Great copywriting is one that appeals to the heart of people. They are memorable and persuasive enough that a person will crave to purchase the product being promoted. But there are very few copywriters who can accomplish that. When you wonder why the ad copy you wrote is not bringing the results you desire, that means you are committing copywriting mistakes. Let’s find out what they are so that you can improve your copywriting skills.
12 Copywriting Mistakes You Should Avoid
1. Not Keeping Target Audience in Mind
One of the most common mistakes that copywriters make is not fully understanding what their target audience wants. Crafting content that makes sense to you might not necessarily engage your audience. Write content in a way that works for your audience.
You want to sell a product and have researched everything about it. But that does not help if you can’t match what you want to tell with what your audience would like to know.
For that, you should get to know the whole persona of your audience, their preferences, needs, behaviours, and pain points. Knowing how to do that will help you create compelling copies.
2. Making Use of the Wrong Tone
When it comes to copywriting, you cannot make the mistake of writing in different tones. Why? It’s because your target audience connects with one unique tone that defines your brand’s persona. This unique tone of voice sets your brand apart from others.
If you jump around from one tone to another, it will confuse your readers and they will lose interest. So stick to one brand tone while copywriting and be consistent with it.
3. Not Defining a Clear Purpose and Goal
Another common mistake copywriters usually make is not having a specific goal or purpose while writing. Never start writing without having a clear understanding of what you want to achieve. It could be creating brand awareness, driving traffic, generating sales, or as simple as educating your audience.
Having a well-defined goal will allow you to measure the success of your writing, thus enhancing the effectiveness of your copies.
4. Writing Weak and Uninspiring Headlines
Nowadays people utilize technology and social media in such vast amounts that it has significantly reduced their attention span. In such a case, grabbing people’s attention through copywriting becomes extremely difficult. Difficult yes, but doable. And it can be done through the power of catchy headlines.
It is a fact that only 8 people out of 10 will read the headline of a copy. But what about the rest of the content, you wonder? Only 2 out of 10 people read the rest. You read that right!
Therefore it is a grave copywriting mistake to create headlines that lack a selling factor.
A head-turning headline should be short, unique, and relevant to the subject matter.
Below are some examples of well-written headlines that can successfully seize attention.
5. Making Your Words Too Complex
Any kind of jargon, lingo, or buzzword used too much in copywriting can be a detriment. You might think that it is clever to write a particular sentence in complex language, but it will only backfire. You will unintentionally drive away your audience as they will find the content hard to follow.
If the reader has to Google the meaning of what you wrote or take out a dictionary, then you are doing it all wrong. An efficient copywriter should make the reading experience pleasant for the audience.
Instead, using limited jargon and making the copy easier to understand will produce better results.
6. Using Emotional Triggers in a Negative Manner
One of the most powerful tools in copywriting for persuading people to take a specific action is the usage of emotional triggers. These triggers can be fear, urgency, hope, aspiration, anticipation, excitement, and more.
“These students have won in their career. Do you want to be left behind in the competition? Then join our courses”
This is instilling fear in children and their parents for not taking up a particular course.
Many have a habit of using these manipulative tactics in copywriting. Such psychological triggers are no doubt effective in compelling a customer to purchase a product or service but fail to develop an ongoing customer relationship.
7. Not Making Your Sentence Concise
Check out these phrases below.
We are all familiar with these phrases from the brands Nike and McDonald’s respectively. What made these pieces of content memorable? They are short, crisp, and extremely catchy.
Suppose you are driving your car in scorching hot weather and you see this.
The picture of the drink and the words ‘refresh yourself’ are enough to take the next turn to McDonald’s. The fact that it shows the temperature as well lends more reason to immediately get a drink. This is peak copywriting and ideation.
Copywriting involves writing content that is short but successfully delivers the intended message. If the content was too long on that billboard, do you think you would have paid attention to it? No right? So, skilled copywriters should write copies that are snappy and creative.
8. Focusing on Features Rather than Benefits
While showcasing the features of a product or service is definitely important, not mentioning the benefits defeats the purpose.
Suppose you are a company that sells air conditioners. The newest launch has a lot of features that you want to communicate to your customers – one of which is the Wi-Fi feature.
Just saying the new AC model is Wi-Fi-enabled won’t work though. What does it even do? How does it benefit the buyer?
Highlight the main benefits of your product in your copy in a way that the customer cares.
“Now control your AC from anywhere with the convenience of Wi-Fi” will have more impact than simply saying “Our new AC model has Wi-Fi access”. This is because you are selling the concept of convenience and comfort through your words which sounds more appealing to the customer.
9. Over Utilising or Underutilising SEO
Marketing copies are written with the aim of reaching the target audience. For that, the application of SEO is a must.
However, the error that some copywriters commit is not striking a balance between SEO and the content written.
Using the right SEO elements will lead to a better ranking of pages on SERPs. But if you overuse them then it will have the opposite effect.
Stuffing a bunch of keywords in your copy will not only make it look spammy to Google, but the audience will also find it cumbersome to read.
10. Ignoring Page Design While Creating Content
All too often, copywriters are so focused on writing “awesome copies” that they forget about the page design. The first thing that captures a person’s attention is the visual elements of a page. Failing to craft a piece of copy that complements the design of a page adversely affects online marketing.
Get to know the layout of the webpage you are creating content for. Then write content that perfectly fits the space that is designed for it.
11. Failing to Proofread and Edit
This is a costly and honestly, an embarrassing mistake. Imagine making a typo in the headline of your landing page. Now, if a potential lead lands on that page and finds that mistake, it will make your business appear unprofessional. Even worse, you can end up losing the lead which could be a huge loss for your business.
As a copywriter, it is your job to ensure that every piece of written content is error-free. Check thoroughly for grammatical and contextual errors before making a final submission.
12. Not including Call to Action
Not adding a Call-to-action after a piece of copy is basically leaving your audience without clear direction.
Call-to-actions are prompts that guide a user on how to take the next step. Through these CTA buttons, you can direct them to purchase a product, contact your business, or read another piece of content.
Writing CTAs such as “buy now” or “call today” is generally fine, but playing with words and getting creative with CTA texts is more effective in getting clicks.
Conclusion
No one wants to end up in losses, especially by making blunders that should not have been made. Just keep note of the above copywriting mistakes to make sure that you don’t fall victim to them and you will be all good.
If you need more guidance on this topic or want good copywriting to scale your business, contact us today.
