Copywriting: the keys to high-performing copy

Copywriting is a marketing technique that involves writing impactful and persuasive messages aimed at an audience, with the goal of promoting a brand, its products or services, and driving action. In other words, copywriting is the art of writing to sell, to persuade.

This practice is embedded in all the digital touchpoints you encounter daily: online ads, newsletters, landing pages, product pages, articles...

As you've likely gathered, copywriting is a key concept to master, particularly in advertising, to reach your core audience and boost performance metrics such as conversion rate, click-through rate, engagement, and sales.

But how do you produce high-performing content? Here are some best practices!

Create content tailored to your audience and to each stage of the conversion funnel (attract your audience through emotion and empathy, convert prospects by highlighting your competitive advantage and consumer benefit, retain customers with content that makes them feel valued...).
Use the vocabulary your audience actually speaks.
Evoke emotion through storytelling, by including emojis, and by speaking directly to the reader (you/your).
Prioritize the consumer benefit. What will your product or service actually do for them?
Show that your product or service will solve a problem. Play on frustration and offer a solution. (The PAS method: Problem, Agitate, Solve).

There are many techniques and tools for writing impactful copy. But the most important thing when putting these best practices into action is, above all, to put yourself in your persona's shoes. Understand their motivations and barriers, show empathy, and most importantly, listen!

“People don't buy because they understand what you're selling — they buy because they feel heard.”¹

Here are some tools and resources to help you better understand your persona.

Collect verbatim feedback (customer comments and reviews) directly from the comments on your social media posts.
Analyze your competitors' websites and social media (what they highlight, what differentiates you, their customer reviews...)
Browse forums on topics related to your industry to understand what questions your audience is asking (to grasp their barriers and motivations and get content ideas, for instance)
Create surveys and ask your audience directly
Your own data (CRM, databases, online ad KPIs...)

In conclusion, knowing your audience as well as possible lets you communicate more effectively and boost your performance. That's the challenge our consultants work on every day at datashake. So don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like support with your online advertising strategy!

Sources: Salesforce Blog, Danilo Duchesnes Blog, Prestashop Blog, ¹Odïsssée d'entrepreneurs