WRITING TO SELL #2: Upgrade to Real Copy

[BCCopywriting]

WRITING TO SELL (Part Two) - Writing Talks. Copy Sells.
If you’re one of the few sellers who can make a sale based on your photos alone, then you probably don’t have to worry too much about the writing in your store or shop. Just use good SEO keywords, and you’ll have great traffic and easy sales. But for the rest of us, the writing makes a difference. So the question is: How do we get the writing to work?

(Helpful graphic goes here - if you like, you can view the full post with image at: http://www.clavan.net/blog Otherwise, read on!)

IS IT WRITING OR IS IT COPY?
To start, the writing must be easy to read, easy to understand, and enjoyable. Otherwise, no one will bother looking at it. Grammar, spelling and punctuation are also important. But here’s the catch:

If it’s only good writing, it might be fun, but it will not help you sell.

​To help you sell, your writing must upgrade to COPY writing, which is designed and optimized for:
--Your buyers
--Your business
--Your products
--Your typical sales cycle

When I was in high school, I wasn’t very athletic. But I could run. On the days we had basketball, I quickly gained a reputation as the best person to pass the ball to, since I could dribble it really fast down the court. However, when I arrived at the net, I would always shoot and miss the basket!

In a selling environment, good SEO can get you to the net, but what next? Normal writing is like standing still underneath, just holding the ball and looking pretty. Poor copywriting is like shooting, but having the ball bounce off the hoop. Perfect copywriting is like shooting the ball and getting it right into the basket. “Nothing but net.”

WRITING TALKS, COPY SELLS
In 'Writing to Sell #1 - https://www.etsy.com/teams/11352/etsy-seo-google-seo-copy-writing-small/discuss/17661481 - we learned that it’s essential to start every section of text with the most important points. Why? Because buyers might not ever read beyond the first couple lines.

But what are those important points? How do we know which things to put first? How can we figure out what we need to say?

Excellent questions, and ones that are familiar to writers with solid experience in sales and marketing. In other words, copywriters. Although good writing looks and sounds nice, actual copywriting is what turns a visitor into a purchaser.
​
​Good copywriting will always:

--Properly identify your top benefits and features
--Effectively spotlight those benefits and features
--Showcase the value of your products
--Differentiate your products from the competition
--Match up with your typical customer’s style and purchasing behavior
--Help shorten the sales cycle
--Simplify purchasing

HOW TO UPGRADE
Good news: This can be done. Bad news: It can take a while. Your choices:

--Hire a business coach. A good one can help you identify the best ways to talk about your products and business in the marketplace.

--Look for free, professional guidance. This could be a long process, but eventually you'll be able to make many improvements on your own.

--Hire a copywriting coach. (Check for sales and marketing credentials.)

--Purchase professional copywriting services. Verify that your provider offers a proven sales and marketing background. (Note that this is different from areas such as business correspondence, customer service, blogging, etc.)

COMING UP NEXT: Writing To Sell #3
Ready to take your first step toward real copywriting on your website or in your shop? Start by learning what we mean by “features,” “benefits” and “value.” Find out more about how the professionals make their choices, and how the right messages can create new interest in your products.

Need more? Free on Facebook: ongoing advice, critiques, professional guidance and support at The Copywriting Coach - http://www.facebook.com/groups/copywritingcoach

You can also view previous posts on copywriting and basic English at: http://www.clavan.net/blog

[RiotOfColors]

VERY informative! Thank you!

[MRKJewelryDesigns]

Thank you for the pointers....

[MRKJewelryDesigns]

Thank you for the pointers....

[ArtDesignShop]

A lot of good advice. Thank you :)

[QuercusSilver]

This is great advise but needs a lot of thinking about. It's tricky to cover so many things in one listing description.

[BCCopywriting]

Su: You're absolutely right. It's very easy to write a pleasant description that looks nice and seems to be very friendly and appealing. But to write in a way that actually strengthens your messages, your business and the selling process is much more challenging. Now that the Etsy marketplace has become so competitive, sellers can definitely use the extra edge that sales and marketing knowledge can provide. It doesn't need to be done in the same way that a huge international company would approach it. But certainly there are tips and tricks that can help Etsy sellers survive and prosper. There's a lot more to come in this "Writing to Sell" series, which should help.

[QuercusSilver]

Well, I am delighted to have found you and your positive energy.

[kaysclassyboutique]

Great inforatiom .
Thanks for posting

[EleanorShadowShop]

I've changed the way I write my listings a lot. I used to try to be witty, but now I just go straight to the point. I think it's helped my sales. Now I need to find the time and courage to change the older listings...

[VintageMaineia]

Interesting post, Barbara!

Having been selling vintage online for over 10 years, I sometimes feel like I can write unique selling copy in my sleep!!

One tip I used early on is to read selling copy that successful sellers use. I still pay attention to copy-writing details when my research involves reading listings by other shops... Of course I am careful not to plagiarize : )

Thanks so much!!!

[BCCopywriting]

Joanne: Glad to hear that you've found some methods that work for you in getting your writing to a stronger place! Looking at successful copy can definitely help stimulate ideas. Vintage sellers also have a slight edge because there are certain details about each item which are obvious selling points to collectors and vintage fans. Time period, age, the manufacturer's name (when that's an important issue for the item), condition, the item's history (if known), and so on. Which helps to provide focus to the listing. Although these details don't necessarily drive SEO completely, they also help drive the research. Plus, vintage sellers are often also collectors, and collectors know how to talk to other collectors!

Best of luck - and keep up the good work!

[Former_Member]

Thank you for taking the time to help others. You have such a positive energy!

