, you can win the readers by keeping the content clean and using bold or underline to highlight some important words. Also, you can improve your readability by maintaining the contrast ratio at 4:5:1 for normal text and 7:1 for large text. Besides, you can use tools like Color Contrast Checker or Colorzilla to improve your contrast ratio.
Tip #3: Personalize Your Emails As Much As Possible
Personalizing your emails and subject lines can significantly improve the response rate. According to studies, a subject line personalizer will improve the response rate by 26%. According to a study developed by Experian Marketing Services, personalized emails can generate six times higher transaction rates.
You can take the example of Uber that uses this powerful strategy very often. For instance, the company sends an email to its users after the first month of using its services. The email usually starts with the phrase “You’re doing awesome, [recipient’s name].”
In the emails sent by Uber, the company includes details according to the recipient’s habits of using their services. Therefore, Uber’s emails include advice on what their prospects can do to improve their statistics to benefit from the company’s special offers. An email like this will automatically attract the recipient’s attention and obtain a reaction from his/her side.
An email that contains grammar or spelling errors will be immediately considered unprofessional or spam by readers. You shouldn’t forget that your emails speak about your professionalism and attention to detail. So, if you want to make a good first impression, you should take proofreading seriously. It may seem a tiring job, but it’s helpful for your professional image.
Tip #5: Use segmentation to get the best results
When you send the same email to your prospects, they see you are not interested in their personal needs. Depending on your business profile, you should address your messages to different categories of customers. As each client category has different needs and expectations, the emails should reflect these aspects as well.
You should segment your list and personalize your emails to target the right type of customers. You can filter your clients based on gender, age, or product interests. For instance, if you choose to segment your audience based on age, you should know that the difference between the prospects born in 1996 and 2010 is an 8-second attention span.
Tip #6: Choose the right moment to send your emails
Many marketers make the mistake of sending emails when their target audience is too busy to read them. When you create your emailing strategy, you should first analyze the metrics delivered by your emailing software. Based on your customer’s behavior, it will tell you when most of your readers open your emails.
Many marketers send their emails three times per month. This is a good strategy as long as they choose the right time to send it. Studies show that the perfect time for sending emails should be between 8 am and 4 pm. Besides, some specialists consider it better to send emails during the weekends when people are more relaxed and open to reply to a personalized email.
Tip #7: Optimize your email’s format for mobile devices
Studies show that approximately 46% of all emails are opened on mobile. Also, 35% of business professionals prefer to open their emails from their mobile devices.
This means that you should format your emails to be easily opened from a desktop or mobile device. Such a strategy will help you improve your response rate and tell your readers that you care about their comfort.
Tip #8: Calls to Action are important
When you want your readers to do something, you should be clear in explaining what they need to do. If you add a clickable button in your email, support it with action words and highlight the button with a different color. Instead of writing “Click here” it’s more efficient to name the button as “Get a free sample now!”. This way, the reader will have a clear reason to perform the action you expect them to.
A successful call to action should meet the following conditions:
include an appealing image that follows your brand’s vision and mission
keep the wording clean and clear, and try to have less than five words in your CTA
use words that trigger emotions such as free, new, proven, easy
place the CTA in the place where it makes the most sense in the context
use a different color for your CTA than the rest of the text
Receiving emails from “no-reply” addresses is one of the most annoying things for any reader. How can the client get in touch with you if your email address starts with “no-reply”? One simple example would be that such an email address cannot be added in the contacts list.
A more successful strategy would be creating a shared inbox and sending your emails from addresses such as blog@yourdomain.com. Thus, you encourage your prospects to reply to you. Apart from showing your recipients that you have dedicated resources to reply to their emails, setting up a separate email address will also help you separate your business emails from messages from prospects.
In case you lack resources for organizing an adequate customer care service, you should encourage your prospects to save “no-reply” emails that include confirmations, reminders, or transactional messages. Besides, you can use autoresponders and reply back to your prospects with contact resources such as an email address and phone number.
Tip #10: Show your recipients that you understand their needs
It’s clear and obvious that when you email to your prospects, you want to turn them into your clients. But why would someone prefer you over your competitor? First off, email recipients should feel they are important to you, and you understand their expectations. Instead of presenting the service features, focus on highlighting the benefits that the service can bring to your prospect, including the emotional side.
Tip #11: The first sentence is highly important
The first sentence will tell your reader whether he/she should continue reading your email or skip it. It’s not enough to convince your recipient to open the email with an intriguing subject line. He/she should also read it until the end.
For example, you can open your email with a quick question that targets the reader’s needs. Or create a last call to make the reader understand that he/she should take advantage of your offer.
