Boost your business with our killer copywriting blog. In our blog section, we will prepare you in being the killer copywriter your business needs. Starting with part 1: 3 tips to lift off: grab attention, choose the right fonts and some handy writing tips.
“Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” – Leo Burnett
1. Grab attention immediately
You have so much potential leads out there, don’t give them the chance to slip away. Grab their attention immediately.
Easier said than done, of course. There are many little tricks you can use to get the attention that you need from your leads. But it requires a little effort and a small touch of creativity. 2 things to keep in mind: your titles and visuals.
1.1 Choose a title that caresses the eye
Give people a reason to read your article, social media post, website, or more. It all starts with a well-considered headline. Be creative. Address your audience directly, personally. Maybe ask them a question or give them a nice to know fact about a specific topic.
Or start with an interesting quote. See what we did there…? Anyway, people tend to lose their attention in a few seconds. One of the first things that pops out in a message our your headlines. If it’s an original, interesting one, people are more likely to continue reading your message. If you don’t tickle them with your headline, your message will never really reach your audience.
1.2 Visuals: your eye-catchers
Work with visuals. Images and video’s, that’s what people search for. Remember the good old days when you had to read books at school? Right, we were always happy if there was a page with an image.
Well, today, with the Facebooks and Instagrams out there, images have become more and more important in the online world. Your image may even be more important than your headline.
An interesting visual can trigger the attention of your audience. But always make sure you use something that’s relevant to your business.
2. Your fonts are like your clothes
Just as in real life, your fonts – and your whole corporate identity – are your first online impression. They’re like your first words in a conversation. You don’t get a second chance.
People’s opinion about your brand, product or your whole business can be made within a blink of an eye. The choice is yours. Do you want to look professional? Or do you want your copy to be spammy? We’ll give you a head start with 3 quick tips.
2.1 Stay relevant all the time
Be aware of your USP. What is is that you are selling? Is it something formal, innovative or rather something fun? You don’t choose for a glamorous font with a lot of frills if you want to be taken serious. If you are choosing your font, always keep your target market in mind. How do they communicate? That’s where you need to be.
2.2 Choose your right font
Serif
Georgia, American Typewriter or the famous Times New Roman. That’s what we call serif fonts. Those fonts with their ‘little feet’. They carry out a traditional, classic feeling. More keywords: authority, confidence and respectability.
In online texts the serif font is less suited. Take a look at websites like Wikipedia, Sony or our our own website. Here, we don’t use a font with little ‘feet’. The serif font is mostly used for offline texts: a book or a magazine.
Of course, this does not mean that logos and titles online cannot contain a serif font. They are different from your actual text. With your logo, you can be as creative as you want. But make sure it always stays relevant to your identity.
Sans serif
Arial, Helvetica or our own font, Lato. These fonts have no ‘little feet’. They’re used by brands who want to uitstralen a simple, clean, modern and sensible feeling.
These fonts are well suited to use in online texts. They read a lot faster. Why? Printed works generally have a higher resolution than online. The lower online resolution can make small serif fonts more difficult to read due to the more complex form. A sans serif font therefore works much better on a screen.
Script
These kind of fonts are often cursive and handwritten. This generates a more playful identity and is considered more feminine. Other keywords are elegance, creativity and friendliness.
Although, fonts like this are more difficult to read in bigger texts. Keep your script-fonts limited: only your logo and your titles can contain a script font.
Novelty
The fourth category is the novelty font. They’re bold, fun, eye-catching and have a quirky character. It’s great to use for headlines that need to be loud and visually notable.
But be aware: just as the script font, the novelty is difficult to use. Use them sparingly. Also here: your logo and titles can contain a novelty font, but never in your main text.
2.3 Difficult to read? Your lead will walk away
Either way, if you choose your font, we strongly advice to make it readable. Your logo may contain some creativity, a very nice example is our client, Guts & Goats.
Their logo may be more difficult to read, but it’s nice and playful. But in their new webshop – designed by us – they choose a very clear (sans serif) font, that fits their identity. Make sure you got this, that your main text is 100% readable.
Even if you have the best message in the world, if no one can read it, or it takes too much effort to read, people will lose their attention.
Maybe try out the Il1-rule (designed by type designer Jessica Hische). Type a capital I, a lowercase l and a number 1 next to each other. If you can tell the difference between those 3, you’re all good. This is often more clear with serif fonts.
Quick tip: be careful with italic fonts, it’s difficult to read for someone with dyslexia.
Want to know what font suits your business? Take a look at the following websites where you can download free fonts: https://www.fontsquirrel.com/ & https://fonts.google.com/.
3. Small writing tips with a big result
3.1 Spelling errors = not done
This one does not need introduction. Does your copy contains 1 spelling error, people don’t take you serious no more. Finished your copy? Triple check it.
Still not sure about certain words or sentences? Ask someone’s advice, it never hurts. Alright, you can always try out the spellingcheckers out there, but it will never really carry out the tone of voice you want to display.
Our advice? Read it from the bottom up, it will keep your mind fresh. Or maybe you’ve become completely crazy behind that computer screen. Just print out a hard copy and read it on paper, far away from your screen. It will give you a renewed view.
3.2 Forget 'me', choose 'you'
Okay, if people consider buy your product or service, they want to know more about your business. But don’t let that distract your focus. It’s not about ‘me’, ‘we’, or ‘us’. It’s about ‘you’: the (potential) customer.
Write directly to your leads, give them a personal approach. Because after all, people always search for personal benefit. ‘What’s in it for me?’ Remember?
3.3 Use an active voice
Take a quick look at the following 2 sentences:
- Skyrocket your business
- Your business can be skyrocketed
It’s no rocket science that people who read messages with an active tone of voice, tend to take action far more than the passive way. Why?
- It makes the copy faster to read
- People understand your message quicker
- The impact is bigger
- It encourages people more to take action: to buy your products or services
Or did you think Nike became so popular overnight? No, just do it!
Now it’s up to you! Try out these tips in your business, maybe there’s a copywriter or language guru hidden inside you.
Also make sure you keep an eye at our blogs. Part 2 of our killer copywriting blog will be published soon. Or maybe you’re more interested in something else? Blogs about marketing, sales, web development and social media are also on their way!