Let’s start with what is arguably the more important word here: Openings
Your opening sentences need to be bold and compelling. Eye-catching. Shocking even, as long as it's relevant and not gratuitous.
Whatever you’re writing – from adverts in your local papers to flyers, blogs or emails – you need to grab your readers’ attention right from the start.
Depending on your product and customer persona, delve into your imagination to come up with something fun, silly, or thought-provoking. Or powerful and creative.
Remember – it’s noisy out there! You’re competing amongst countless other similar businesses vying for your customers. It can be particularly tough getting your digital marketing activities noticed.
This leads us nicely into the next 'O' word – Online
Writing for the world wide web and all its various social media platforms means an inevitable race to be noticed amongst all the noise. Especially if your product or service is relatively standard, like insurance, fashion, construction, interior decorating, or some other service or product that people often search for.
Finding your specialism in that field will help. That’s because when people are after something that only you can provide, they’ll search for it using specific search words and phrases. That’s when figuring out your keywords helps, a lot!
Google’s algorithms often change, but in general search terms don’t. So if you’re an insurer who specialises in equine insurance or an interior designer whose main focus is lighting, get those words — they're some of your keywords — into your headlines and opening paragraphs.
Another useful online writing tip is to answer your customers' crucial questions. What are their pain points? Why do they come to you? What can you solve for them? Using questions in your headings and opening sentences that relate to their problem will help your blogs, eBooks and other online marketing get found more easily.
Another important ‘O’ word is Obvious. Using obvious words and phrases in your digital marketing — the ones your customers are using as online search terms — helps your content appear higher in the search results ... in time! It takes consistent posting and lots of patience to rank higher in the listings.
So, keep consistently and regularly copywriting for all your marketing purposes.
Copywriting for Online? Surely that should be Content Writing?
Indeed, it should. There are differences between the two writing methods, for sure. But for brevity’s sake, I tend to roll both under the one heading of ‘copywriting’.
I’ve talked about the differences between copywriting and content writing before – have a gander of it here.
In a nutshell, copywriting sells, and content writing informs. Copywriting should be short, punchy, create desire, and actionable. Whereas your online content tends to be more long-form and educational, helping to build awareness of your brand as well as trust in you and your business.
Finally, if you’re struggling with your openings or can't find the time or inclination to write your online content, get in touch. I’d be delighted to help!