What Does a Digital Copywriter Do?
Digital copywriters develop words that capture the values, concepts, emotions, and purpose of brands across diverse digital channels. Through concise and researched narratives they help consumers make decisions and take actions that fit their identity and preferences.
This article breaks down the importance of digital copy and why it can make sense for your business to hire a professional to write or edit the words that represent your brand.
Writing for your brand takes time. It increases your bandwidth to delegate that task to a copywriter.
Why is Digital Copy Important?
Words matter.
Well-crafted copy can boost sales, improve online visibility and provide a competitive advantage in crowded markets.
Its adaptable across a variety of platforms and ensures a consistent and impactful message reaches your audience — leading to higher returns on investment — which, brass tacks, is why we’re all here.
Writing Headlines that Matter
Headlines are a critical component of any piece of writing, whether it's a blog post, article, social content or email. A snazzy headline will compel readers to continue reading, while a weak headline can cause readers to move on to something else. Here are some tips for developing headlines that grab readers attention:
Use numbers and statistics
Be specific
Ask a question
Use strong adjectives
Use emotional triggers
Your headline is often the first impression readers will have of your content, so it's important to make it is relevant, compelling and/or attention-grabbing.
If it’s for SEO, it can be tough to be snazzy and have a headline that aligns with searched terms. It’s possible and takes research and creativity.
Copywriting for emails, websites and socials starts with research.
Creating Calls-to-Action
A call to action (CTA) is a statement or command that encourages a reader or viewer to take a specific action. Crafting CTA’s that drive conversions involve these key elements:
Create a Sense of Urgency
Use Strong Action Words
Make it Personal
Test and Measure
Know Your Target Audience: Research and identify your audiences driving forces and motivations.
Highlight the Benefits: How it solves a problem, makes their life easier, provides a unique advantage over competitors.
Use Persuasive Language: Vocabulary that motivates will help convince your target audience to take specific action.
Use Social Proof: Include customer testimonials, reviews, or social media posts to show how others have benefited from your product or service.
Optimize for SEO: This will help improve your search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your site.
Keep it Simple and Clear: Use short sentences and paragraphs and avoid using jargon or technical language that might deter your audience.
Creating digital copy is easier with unbiased opinions and outside-the-box creativity.
Digital Copywriting and Research
This is where the rubber meets the road.
Lack of research is the foundation for failed advertising.
Basic research into a brand includes:
Who is the audience?
Why do they need your product or service?
What are the channels your audience uses?
What concepts can we attach?
What’s concept got to do with it?
Got to do with it.
Selling a product or service can be difficult. Selling a concept is less difficult.
For example: I don’t sell marketing services, I sell time. More time for your industry and family. Less time worrying about marketing. Consumers don’t want to buy marketing services — but they do want more time.
Peace-of-mind, convenience, security, well-being, time. Your product or service has surrounding concepts that you can use to attach emotion and functionality.
Research is indispensable when crafting copy because it allows us to understand and capitalize on consumer desire. Thorough research enables digital copywriters to understand their target audience, their preferences, motivations, and dreams. It helps identify unique selling points and allows the creation of copy that resonates with the audience.
When writing digital copy for your brand, it’s best to be simple and intentional.
Is it Bad for Business Owners do Their Own Digital Copywriting?
Not necessarily.
Here’s the issue.
Business owners today have direct access to their marketing.
Meta and Google love this — because you need them. They’ve designed their systems so that you can be seen by your target audience directly and intentionally. It’s great. But here’s the uncomfortable truth — their bottom line is better served if your copy doesn’t convert.
How does this impact business owners?
Unfortunately, Google and Facebook are banking on the marketing inexperience of business owners. It means you’ll continue to run ads through their platform on your dollar, regardless of effectiveness.
How Can a Digital Copywriter Increase Sales and Conversion?
Outside-the-box. Closeness to the business often leads to biases around product and service. An outside perspective can be instrumental in developing an objective story that resonates with your audience.
Research. It is important to find out what competitors are doing and have a basic strategy for advertisements. A little research goes a long way.
Analytics. Improving the strategy through insights and improvements. It is unlikely the first-pass will be a home-run but you can start filling the bases.
Where Can I Hire a Digital Copywriter?
Copy has changed in the digital age. The delivery methods, mediums, audience segmentations, publishers — it’s a long list. However, the core concepts of creating copy remain the same:
Research, testing, improving, eliciting action.
Assess and Improve Your Brands Digital Copy
Digital copywriting services.
Tom Bostrom
Hi, I’m Tom.
I’ve developed copy for major brands and small businesses, including: websites, emails, social posts, articles, videos and out-of-home. I approach projects with curiosity and enthusiasm.
I enjoy helping brands tell authentic stories that drive sales, demand and reach.
How Exactly Can I Help?
Audit: Examine your existing copy and make suggestions on areas to improve.
Develop: Create copy strategies rooted in research and brand identity.
Communicate: Collaborate, report, deliver.
Assess: Test and enhance copy to generate lasting results.
Your brand deserves stories the capture your hard work and unique offerings.
Brands I’ve Work With:
