Ever feel that compared to the other awesome websites out there, your website copy is not good enough? You’ve crossed every ‘t’ and dotted all the ‘i’s. You’ve followed every rule of grammar and used all the right words in the right places. But your copy just doesn’t sound as interesting or as captivating as you’d like it to be. So what can you do? Here’s the thing. Spelling and grammar matter if you want to have an online presence that looks professional. But if you don’t want people to snooze when they’re halfway through your website you need more. And that’s where these five copy gems come in.

There is far more to writing a good copy than these English language basics. For that matter, these gems are also useful when you write ANY kind of content. Whether it’s a blog post, a newsletter, an email, or a social media post.

Here are the copy gems (or content gems if you may) to watch for when you’re writing copy(or content) for your business. 

Copy Gem #1: Tone of Voice

Remember this little gem? “It’s not what you say, it’s HOW you say it.” Well, this holds true for any piece of content you write. And that, in a nutshell, is your tone of voice.

It is how you or your brand writes for (not at) your audience. Your audience will perceive your message based on your tone of voice. 

For example, if you sound formal in your copy you can appear more authoritative. But it may also make your brand seem impersonal. On the other hand, writing more casually helps create a sense of personality, friendliness, and emotional connection.

Your company/brand’s tone of voice depends on the audience you communicate with, the media you use, and your goal.

It also changes with different situations. For example, you probably won’t talk the same way with your doctor or a colleague as you do with your close friends or family. 

Helpful tip! Casual, conversational, and moderately enthusiastic tones perform best.

Copy Gem #2: The Right Words

If you know your audience, you will know the right words to use. Knowing how they talk, the phrases they use, and the trends they follow, helps you create a connection with your audience. Your target readers are more likely to know, like, and trust you if you sound like one of them. 

For example, one of our clients doesn’t shy away from using slang and curse words like ass and bitching. Because that’s what their audience is familiar with and that’s how their audience interacts in real life. 

This holds true for the length of the word, the complexity, the meaning, and the context in which it is used.

This also means using the right words that can grab the attention of your audience, build your authority, and convince your customers to choose you. You can do this by identifying their most common problems and challenges related to your offer and addressing them.

If you are targeting a particular niche or an industry, try researching and using words familiar to the industry. 

Copy Gem #3: Brand Personality

Just like you and me, brands also have personalities. Or at least they should. Brand personality refers to the human characteristics, emotions, and attributes embodied by a brand (medium). It’s what makes a brand memorable in the minds of people.

Just like people, there are some brands we immediately vibe with and some brands or companies we dislike or are immediately indifferent to on sight. They simply don’t interest us. There are also some companies or brands that we might like and value in time, if not immediately. All this is the impact of the brand personality.

And just like people, different personalities talk (write) differently. They also react differently to different situations. 

Let’s take Coke for example. All their copy is connected to happy moments with your family and friends. Nike’s copy, including their social media posts, tend to veer towards motivation, inspiration, and a can-do attitude.

Copy Gem #4: Regional or Industrial Nuances

Just like using the right words for your copy is important, using them in the right context is important too! This is where the regional nuances come into play. People from different locations have different contexts for the same word or a different manner of using the same words. They have their own grammar, phrases, examples, idioms, and language quirks that are common to their region.

Let’s take the most common example of British English vs American English. Apart from minor differences in spelling (color vs colour) and grammar (don’t get me started) there are also differences in object names, slang, phrases they use and so much more. And I’m not only talking about cookies vs biscuits here. For example, the British say: My birthday is the 9th of September. Americans say: My birthday is September 9th.

What might be wrong for one region might be the rule for another.

The same goes for people from different industries. Every industry uses terms that are part of a longstanding and rich culture and history of that industry. 

People from different age groups talk (and write) differently. Think baby boomers vs gen Z.

So who’s your target audience? How do they talk? Where are they from? What generation do they belong to? These are some of the questions you can ask in order to be aware of these differences.

Copy gem #5: Strategy and structure

What do you want your reader to do once they’ve read your content or copy? What action do you want them to take? Inspiring, informing, and educating your audience is good enough. But we need to make sales too! That’s where the structure of your sales page or website comes into play. 

For example, did you know that the chances of conversion ARE HIGHER if your button copy also conveys the VALUE you/your product offers? Or that a person will start reading from the top left corner of your page and will read the bigger text first?

Keeping these little things in mind while writing your copy will increase your chances of conversion significantly.

So which one of these copy gems do you think might be more useful to you? 

Want to save significant time and effort while writing copy that speaks to your ideal audience? AmazingOBM can help! Book a free consultation with us to discuss your next copy project. From websites and landing pages to emails and social media posts, we do it all.