Although I fully expect you to disagree with me right now (it’s ok, you can apologise later), I’m going to go ahead and put it out there.
Copywriting is really just training in disguise.
The ultimate goal in both instances is to have your target audience complete the desired action, how you go about doing that really just comes down to execution.
Still don’t believe me? I’m going to show you exactly what I’m talking about using a proven 5-step copywriting formula and training based examples.
1. Know your audience
You can write average copy and still have an effect on the people that read it, but the result may not be the one you intended.
The same principle is true for training. Anyone can slap together a training course, but unless it has been designed with a specific audience and outcome in mind, the results are often less than spectacular.
People generally learn best when concepts are offered to them in a way that they can relate to. In order to hit the mark, you need to consider the type of people that you are pitching to and the change you want to make as a result.
What is their skill level? What do they need to know? How does it relate to what they do and why is it important to them?
2. Write attention grabbing headlines
While it is simple to say, this can be really difficult to do. Time and practice are the only ways to get better at writing headlines, even then it can be hit and miss.
A good shortcut is to re-purpose (this is different to stealing) as many good examples as you can find and build up a swipe file.
While it can pay to call a spade a spade and use a simple title that describes your content, like Copywriting 101, consider being super specific and clearly stating what your audience will get from your content.
Here are two very good examples:
Each title instantly grabs your attention with a promise and the content behind them is structured in an easy to follow format that guides you through the entire process.
3. Keep their interest
We all know that good headlines get attention, but unless the content continues to excite, entertain and educate, you soon lose your audience.
Have you ever been to a training course and decided to just skip out at lunch because you kept falling asleep and snoring loudly Death by PowerPoint, monotone presenters and a lack of audience interaction are course killers that occur far too often.
Good copywriters write fun and interesting content that forces their audience to take notice of what they are reading, seeing or hearing (copywriting doesn’t only have to be text-based).
Knowing your audience and their preferred learning style will help determine the best way to keep their interest when delivering your own content.
Check out the way Pat Flynn uses different types of media to deliver different messages in the backlinking strategy article, or the way Glen Alsopp caters to new and experienced bloggers in his WordPress SEO guide.
4. Make them feel something
Getting the attention of someone and managing to keep their interest is all well and good, it may even get them thinking the way you want them to, but they are less likely to do your bidding until you make them feel something.
Your audience of learners will not perform for you unless they feel like they have a reason to do so. The feeling that you want to create needs to flow through your content and often the best way to achieve that is through stories.
- If you want to create a culture of creativity, you might tell a story about a famous inventor.
- If you want to create a strong team bond, you might tell a story about strength in numbers.
- If you want to create a feeling of urgency, you might tell a story about a time you missed out on something and the effect it had on you.
Feelings are hard to ignore once you have them; find ways to make them happen.
5. Have a call to action
Everything you produce should have a purpose. While you don’t want your content to scream at your audience, good copywriters generally use a very obvious call to action.
Training is no different. Your call to action is really just what you want your audience to take away with them, remember, understand, or be able to do.
Being ultra specific about how success can be measured and limiting other available choices makes things easier on everyone.
In an online setting, this might involve:
- Asking a simple question to stimulate further action.
- Setting a specific challenge based on instructions you have provided.
- Providing additional resources or examples that reinforce your point of view.
Copywriting is training
If you can meet the needs of your audience and encourage them to take further action, then anyway you look at it, you are an educator. Doing this successfully, will change the way you do business forever.
Do you train your customers?
8 Responses
What an awesome post Shaun! I’ll be using this as a guide to creating structure for my writing to remind me to start from first principles – who are you talking to, what do they want/need to know and what’s the best way to serve it up to them? Thanks!
Thanks Shauna, great to hear that it was useful. It’s a simple, but very effective approach. If you can imagine your audience and their need, then the results should be pretty positive. Good luck!
There’s something suspicious about the names of the people responding in this forum, you think? Did I get your “attenshaun”?
Cosmic community of writers with “Shaun” names!
I think that writers are not obligated to find an entertaining or edu-taining theme. We’re also more responsible to work with our clients and stretch those “SEO keywords” out into a unique, personal story.
I believe that we are educating our audience — and at times — the clients we are ghostwriting or writing for!
Haha! Can’t say I’ve ever had this happen before, what a funny coincidence!
Did you mean that we are or aren’t obligated to be entertaining?
I certainly agree that creating a story is important, it’s one of the oldest forms of learning.
Thanks for contributing Shauna 🙂
Without giving away any trade secrets, what techniques do you use to work training into your copy? Recent pet-peeves include storytelling (not training) running amok.
The first peeve was a client who wanted to talk about the outcomes of the consulting without being concrete enough. Websites are used to qualify and compare. We use website copy to summarise and qualify our business. A few measurable items need to be included (on every page, or repeated on most pages) –
* How do I get ahold of you?
* Where are you located (or is this remote service)?
* How long is the ideal work cycle, or what steps should I expect?
* How much does a typical project cost?
* What certifications, brands, or tools does your business use?
The other concern – an editing project where the lead copywriter was obsessing over telling the company history on multiple pages, but the history didn’t seem to relate to the products / services, nor the why the customer would choose this company. I had to adhere to the history content. So, I wrote transitional sentences to help the visitors identify why the history was mentioned.
I think that you have nailed most of it here Shauna. Story telling is great, but it is easy to get wrapped up in the telling without actually having an impact.
I usually try to think about what kind of (behavioural) change I want to influence, then how that can be measured.
As for how you implement it, that is where you get to be creative 😉
Thanks again!