So, you’ve taken on the task of promoting your business.
Marketing your products or services requires more than just an in-depth knowledge about what you’re selling (though it absolutely helps). You should be able to tell your customers what it is and why they need it in their lives. However, many business owners that decide to market their company find themselves committing these common pitfalls:
Copy Mistake 1: Neglecting your spelling and grammar checkers
This isn’t based on any deep marketing premise but rather common sense: proofread your material.
You are presenting yourself as an expert in your industry, and no expert worth their salt will attract attention if their services are being marketed with misspelled words and missing punctuation (unless your goal is negative feedback). If you can’t take your proofreading seriously, how can your customers take you seriously?
Spelling mistakes may happen when using social media, but it’s important to catch those as soon as possible and edit if/when you can (especially before boosting any of your posts). Same with blog posts.
For material with some level of permanence (ex. flyers, emails), you have to be extra vigilant with your proofreading, lest some snarky Reddit user shares it online for millions to nitpick.
That’s not to say that your grammar has to be super rigid and formal. After all, you’re selling, not writing a dissertation. Just follow the basic rules surrounding punctuation, conjugation, and capitalization and you’ll be good to go.
Copy Mistake 2: Forgetting your benefits
You know your product or service inside and out. You know every possible part of your gizmo or the exact process to trim hedges during the fall. That’s all fine and well, but what makes your business stand out?
Listing your features helps your customers get exactly what they want, but listing your benefits helps them get what they need.
Let’s consider an old adage: you’re not purchasing a new mattress made of multi-layered memory foam. You’re purchasing better sleep and better comfort. Essentially, you’re selling the positive results of those specific details.
Go back through your current marketing material. See how many times you mention concrete details about what you’re selling versus what your clients or customers can expect should they invest their time and money with you. If you find the latter lacking, revise your copy to include the benefits of those features.
Copy Mistake 3: Talking too much
Have you ever had a class where the teacher or professor just went on.
And on.
And on.
And on.
Your enthusiasm for your business should show in your copy, but it also shouldn’t overwhelm your prospective leads. The length of your material should reflect the medium, meaning that you should be cognizant of your word count. And while some people find that they may not have enough words to discuss their business, others may discover that they have too many.
Let’s use the picture above for reference. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy recently created a luxury watch company, and what you see is the Brick Watch Company homepage. At four paragraphs and 442 words, this section’s length causes it to read less like an appeal to you as a prospective watch buyer and more as a mini bio about Dave, which would be better off in an About Us/About The Founder page. It’s too much at once after the page loads.
You can be more verbose with your brand in blog posts, articles, and advertorials. Those would benefit from a longer word count and may increase your presence on Google with proper keywords and SEO (search engine optimization) work. Conversely, billboards and banner ads would do better with quick, snappy headlines that get right to the point.
Copy Mistake 4: Not talking to your intended audience
“But Justin, I’m sending emails, social media posts, newsletters, and targeted ads. Am I not talking to my audience already?”
That depends, are you talking to them or talking near them?
It’s natural to write something that you would like given the amount of time you spend rereading and revising. But taking up ad space or appearing on Facebook does not mean by default that your material is geared towards your customers.
Your print and online marketing should be customer-centered. That means that you have your target audience in mind when you’re writing the copy. To do this, think about their demographics (ex. age, location, income, hobbies, etc.) and make the copy relatable.
With that said, you can broaden your messages to include diverse audience groups, especially those who may be new to your industry. Gyms and personal trainers do this well by casting a large net and creating multiple ad samples for longtime fitness aficionados and those just starting their journey.
Copy Mistake 5: No true CTA
At the end of the day, you want your customers to take action, right? Whether it’s to click, call, or fill out a form, your ads need to drive them to do something.
This is called your call-to-action, or CTA. Your CTA is the next step that you want your audience to do. For the most part, it is found at the end of your asset but it can be featured throughout. From a design perspective, your CTA should stand out from the rest of the background and be direct.
The issue comes when the CTA is:
- Too vague: “Call today” vs. “Call 555-555-5555 to schedule today”
- Not urgent: “Book” vs. “Book your appointment now”
- Too prevalent: One button type vs. seven throughout the page
Look through your current assets and see if your CTA is direct, urgent, and not too abundant on your page. Facebook and Instagram ads have the luxury of just one button, but refrain from adding too many links in the actual social media post.
Does your current copy have one or more of these mistakes? Don’t worry, you’ll shake these habits in no time. But if you’d rather save time and energy on your marketing material, you can always reach out to a qualified copywriter who can examine where things went wrong and show you how they can be turned right.
Looking to hand your marketing reigns to someone else? Find the copy and content service that fits your needs and reach out for your copy consultation today.