Sales drive your business so getting more sales is vital for a company’s ultimate success.

What are some tips for creating effective copy? Let’s take a look.

Keep it Simple

What do we mean by simple? In a world filled with information — ads, social media, blogs, TV — there’s a lot of clutter. Keeping your copy simple, brief, and uncomplicated will help you cut through that clutter and connect with your customer.

So how do we keep it simple and sales-focused?

Your Goal

You don’t need multiple goals for copy. You just need one (again, simple). Copy that closes (makes the sale) is a desirable outcome and getting there means focusing on just one thing: the call to action.

You want your customer to DO something when they read your copy. You can use a variety of channels —ads, blogs, social media, radio, print, e-mail — but the goal remains the same: turning a reader into a customer.

Your Audience

You want to keep it simple here, too. Who do you want to reach? Your business sells a specific product or service, so you want to speak to that customer. Focus on who you want to communicate to.

Your Tone

How do you keep this simple? Be conversational. This lighter, casual tone will connect with people and engage them. Copy that is too formal or needlessly complex can be off-putting (like the word “off-putting”). The same is true for jargon and “insider” language.

If you do use technical terms, it’s a good idea to explain them, just so you and your audience are always on the same page.

Your Words

Some people think that using a lot of adjectives makes for good writing. Actually, as in most things, less is more. Remove redundant adjectives (you don’t need to say “high mountain” or “small mouse”). You should choose adjectives that help clarify and add richness. For instance, to describe the favor of a specific coffee, words like “earthy,” “tangy,” “bold,” or “robust” can be used.

Now here’s the tough part: knowing what and where to cut. As we said above, less is more. We may believe it, but it’s not always easy to achieve it. Cutting your copy can be painful, but the results are almost always better.

When reviewing your copy keep this in mind:

Try to use:

• a word instead of a phrase
• a phrase instead of a sentence
• a sentence instead of a paragraph
• a paragraph instead of a page

Short, tight copy engages people and makes them more receptive to your message.

Your Results

Ultimately, you want to do more than just create copy that sells: you want to create trust. Copy that’s simple, effective and connects with the reader can help create that trust; and trust creates a relationship, which leads to sales.

Farmhouse Creative is always here to help. It’s as simple as that. Feel free to contact us.