Every second, nearly 30,000 gigabytes of content are added to the internet worldwide. Internet users are exposed to dozens of advertisements every day. How can you effectively reach your target audience without your message getting lost in this vast sea of information?
While the visual aspect of your digital communication media remains an important element, textual content is now at the heart of your marketing strategy. Through careful word choice and persuasive writing techniques, copywriting improves your search engine ranking, strengthens your brand image, and thus helps to increase your revenue.
Like many marketing concepts, the term copywriting (not to be confused with copyrighting, which refers to authors' rights) comes from Anglo-Saxon culture. In English, "copy" refers to "text" in the vocabulary of publishing and advertising, while "writing" means "to write, to compose." In French, we refer to advertising copywriting, copywriting, or web editor.
Copywriting is the art of using words to attract and persuade, with the aim of promoting a brand, a company, a person, an idea, a product, or a service.
The role of the copywriter or creative writer is to encourage the reader to take action through carefully chosen words. This distinguishes them from journalists or simple writers, who produce texts for purely informational purposes. However, the two approaches tend to merge within content marketing strategy, which now favors quality content to provide real added value to potential customers.
Through various persuasion techniques, such as the inclusion of calls to action, copywriting aims to trigger a response from the internet user, as part of an inbound marketing approach. This reaction may be a purchase, but it could also be a request for a quote, a subscription to a newsletter or an event, opening an email, making contact, reading an article, etc.
Copywriting is not a recent concept: in the 1950s, the first copywriters wrote sales pages for newspapers and magazines. Today, with the advent of the Internet, copywriting is mainly used on the web and is the cornerstone of your digital marketing. The copywriter is involved in writing all your online content: website content, blog articles, social media posts, email campaigns, product descriptions, advertising campaigns, etc. You can also use copywriting to write scripts for your videos or podcasts, in order to maximize the impact of your message on your audience.
By following the rules of web writing and SEO (search engine optimization), copywriting helps you rank higher in search engine results pages. The integration of relevant keywords, semantic enrichment, HTML markup, and internal linking are all factors that contribute to better indexing of your pages. High-quality content focused on the user experience is essential to meeting the requirements of ranking algorithms, particularly Google. By improving your natural search engine optimization, you will be able to reach your audience more easily and thus acquire qualified organic traffic.
Once you have reached your target audience, you then need to convince them and build their loyalty. To stand out from the competition, you need to assert your uniqueness through a strong brand identity. This is built upstream through the development of your brand platform, which formalizes the essential foundations of your business. In an ultra-connected world, users are more than ever looking for authenticity and human relationships. Converting prospects is easier when they share your company's vision and philosophy. As an expert in the art of words, a copywriter helps you build your reputation through texts that reflect your brand's values.
This is, of course, the ultimate goal of copywriting, and content marketing in general: to generate sales and increase your revenue. Improving your SEO, by bringing you visitors, and working on your branding, by making them aware of your values, contribute to this indirectly. Copywriting techniques are also a powerful tool for turning your prospects into customers by encouraging them to click on your ads, sign up for your newsletter, and buy your products or services. This is the best wayto improve the conversion rate of your pages and sales funnels, and therefore your return on investment.
A true chameleon of the web, a good copywriter must be able to adjust the style and content of their writing:
Providing compelling content requires, among other things, a thorough understanding of your persona, a sort of composite sketch of the typical customer defined in the company's overall communication strategy. You also need to use psychology to understand the target audience's needs, fulfill their desires, and allay their fears. All while remaining honest and consistent with the brand's editorial line, values, and the image it wants to convey to its audience.
The proliferation of screens and the constant demands placed on us by intensive use of social media are gradually reducing our ability to concentrate. According to a study conducted by Microsoft in 2015, our sustained attention span is limited to 8 seconds, which is one second less than a goldfish! To capture the interest of readers who are used to skimming information, you need to focus on clear, structured content with high added value.
In particular, email subject lines and objects are strategically important: while 80% of internet users read them, only 20% click on them. A well-written subject line is therefore essential to grab your audience's attention, make them want to read the rest of your articles, and maximize the open rate of your newsletters.
Simply describing the features and benefits of your products or services objectively is not enough to trigger a purchase. Potential customers don't base their choices solely on rational evaluation, but also on their beliefs and feelings. Copywriters must therefore create an emotional connection with internet users to win their hearts and convince them to take action. Words are powerful: when used wisely, they have real persuasive power and can evoke a whole range of feelings.
One of the most effective ways to evoke emotion is to tell stories using the principle of storytelling. Originating in the United States, this marketing technique uses narrative techniques to strengthen reader engagement and make them more receptive to the underlying message. Storytelling can be used on an ad hoc basis, in the form of a simple anecdote, real or invented, or more broadly in a company's communication strategy to shape its brand image.
Without necessarily being aware of it, each of us uses copywriting in our everyday lives. Writing a cover letter to attract a recruiter, a classified ad to sell your car or apartment, an email to convince your friends to accept an invitation... There are many examples of everyday situations that require persuasion.
However, not everyone can improvise as a copywriter. To use a culinary analogy, just because you know a little about cooking doesn't mean you can call yourself a great chef. As in gastronomy, professional copywriters know the recipes and have mastered the techniques to concoct three-star content that will delight readers.
On the other hand, learning copywriting takes time, because this profession is both an art and a science:
Curious, with a broad general knowledge and excellent linguistic skills, experienced copywriters have the necessary expertise to provide flawless content that will help you achieve your goals. As a privileged intermediary between your brand and your customers, Autour de l’Image supports you in setting up copywriting services that are perfectly tailored to your needs.
