By Grishma Giri

“Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” –  Leo Burnett

Admit it — no matter how good online marketer
you are, being asked to write a blog post chills your spine. Marketers
prefer to stamp their fists on walls than to work on a compelling blog
post that would convert – but why?

Content marketing has been
growing as the most important skill required for marketers to land a
job. Having copywriting skills is surely a benefit because writing
compelling articles is intimidating and not everyone can do that.
However, there’s always some room to make improvements
even if you feel that you are not good at writing. Your writing does
not need to be agonizing and there are several small hacks you can use
to hone your skills and all you require is a little discipline and a
will to learn.

Check out these 10 sure-fire ways to improve your copywriting skills.

1. Write for one

You need to treat copywriting just as
if you are writing to one person and trying to grab his attention.
Copywriting is all about sharing your knowledge
in the best possible way to make your marketing campaign effective and
if you grab attention of just one person, the rest will follow. Write as
if you are writing an email, be personal, add humor and try to include
details as much as you can. Consider your copy as a cover letter and you surely will see a lot of improvements in your writing.

“Someone
once wrote that all novels are really letters aimed at one person. As
it happens, I believe this. I think that every novelist has a single
ideal reader; that at various points during the composition of a story,
the writer is thinking, “I wonder what he/she will think when he/she
reads this part?” For me that first reader is my wife, Tabitha.” —
Stephen King

2. Brush up on the basics

Before you start writing an incredible copy, you need to learn the basic principles of writing. This does not mean you need to have an university degree in literature, but you surely should have a strong grasp of grammar and spelling. You need to go through good books and learn their styles and try to refine them and add your touch to your copy. Improving your grammar and spelling will make your copy more compelling as well.

3. Work in groups

Writing is basically a solitary activity, but when you work in groups
and have a reasonable sized company, you learn from them and gain
much-needed feedback to make improvements. Find someone who is also
trying to improve his writing and work together. Talk to your coworkers
or friends and ask if they want to check your work. This will ensure if
your copy has mistakes or points that you overlooked.

4. Write a killer headline

If your headline is not
powerful, all you get in return for your copy is crickets. Try to hone
the skill to write headlines that attracts; learn the art and master it.
You can start reading different popular journals and magazines and see
how they prepare their headlines. Analyze the work of others and see
what works best to your readership.

“On the average,
five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When
you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your
dollar.” ~ David Ogilvy

5. Keep it short and interesting

Most
people don’t go through paragraphs that are long, no matter how stellar
the content might be. If you keep it short, it sounds simple and sweet,
of course. Generally, when you keep the first paragraph short, chances
are people will find it interesting and read through the complete post.

The
opening of your copy should be hypnotic and you can do what you feel
best; include an intriguing question, show stats or an outrageous claim
that will keep your reader interested.

6. Imitate writers you admire

Wait there, imitation is
not the same as plagiarism. There’s no way you can rip off anyone’s
work and call it yours, ever. What you can do is try writing like the
same writers you read on regular basis. Dissect what part of their work
you enjoy best and see if you can use similar strategies in your
content.

If they add humor, do that if you like it. If they are always serious, try that too and see if it will impact your readers as much as it did on you.

7. Use bullet points

Try different search query about foods
you want to eat or travel destinations you want to visit this summer,
the search engines are filled with list posts. Believe me, such posts
have been successful since…forever. Yes, from the very early days of
copywriting to now and in the future, copies that have bullet points
guarantee success than copies filled with paragraphs only.

Using
bullet points will make it easy for readers to scan the article and if
they oblige to your readers, they’ll oblige you too.

8. Edit ruthlessly

You have to do this for once and for all if you want to become a great copywriter. Editing is a tough skill
and is considered a waste of time by many. But in fact, editing is what
can place immense value to your copy and you don’t require a lot of
rewriting as well.

Editing copies will give you tons of ideas
about your writing level. Start eliminating extraneous words and try
making sentences short. Make sure to get your message to the point and
wax it lyrically. You need to be harsh on yourself and the more
ruthlessly you edit your copies, the better results you’ll see.

9. Do your research

Most
articles I read today are plagiarizing someone else’s work. Well, they
even credit the source and if they don’t, they make sure that no
sentences in their work is present in someone else’s article; that’s
cheating. You can rewrite any articles, rephrase sentences and make them
yours, but that is still plagiarism. Learn the fact that there are no
shortcuts when it comes to success.

Try doing your own research,
add statistics to your copy and make sure you source or attribute the
details. Even if you are an amateur, researching and adding them to your
articles will make you look like a professional.

10. Find a good editor

Everyone
needs an editor, even the best writers in the world. If you are trying
to improve your content strategy or looking to guest post on your
favorite site, make sure you are working with a good editor. This will
ensure that you deliver the best content and see improvements in your
work where necessary.

Culled from Life Hack