The example presented above follows the AIDA model. AIDA stands for Attention Interest Desire Action. The first lines start by grabbing the recipient’s attention with an intriguing question. Then it continues by making the prospect get interested in the service. Also, these first sentences make the recipient want and buy the service right away to save the extra 10 hours each week.
Tip #12: Don’t forget about emotions
Your readers receive hundreds of emails daily from different companies that want to sell them something. A winning strategy to improve your response rate would be to include emotion in your emails. Statistics show that the emails that expose emotions (not necessarily positive ones!) tend to draw out between 5 to 15% more reactions than those written in a neutral tone.
Getting your recipients to open your emails and respond to them takes you closer to finalizing a sale. While building a successful email marketing campaign might seem a big deal, you shouldn’t get discouraged and keep testing your strategy until you meet your response rate objectives. With each response that you get, your brand, content, and services become more relevant and better known by your target audience, don’t you think so?
Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a copywriter and blogger with a background in marketing and sales. She enjoys sharing her experience with like-minded professionals who aim to provide customers with high-quality services. You can check her last review of TutorDoctor.
High-quality content is a sure way to attract new customers, as well as retain your existing audience. However, if you go online, seeking expertise on some pressing topic, as your customers often do, you will soon discover that finding a detailed, up-to-date reply that is easy to understand and follow is quite a task. You will likely need to shuffle through a couple of articles before you will get the answer you are looking for.
This is how your customers feel when they attempt to get some insight online – as you can imagine, it is very frustrating. This is exactly the reason why you shouldn’t settle for average content quality and post mediocre writing copies, but instead learn how you can make your articles “pop” and fulfill their purpose of supporting your company’s image, educating your audience, boosting traffic to your website, and, of course, generating more leads for your business.
By now you are probably asking yourself: how can I upgrade my content? To help you out, we will reveal some blog content writing tips that will teach you how to elevate your content and produce truly helpful and exceptional articles for your readers to enjoy and learn from.
8 Blog Content Writing Tips to Creating Lead Generating Content
#1: Learn your audience and what content they need
Studying potential customers is a great way to understand your target audience. Answer these basic questions when researching your product’s consumer:
What does your target audience look like?
What are their main sources of information?
What are their goals?
What main challenges do they face?
If you want to create lead-generating copies, always consider your target audience before you put any work into writing.
#2: Choose the right types of content
Once you get to know your audience, it will become clearer what type of articles they prefer consuming. Develop a list of content types and categories, based on customer’s likes, dislikes, wants, and needs. For each category, determine which stage of the buyer’s journey this content will be most efficient at. Creating content for specific stages of the sales funnel will increase content’s relevance.
Since we’re sharing our ultimate blog content writing tips today, here is a list of several types of content categories you should explore:
Educational information – can be used during the evaluation stage, where your target audience examines how a product meets their requirements.
Guides, infographics.
Landing pages.
Blog posts.
Check out this infographic that showcases different content types and how effectively they produce leads:
Information provided by Venngage
#3: Plan your content
A comprehensive content marketing strategy should include different forms of content for different target audiences with varying interests. At an industry level, it is imperative for your company to establish itself in its chosen area of business as an expert of the highest caliber with a high degree of trust. This is why you can’t simply post whatever and whenever it’s convenient – instead, you should do proper research, plan content according to customers’ needs, shining a light on some pressing topics that may arise in your industry. One of nifty copywriting secrets to top-notch content is not just its high quality, but also timely release – it should “hit the spot” exactly when customers need it.
Content planning also gives you time and opportunity not to rush articles, but spend the necessary time assuring their quality in the eyes of both readers and search engines. This step includes proper keyword research – determining which words and phrases resonate with the audience and should be included in your content. Conduct a thorough analysis of keywords in your niche, identify high traffic keywords, pinpoint which ones are a better fit for your articles.
#4: Create lead magnets
These content writing tips may not be news to you – make sure content is helpful for your readers, as well as easy to use. However, we would like to elaborate on this tip and give you a practical piece of advice that you can utilize for your benefit – create lead magnets. A lead magnet is a free, useful, easily downloadable information, usually exchanged for customer’s emails. There are hundreds of lead magnet options: guides, checklists, cheat sheets, infographics, reports, video tutorials, template kits, and so on.
No other content is as useful and handy as a powerful lead magnet. It provides value for customers but also allows you to expand your audience, collecting insight that will allow you to share more of your content with people who are actually interested in receiving it.
Here are some tips on writing a great lead magnet. Make sure that it is:
Specific.
Unique.
Easy to read.
Valuable.
Instantly downloadable.
As well as:
Shows off your expertise or unique proposition.
Solves a real problem.
Has a simple name, which makes it immediately clear what it is and how it can be used.
Powerful lead magnets build audiences’ trust, showing visitors of your website that you are eager to put expertise to good use and educate them. Such trust is valuable – it helps build a better relationship with the audience, driving them to closer explore what your business has to offer.