[BCCopywriting]

Thanks, Catherine! Very nice of you to share your kind thoughts!

[VintageFrenchStore]

Thanks for all your expert advice, it is so nice of you to try to help us all :)

[OakGlenCreations]

Thanks Barbara!This reminds me of the newsritng pyramid. Most important stuff first. The hard work is discerning what is most important, what goes in that first sentence or paragraph. What do you think of the first sentence being the attention grabber, followed by a summary lead and then drilling down to finet details?

[BCCopywriting]

Cindy: You're right to say that the structure of copy looks similar to journalism. In part they have the same goal: to get the most important information across as quickly as possible, since you never know how far the reader is going to get. But the goal of a newspaper article is primarily to inform, whereas copy is intended to sell. So copy needs not only to inform, but also to engage the reader in a kind of conversation or relationship that moves them to take action. So the structure overall is somewhat different. This is a higher level of technical detail, obviously. Good point, though!

[OakGlenCreations]

Ot didn't let me edit my post, so copying my rewrite here: Thanks Barbara!This reminds me of the newswriting pyramid. Most important stuff first. The hard work is discerning what is most important, what goes in that first sentence or paragraph.

What do you think of the first sentence being the attention-grabber, followed by a summary lead and then drilling down to finer details? Ir maybe that is what you meant?

Would you include anything about yourself up front if it is one or two of best reasons to buy a particular product from you? Say the product is a fairy garden kit, and the seller's background includes school teaching, environmental beat reporting and a lifelong love of nature and art? Guess that is a bit of a mouthful but would just use up front what mostly relates to the particular product. As a veteran copywriter, what do you think?

[BCCopywriting]

Cindy: You're in luck! As it happens, "Writing to Sell #4" is coming up and seems very relevant to your question. It about how you decide what to highlight in your copy, and how to say it. Of course this is only an introduction, but it could be helpful. Are you on Facebook? The new entry in the series has already been posted in my group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/copywritingcoach

Basically, it has a lot to do with who your audience is, and what sorts of things you know they'll be looking for. If you aren't on Facebook, come back and ask again. Have a great evening!

[OakGlenCreations]

Thank you Barbara for both replies. Yes, I understand copywriting is very different than journalistic writing. I have worked in both and prefer journalism, but I understand copywriting is needed to market and sell my product.
I am in your FB group and read #4. Very good info there on targeting market. I couldn't find the answer in #4 to this part of my question (I wrote too much), so I will paste below. Please keep in mind in the following question, I am referring to using copywriting language and to product descriptions : - "What do you think of the first sentence being the attention-grabber, followed by a summary lead and then drilling down to finer details?" Would live to hear other replies to from anyone experienci g success with this method. Barbara. I love your tips in #4 and will respond there - forum or FB best for you?Thank you:-)

[BCCopywriting]

Cindy: Either here or in the FB group is fine. The structure you're suggesting is great for an informational piece, nice pyramid style with a summary at the top and then drilling down. But it isn't necessarily the best copy style. A lot depends on what you're selling and who the buyer is. What information are your buyers looking for? What information will they find most compelling? What are they basing their purchase on? What kind of language will they respond to?

Once you understand the buyer, then it's easier to determine the best style and most effective organization. Who knows? Possibly the journalistic format might work in your case. Experiment. See how it goes.

Maybe give it a try with a few listings and ask for a critique. Should be interesting!

[AnExtraBlessing]

Hi! I have a few questions:

1. How do you know which copy (that's a descriptions of an item the way I read it, not an advertising person) works? Do you go by what sells? I just assume that what sells, I've taken good pictures of and it happens to be what someone wants.

2. Do you have any examples of good copy?

3. I really am not good with FB. I cannot find a way to join the groups. I think it is because I only have a business account (got rid of my personal account a few years ago). Does anyone else only have a business account on FB and are they able to join groups?

Thank you for the helpful advice!

[BCCopywriting]

Sheila: You know, I think you might be right about the Facebook business page. Their doesn't seem to be a way to "friend" you - which would be available on a personal page. So maybe you can't join groups as a business. I don't fully get all the little details about FB. If you like, you can like my business page, because a lot of things get posted there. http://www.facebook.com/CHAconsulting

Another thing you can do is quickly set up a personal FB page. You wouldn't need to do anything with it if you don't want to, but it would give you a way to join groups and friend people, which could be helpful for your business. Just a thought.

Knowing what to say, how to choose it, and how to write copy that sells is a kind of art, and of course takes years of experience. However, you can learn enough to get started in a fairly short amount of time. Professional consultation might be of use to you. Very briefly, and again as indicated in the article, it all comes back to the buyer. If you're very clear on who the buy is, then it's much easier to figure out what kind of "tone" you need, what sorts of information you need to provide first, how to guide a buyer to a purchase, what they like, what they don't like, and so on. And that process of identifying your buyer is also a fairly challenging one and could require some guidance. Help is available.

On of the things on my "to do" list is a set of good "before" and "after" examples for copy. It's a little hard to point to good copy without an explanation, because every seller has different buyers and different items, and therefore "good copy" will be different for each. However, they do have certain things in common. Some of my upcoming articles will be going into a little more detail about things like this.

Anyway, one step at a time! I wish you could get into the group! We have critiques on Wednesdays! The other option (I don't usually do this, but I'll make an exception) is to sign up for a professional critique or consultation. You can check my shop for details.

In any case, keep going - I'm sure you'll succeed!

[AnExtraBlessing]

Thank you, Barbara. I did find your website which has a ton of helpful and detailed information.

Right now it's not easy to do a whole lot because I'm using my phone mostly since my computer is not at my disposal. But when I can, I will look into your consulting.