When we talk about copywriting, we're talking about the marketing messages that you produce to reach your potential clients or customers. Marketing messages might consist of a couple of sentences to describe a wonderful product, or they may be as long as three pages to describe a new service you're introducing.
Regardless of the length, the goal remains the same - write a strong enough message that will inspire your clients or customers to purchase your products or services.
In order to write strong copy, you need a good foundation. The foundation for great marketing messages is three-fold. You must know your niche, you must articulate what you do, and you must show potential clients and customers exactly what you or your products can do for them.
First, know your niche. I believe that one of the strongest things you can do for your business is to define and know your niche. How are you going to write strong messages if you don't know who you're targeting? When you know your niche, you can find out exactly what they need and you can write your marketing messages geared to that.
Choosing a niche, and knowing that niche very intimately will help you create marketing messages that will touch that group, and help you connect with them.
Second, you must be able to articulate what you do. If you're niche doesn't know what you're offering and exactly how you can serve them, you'll never reach them. What is it that you do? Are you a coach? Do you provide software consulting? Do you create handmade toiletries? Are you part of a direct sales company? When someone asks what you do, you must be able to clearly tell them - without hesitation and without fumbling your words or rambling.
Practice answering the question what do you do? Write down your initial answer and then refine it over the next few days. You'll continue to refine this answer as your business grows. The important thing is to create an answer that is clear.
This is also true for your products and services. Every time you develop a new product or service, answer the question "how can this help my niche?" This is the question you will answer when writing your marketing materials, so think about it each time you develop something new.
Your copy does not need to be elaborate. The ultimate goal of your copy is to convert potential customers into buying customers. You will accomplish that goal with concise, simple copy that tells your customers exactly what benefit they will receive from your product or service.
When writing your copy, don't over-think it. The easier to read, the better. Think about what you like and don't like about sales copy. Study other sales letters and marketing pages. See what other writers do, and what appeals to you.
You don't need to study long and hard, or be a gifted writer to create great sales copy. Simply think about your niche, what their needs are, and how your products can help with their needs!