#5: Address your audience properly
Here is another copywriting secret that helps write more engaging and personalized content. When creating effective writing copies geared towards lead generation, remember the rule of three pronouns – “I/You /We”:
Write in the first person (use “I”);
Appeal to the reader directly (with the pronoun “you”);
Unite yourself with readers (using “we”);
Refer to the company by its name (instead of the pronoun “we”).
This creates an illusion of personal interaction between reader and writer, such that can only exist between two people, and not between a company and individual. Thus, content takes on an emotional connotation. Lead-generating content should be reader-oriented – it should talk about the reader and what they want to receive. Of course, this is only possible if you are writing for an audience, the interests, and needs of which you are well aware.
Writing is not easy. As long as we are on the topic of connecting with the audience, it is something that you can learn if you visit this site – it contains prime samples of content that you can learn from, studying real examples of high-quality academic writing.
#6: Use content framework: Problem–Agitate–Solve
Another way to level yourself with your customers is by showing that you feel what they feel, understand their problems. You can do so by applying this simple but well-established formula for writing persuasive content: PAS, which stands for “Problem/Pain”, “Agitate”, and “Solve”. Firstly, you should highlight the problem – paint it in vivid detail that will let your customers know that you understand them and relate. Secondly, elaborate on the problem, discuss its effects, building up tension to make your readers desperate for a solution. Finally, offer a straightforward solution that you can provide, thus creating the feeling of gratitude and relief in your readers.
#7: Create a sense of urgency
You can ramp up the “volume” of content and drive readers to take immediate action by setting a deadline or another time limit, describing consequences if readers miss out on your offer, keeping an assertive tone, utilizing a warm color palette for design, etc.
#8: Hint on taking action
CTA is commonly used to motivate readers. It doesn’t matter what is a topic of your content – you should always “keep eyes on the prize” and aim content at reaching your goals. If it’s lead generation, gear all content to make readers want to, for example, try your product. However, a trick is making an agenda discreet – don’t place direct demands, but weave subtle hints into text.
Sharing is Caring – Uncovering Blog Content Writing Tips
Even if your content failed to entice readers before, leave all worries behind – the above-mentioned tips on producing lead-generating content will help you create high-quality engaging, easily digestible writing copies that readers will not get enough of. We only have one question for you – are you ready for leads to swarm your website?
BIO: Kristin Savage
Kristin is a writer and editor with years of publicist and marketing experience under her belt. She uses her articles to speak with each reader individually and educate them on topics that keep them restless. Her skills and poise transfer through her writing, evoking readers to gain new knowledge by the pound. As a well-rounded specialist, she uses her voice to cut through the noise and deliver pure facts. In her free time, she loves playing video games and running.
You know you could find more customers if you could just figure out how to get in front of and network with your ideal target market. You already know how painful it is to network with a group of tire kickers or worse, people who aren’t even aware they need or want your services. So, you wonder where are the best places to find and interact with potential clients on a meaningful level? I can help you find more of your dream customers, but it requires you to get clear on a list of preliminary questions first. This process is a lot like finding your dream home. Your realtor has access to a massive database of homes for sale on the market, but she will only show you the homes that fit the criteria of what you’re looking for. That’s the same thing when it comes to marketing your business. Once you get clear on exactly what and who you are looking for, finding hundreds of perfect customers is as easy as a realtor entering in search criteria on her computer and hitting the print button. Let me share with you six key questions you need to answer that will help you find your ideal target market.
#1. What are twelve things you can describe about your customer avatar?
Let’s say you are a service provider like a business coach, corporate attorney or an outsourced IT firm. It’s not enough to describe your target market as C level executives and VP’s. That’s like asking your realtor to find you a home at the shore. You may think you’re being specific by narrowing it down to shore side homes. But, you can’t expect a real estate agent to find you the perfect shore home without giving them more details.
Even with this example, not every C level executive and VP is going to be the perfect customer for you. So, drill down on details like:
What size is their company?
How many employees does their company have?
What industry are they in?
What type of company are they? (ie public, private, family run, etc)
Different size companies make buying decisions in different ways. The industries they are in will also tell you a lot of information as to what kind of marketing messages and processes they are exposed to. For example, a 5M company in the security systems business may be used to signing up for online webinars, but a 5M business in the building / contracting industry may be completely unfamiliar with what a webinar is.
What is their exact job title? VP of what?
How long have they worked for the company?
What age bracket are they?
Are they male or female?
Are they married, single, divorced?
Do they have kids? How many? What ages?
What is their household income?
What do they do in their free time?
It’s important to know these details about your customer avatar. People with grown kids or no kids are more likely to attend evening networking events; whereas those with young kids will typically choose a morning or afternoon event.
