A copywriting process for beginners

With so many areas to consider, writing copy for businesses can be a daunting task. From taking the brief, to researching the topic, to the actual writing process, every project you work on will be different. However, there are rules that can help you produce effective copy as soon as you start putting them into action.

The Brief

The starting point for writing great copy is to get a clear and comprehensive brief that has all the information you need to complete the project and do a great job.

Basic Details

The first part of a good brief is the basic details that you need to understand to get started. To make sure that you’re clued up on the key aspects of the project it helps to ask the following…

What is the copy’s main goal?

Define the project’s goals before you get started. The fact that the project exists means that there is a result that hasn’t yet been achieved that the company wants to reach through your copy. If the answer to this question is vague, for example, “We want it to increase sales”, push for more details until you have a specific goal to aim your copy towards.

Does this project relate to any previous jobs?

If the project is part of a series of communications for the company, it will be worth taking a look at what has already been released so you can understand the direction in which the communications are moving.

Does it have a required word count?

Making sure that you know how long your copy needs to be can save you writing far more than is needed, presenting a draft that is incomplete and producing content that doesn’t leave enough space for design work.

What are the USPs that should be conveyed?

Knowing the business’ USPs means you can prioritise your copy and focus on what is important when you start writing.

Who are the company’s major competitors?

It is always important to be aware of your competitors’ activities. If they have recently produced content on the topic that you’re writing about or on one that is very similar, this is likely to affect how you should approach the project because the company will want to present a unique standpoint on the topic. When you’ve been told who the major competitors are, have a quick look at their websites, news releases, social media channels and do a couple of Google searches to see if they have covered this area before.

What is the deadline?

Knowing the deadline is crucial to writing good copy. You know exactly how long you have to complete the different stages of the project and, obviously, you can avoid delivering the copy late.

Target Audience

Developing a clear understanding of who you’re writing for can be the difference between presenting copy that resonates strongly with your audience or leaves them completely cold. This is why you should take some time to consider who you will target your writing towards.

To target your ideal audience ask yourself…

Which specific audience segment am I writing for?

Define which segment of the company’s audience will find the copy most interesting; these are the people that you should be writing to.

How do they see the topic you will be writing on?

Now you have a clear picture of who you are writing for, you will be able to tell if the topic you’re writing on will make them interested, concerned, apathetic, excited and so on.

What questions are they likely to have?

Anticipating the questions that your audience will have is a great way to start thinking about what your copy should include as they will find the content highly relevant.

Extra Details

These extra details are likely to be ones that help you to plan how you will approach the project, so it’s important not to miss anything at this stage. To help you avoid this, ask…

Is there anyone else involved in this project?

If there are other people involved in the project, coordinate your work together to make sure that everyone is on the same page and that you know what you can expect from the others in the group.

Are there any bottlenecks?

Determining whether there are any bottlenecks in the project will help you to stay on schedule and to prepare your timeline appropriately. For example, if your copy needs to be signed-off by someone who is about to take two weeks of holiday, discuss whether this responsibility can be given to someone else or if the deadline can be extended.

Make your timeline

After you’ve received your brief and are confident that it has given you the information you need to move on, the next thing to do is to create your timeline. This should show all the key stages within the project and break down how long you will give yourself to complete each of the stages. Try to leave yourself a small cushion of extra time in each stage to make adjustments and to solve any problems that arise whilst you’re working. Read over the brief once before creating your timeline as this will remind you of any extra actions that are involved in the project.

Research and notes

Now it’s time to start doing your research so you can gain an in-depth understanding of the topic you’re covering.

Establish your sources

Which sources do you think will be most valuable in trying to gain the information you’re after? Do you already know of sources or authorities on this subject that it would be worth having a look at? If not, a simple Google search would be better. You could also consider offline sources of information such as magazines or people who can give you a clearer picture of the topic than you’ll get online.

Whatever sources you use, make sure that they are credible so you can be confident that the facts and points that you are presenting are factual and defendable. If you choose online sources, copy and paste the most relevant information into one of the following categories within a Word document and, if you use offline sources, use these headings to structure your notes:

– Target Audience- Key Message- Supporting Details- Tone of voice

Ask yourself if there are any more headings to add that are particularly relevant to this project as well.

Go through your notes

Go through your notes at this point and see if this presents any new ideas to you. Don’t worry if this doesn’t happen, it isn’t necessary to producing great copy, but viewing the key information from these sections together can help you to see new possibilities that you might otherwise miss.

Build your structure

Now you’re ready to start laying out a logical order for how your copy should be presented. Take your notes and categorise them under the following headings:

– Headline- First paragraph- Body copy- Final paragraph- Call to action

Writing

By this stage, you’ll have put in a lot of thought and effort and the actual writing of your copy should be a straightforward process. Start by writing your body copy, which should contain all the important details that the reader will need to perform the call to action at the end of your piece. If the project is focused on promoting a product or service, your body copy is where you should specify its key features and benefits. If you’re running an offer, your body copy is also where you should include the offer code and explain what steps the reader needs to go through to take advantage of the promotion. Start and finish your body copy with the most compelling benefits you have in your notes and use the middle of the body copy to present any features.

Once you are happy with your body copy, move on to your first paragraph. This should come more naturally now that you have the copy that you need to introduce in this first section. Focus on making people interested right away by suggesting the benefits that your readers will experience by continuing all the way to the end of your piece. After that, put down your final paragraph to sum up the points you’ve delivered in your body copy and to reiterate the importance of this information.

The majority of your piece will now be complete, so all that remains is to sum up what you want people to do in a clear and concise call to action at the end and then to give the document an intriguing headline. The headline is possibly the most important part of your copy and this is why it makes sense to write it last when you’ve got a wealth of information in the copy you have already written to draw upon.

To write an excellent headline…

Make sure you grab people’s attention

Grabbing people’s attention straight away can be the difference between the viewer reading through your copy and performing the desired call to action and the reader ignoring the piece altogether so use the headline to give people a reason to keep reading. The best way to do this is to summarise the key benefit that they can experience by reading your copy; is it to save or make them money, save them time, give them information about opportunities they will want to undertake and so on.

Use simple language

Don’t use complicated language in your headline if you can express it simply and clearly. If someone doesn’t understand what you mean, they are less likely to read the rest of your copy.

Keep it short

Again, people are more likely to read the rest of your article if you’ve kept your headline brief. Reduce the number of words that you use and the length of each of those words as much as possible whilst retaining the message that you’re trying to convey and making sure that it will still make sense to people.

Don’t try to be too clever

Although playing on double meanings and puns can produce interesting headlines, your focus should be on making it clear and benefit-led. It doesn’t have to be ground breaking, it just has to be relevant and compelling.

Evaluation

Now that you have a finished draft, take a little time to evaluate your work to see if there are any ways in which it can be improved. The following is a decent checklist to help you make sure that you have fulfilled all the project’s requirements and are delivering highly effective copy.

Ask yourself…

– Does it answer the brief?- Can you reduce the word count?- Are all the points you’ve made necessary?- Does it run in the right order?- Is the tone of voice correct and consistent?

What are your top tips on writing copy? Let us know in the comments below.

Image credits: Kevin Galens and slgckgc