It’s difficult to know how to progress with your business at the moment, especially if the team who take care of your marketing efforts are currently unavailable to you.

That doesn’t mean that your marketing has to come to a grinding halt. Here are some things you can do to keep the fire burning whilst in lockdown.

Do your research

The first stage of any copywriting project is research, research and more research! You need to know what you’re talking about, so if it’s a subject that’s new to you – fact finding is essential. Before you begin writing, take a look at similar copy, recent industry news and a historical background of the subject. ALWAYS be authentic – search engines don’t take kindly to duplicate copy stolen from other websites.

Consider how the copy will help potential customers

It’s completely normal that your first attempts at writing will be a mess. It’s a process of brain dumps, personal thoughts and facts you need to intertwine to create the bigger picture. Be clear exactly how this copy will help your customers; is it product information? If so, keep to the point with absolute clarity. If you’re writing an opinion piece, what do you want your reader to get out of it – are you hoping to persuade them to contact you?

Include some of your own personal knowledge

Allow your personality to shine through. Attempt to write in a way that comes naturally to you, it will make your writing far more interesting. If you have a arsenal of knowledge on the subject you’re writing about, be sure to include that in the copy too. If it’s a factual piece, ensure you can provide evidence if needed – never misinform people for something to say. 

Don’t over complicate it

When we’re experts in a field, we have a tendency to think everyone else is too! Don’t automatically assume a reader understands what you’re saying. Avoid using abbreviations too much and don’t use industry related words that will baffle readers and make them switch off.

Make the title interesting

You don’t want to fall at the first hurdle; make the title of your project interesting and lure the reader in. This falls under the research section, take a look at similar pieces of writing on the topic. Also try searching for related terms in Google to find what people are looking for.

Always proof check!

As essential as research – always proof your work after you’ve finished! You’re looking for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and whether what you’ve written makes sense. Things such as using ten words where five will do and not checking your language settings are key mistakes.

It also helps if you can get someone else to read through for you, they can pick up on anything that might be confusing.

Hopefully these tips will help you on your way to writing professional copy in no time! Stay home and stay safe.