Where do they live?
How long is their commute?
How do they get to work?
How many hours a week do they work?
#2. What association groups do they belong to?
Keep in mind people belong to different types of association groups. Some are industry related where they can network among their peer group. Others join association groups so they can be visible among their own target market. A third category would be association groups that share common outcome goals like an Association group for CEO’s of family run businesses or for Legal Marketers, etc. When you look at each association group you want to find out if they have an:
online and/or print newsletter you can advertise in?
online and/or print publication you can write for?
application process for guest speaking at their chapter meetings?
#3. Where do they congregate in person?
You want to be able to find a way to meet your target market where they gather in groups. Every association holds in person meetings and some even host conferences. Make a list of when and where these events are held and choose one or two to start attending. If you want to find out more places where you target market is congregating in person just start Googling different search terms + associations.
#4. Where do they congregate online?
Online networking is a very efficient way to start to build relationships with your target market and then shortlist a sub group who you can interact with offline.
Start searching keyword phrases using different combinations of:
job titles of your target market
industry groups they represent
outcome goals they are looking to achieve
If you’re targeting local then add the name of your city and county to your searches. You want to search in LinkedIn groups, Facebook groups, Meetup.com and Google.
#5. What are they reading to stay sharp in their industry?
You can get this information by simply asking the question in a discussion thread once you join targeted LinkedIn groups, Facebook groups, etc. You can also survey or call up your own customers to ask them what they’re reading. Once you find out the top 5-10 publications your target market reads you can then:
find out writers guidelines to those magazines/newspapers
submit relevant article pitches to their columnists.
find out their advertising rates for display ads and classified ads.
A niche journal will be a lot less expensive to advertise in that something like The Wall Street Journal. Whether you advertise or your business is featured by their columnist or you author an article, being published in their top industry magazines is a great way for your perfect customers to find you.
#6. Find more customers by what are they listening to?
When you find out that your customer avatar has a 30 minute commute to work you can bet they are listening to some type of talk radio or podcast show. Podcast shows have grown rapidly, but there are still some loyal listeners to talk radio shows.
Ask them what they’re listening to in the same discussion thread you ask what they’re reading. Then rinse and repeat what you did for step 5 and do this for step 6. Many podcast and radio shows interview guest experts for 15 min, 30 min and even 60 minute episodes. This is an easy way for you to get exposure to a large number of targeted listeners where you can showcase your expertise. This method, by far creates a stronger bond with your listeners than you could possibly achieve in a 30 second commercial. While there are worthwhile benefits to old school networking, hearing you talk for 30 minutes will always make a stronger impression than simply hearing your 30 second elevator pitch.
So, if you really want to find more of your ideal customers take 10 minutes right now to start answering these 6 questions. Remember, just like finding your dream home, you can find your dream customers a whole lot faster and easier when you have a detailed profile of your buyer persona.
So, now that you are more clear who your ideal target market is … the next step is to think about what marketing tactics you’ll use to get your business in front of your target market.
Be sure to grab my free printable Marketing Checklist you can download here.
QUESTION: What is your biggest challenge when it comes to finding more customers for your business? Share your comments and questions below.
ATTN: Builders, Contractors, Home Re modelers, Realtors
Want to Get Some Free Exposure for Your Home Remodeling Related Business?
We are creating content for a PA/NJ public adjusting firm and would love to feature tips from a variety of business owners in the home remodeling industry.
My team and I are compiling research for a new article series on
How to Choose the Right Contractor / Business for Your PA/NJ Home Remodeling Projects
We would love to credit you with a link back to your company website to give you some free exposure.
We will be publishing tips from home remodeling experts like you on the Public Adjusting firm’s website as well as promoting your tip, photo and your website links on their website and their social media pages multiple times throughout the year for repeated exposure. Here is an example of what a multi expert feature article might look like
So, if you want to be featured here’s the question:
▶ Share a quick story of a homeowner who ended up hiring you to fix someone else’s mistake. What was the sloppy mistake they made that you were hired to fix and what are 1-3 things homeowners can look for to help them choose the right contractor? Any extra feedback will also be of use.
We will be featuring tips from (including, but not limited to):
Builders
Flooring Experts
Plumbers
Carpenters
House Painters
Realtors – Brokers
Contractors
HVAC
Roofers
Deck Installers
Interior Designers
Tile Experts
Electricians
Landscape-Hardscape
Window Installers
Click the BIG GIANT GREEN button below to submit your response. It only takes a few minutes.
Any questions feel free to reach out. Hope to hear from you very soon!
Warmly,
Yoon Cannon~ Create a business that sets you free Founder, ParamountBusinessCoach.com Host, Biz Growth Doctors Show Yoon (at) ParamountBusinessCoach.com
