Imagine this: After a decade of owning her own store, a woman wants to change careers. She passed high school English with all A’s, so she decides to be a journalist. But instead of going to school to learn about journalism, she writes some stories and creates her own online news site. A year later, she can’t understand why the local newspaper’s website continues to have more readers than her website.

Can you figure out why?

Most people realize that journalists earn a specialized degree. They learn how to find stories, interview people, and report on them appropriately for their magazines and newspapers. That makes sense to us because we know that colleges offer degrees in journalism.

But did you know that copywriting – like journalism – requires special training? Passing high school (or even college!) English class is not enough. Here’s what you need to know about copywriting.

What is Copywriting?
First we need to define “copy.” Copy is any written content that tries to persuade people to do a specific action. For businesses, that means any content used to promote, advertise, or market your business, products, or services.

Basically, anything you write for your business – press releases, brochures, websites – is copy.

Copywriting is simply the writing of that copy.

Why Do I Need a Copywriter?
You may not need a copywriter, but you at least need to know the basics of writing copy for your business. Here are a few things to consider:

• Are you a B2C or B2B company? Business-to-Client (B2C) companies sell their products or services to individual customers; restaurants and hair stylists operate B2C companies. Business-to-Business (B2B) companies, however, sell to other businesses; the company that make commercial kitchen appliances for restaurants is a B2B company. You need to know the differences. B2C copy will likely be more personable and relational; B2B copy can be more informational and statistical.
• Who’s reading your content? Your press releases will be read by various media outlets. Your newsletter goes to people who’ve asked to hear from you. Your annual Christmas sale flier could be seen by people who’ve never even heard of you. Each of those groups of people should be addressed differently. Know how you want to talk to each group.
• How’s your grammar? There, their, they’re. You’re and your. Do you know the difference between – and … (or what they mean)? At the very least, you need to make sure your copy is clean. If it’s confusing or unclear, people will throw it away or leave your website. Don’t give them a reason to do either! If you’re not confident in your grammar and punctuation, ask for help.
• Have you invited your reader to do something? It doesn’t matter what you’re writing, make sure to include a CTA – Call to Action. In your press release, include a line that says, “For more information, call…” In your newsletter, make sure you have a link to your Facebook page or website. And don’t forget to tell people where and when they can take advantage of your sale/special when you mail out those postcards.

If you don’t have the time to investigate these topics, or if you don’t have anyone on staff who can do it for you, it might be time to consider a copywriter. Without one, you run the risk of your mailers getting tossed in the trash or your newsletter deleted from a client’s inbox. But making time to research and understand these topics will help you create better copy that gets better results.

Do you still have questions? Contact me! Let me know how I can help.

Did you find this information helpful? Sign up now to receive more business writing and entrepreneurial tips right in your inbox! And don’t forget to connect with me on Facebook!

In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, I love words. They’re sort of my thing, and they’re an important part of the content marketing world. Even if you prefer videos and social media posts to long blog posts, you still need to create the content you’ll share (be it printed or spoken). Whether you’re writing 140-character tweets, 700-word blog posts, or 15-minute videos, you have limited time to make an impact, so make the most of your content!

You don’t have to be a professional writer to clean up your content. Learning how to identify and correct the biggest offenders will make an impact without having to hire a professional. To get started, keep this list handy, as these are some of the most misused words:

Accept/Except
Accept – to receive, agree with, say yes to (We accept your proposal.)
Except (verb) – to leave out or exclude (They excepted us from their invitation list.)
Except (preposition) – other than (I like all social media, except Snapchat.)

Affect/Effect
Affect – to influence or cause something to happen (Our new marketing plan will affect sales.)
Effect – the result or accomplishment (What was the effect of your new marketing plan?)

Complement/Compliment
Complement – something that completes (The new logo complements our rebranding campaign.)
Compliment – flattery or praise (She complimented us on our new website design.)

Council/Counsel
Council – a group/meeting or an advisory group (City council)
Counsel – to advise or consult (We counseled them not to shut down their website.)

Elicit/Illicit
Elicit – to bring forth or draw out (The right colors combinations can elicit deep emotional responses.)
Illicit – not permitted (The website contained illicit photos.)

Than/Then
Than – used in comparisons (That’s easier said than done.)
Then – related to time (We hired the design firm, then launched our new website.)

Their/There/They’re
Their – belonging to them (John is their son.)
There – location (The store is over there.)
They’re – contraction for ‘they are’ (They’re going to hire a new firm.)

Who’s/Whose
Who’s – contraction for ‘who is’ or ‘who has’ (Who’s coming with me? Who’s been using the color printer?)
Whose – showing possession (Whose plans are these?”

Your/You’re
Your – relating to you (Is that your computer?)
You’re – contraction for ‘you are’ (You’re going to love your clean content!)

Go ahead – print this off and tuck it into your desk drawer. The next time you’re writing content, check for these words. Making sure you’re using the right word will add a level of professionalism (and clarity!) that your customers will notice.

Are there any other words that you struggle with? Let me know and I can help you create easy-to-check rules that will help you create cleaner copy!

Would you like to receive tips like these (plus interviews, ideas, and other tricks) right in your inbox? Sign up now for the Write Now Editing newsletter – weekly posts sent right to you, plus the free, 2-page PDF that will show you exactly when (and how often!) you should be sending press releases! Sign up today!