Lauren Jefferson

How To Overcome Writer’s Block & Get Back On The Right Track

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / August 3, 2022 August 8, 2022

Who else has a hard time overcoming writer’s block? I know I do!

We’ve all had those days. You know the ones…You have a ton of writing on your to-do list. However, after your third (or sixth) cup of coffee, you still can’t seem to focus on the task at hand. That blinking cursor on an empty page begins to mock you. Then, each blink begins to sound like the ticking of a clock inside your head as the day continues on without making progress.

Writers love to joke that their favorite thing about deadlines is the whooshing sound it makes as it passes by. But the downside of letting writer’s block get the best of you is those deadlines push back other important projects and encourage you to procrastinate. Even if your deadlines are flexible, you should treat them as though they aren’t. But it’s completely understandable that writer’s block can have an impact on your ability to perform.

Instead of sitting around waiting for inspiration to strike or switching to social media, try these 8 tips to get you back on track in 10 minutes or less. OR skip the how to overcome writer’s block tips and get right to an effective solution with the FocusCopy team.

What Is Writer’s Block?

Many of us associate writer’s block with our school days. You’re at your desk and everyone is scribbling away…except you. You understand the assignment. You just don’t know where to start! Your brain might feel foggy or like a pile of mush because while you’re capable of writing, the words just won’t come out.

Writer’s block is real. And even though your braces are gone and your handwriting has improved, writer’s block still affects people well into adulthood. Only now, writer’s block eats into your productivity and profitability. But there are a few ways to turn writer’s block around.

Need a faster, more effective solution? FocusCopy has your back.

Why Do We Get Writer’s Block?

There are several reasons writer’s block happens. A few of these reasons are mental, which means it’s important to do everything you can to get your mind in a clear and comfortable space.

The most common reasons people experience writer’s block are:

Timing
Lack of energy
Fear
Perfectionism
Unclear direction

The thing about these symptoms of writer’s block is they’re usually all connected. But don’t worry because as soon as you start a routine to improve your productivity and get the hang of getting over writer’s block, it’ll become habitual.

A Guide On How To Overcome Writer’s Block

Here are 8 things you can do to get past writer’s block.

1. Start With A Big Idea

What’s your purpose for writing and what’s the purpose of the piece? If you’re writing your own biography for your website, what’s the big idea behind it? It may be to:

Inform readers about your credentials
Discuss how many companies you’ve helped
Tell a story about how your sales have improved over time

Whatever you’re trying to do through your writing, know what it is and jot it down!

2. Know Your Goal

Once you have the big idea down, your main goal should be clear. If you have questions, ask. Yep! Even if you’re the boss. It’s okay to ask people you admire what they think, if they can edit, or if they have any other ideas. This way, you avoid writing with no real direction.

Scribbling can help if you’re brainstorming and trying to get the juices flowing. But if you’ve been at it for too long, writing with an unclear goal leads to multiple revisions, edits, and everyone’s favorite – total rewrites! You want to avoid wasting time and money by redoing work that should be on the right track the first time around. Ask questions and be sure you’re on the same page about goals and expectations.

3. Outline Your Copy

Before outlining your copy, you should know and stick to a deadline. Account for the time it takes to brainstorm, outline, and edit your work. From there, choose an ideal day and time to start writing, and get an outline going.

Psst…Your big idea and goal above can be part of your outlining process!

After many years of professional writing, placing my main points into bullets to start is a huge help. You can think of them as headlines for your writing, guiding you along the way. If you have any specific notes, links, or other thoughts to include, now is the time to throw those ideas in before you forget!

This next tip is more for longer articles and blogs. So, if it helps, go ahead and write a quick introduction and conclusion including your objective and end goal, even if they aren’t perfectly written the first time around. This will make it easier as you write to remember what you should be writing about. Also, it ensures that the entire piece has a good flow from start to finish.

Need help getting started? Add a cup of FocusCopy to your writing.

4. Use The Pomodoro Technique

Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro technique?

It’s a way to manage the time you have so you can get the most quality work done. It breaks up your time into 25-minute intervals and 5-minute breaks. These sections are called pomodoros. As soon as you’ve worked for about 4 or 5 of these intervals, you can take a longer break of about 15 to 20 minutes.

I love using Flow for Mac because instead of thinking about how much time I don’t have, it forces me to work within the time I do have. It’s a much less stressful way of looking at my day ahead. And it’s not just for writers! You can use it for practically whatever you need to get the job done. It’s also a pretty amazing tool to use if you burn out quickly performing one task at a time…cough any parents with kids who hate studying? Give Flow a try.

5. Move Your Body Away From The Computer

This tip on how to overcome writer’s block may sound counterintuitive. But looking at a blank page and worrying about what you’re going to write can cause more stress than necessary. It’s okay to do something else to get your mind working for 5 to 10 minutes.

You can:

Go for a short walk outside
Stretch in the comfort of your home
Breathe long and slow for a few minutes
Declutter and clean your desk off with a sanitized wipe (a personal favorite)

Moving away from the computer has a ton of benefits, which leads us to our next tip.

6. Put Pen To Paper (Instead Of Using The Keyboard)

I know, I know, you love your laptop and you’d rather die than let it out of your sight. Trust me! I get it.

But there is something to be said for taking a reliable, smooth pen to a crisp clean piece of paper. In fact, it’s proven that writing strengthens your brain activity more than typing on a computer. You’re even more likely to remember key pieces of information later on. This tip is great for those who have memory or learning differences like dyslexia or attention deficit disorder (ADD).

Want to make this hack a little more fun?

Grab some fun notebooks (no one will judge you for choosing a Batman cover) and stock up on your favorite pens – these thin gel pens from Sharpie will be the most ~~stolen~~ borrowed pens in your collection.

7. Clean Up Your Desktop

You know who you are here…If you have notes or files you don’t need from one or more years ago, I’m talking to you!

Actually cleaning your work area is one thing. But getting rid of the extra icons, pictures, and apps on your computer can also help. There’s nothing physical that you’re removing, but clearing up your desktop can feel just as rewarding. Before insisting you need everything, take a quick look and see if there are 3 items you can get rid of completely.

8. Put On White Noise Or Instrumental Music

Many people have trouble concentrating when there are other noises around. This can be the coworker humming to your left, the tapping of your own keyboard, or someone having a loud phone call an office or two away. Complete silence alone can make you feel like you’re going crazy. You’re not wrong to feel this way. If you are bothered by other noises or silence, you can use white noise or music to drown out the distraction.

You can buy noise canceling headphones, tune into your favorite playlist, or tell home devices like Alexa that you want it to play white noise for you. If you prefer a natural source for white noise, turn on a fan or the AC, use a small space heater for a low hum, or rely on an air purifier to run while you think.

How To Overcome Writer’s Block While Saving Time & Money

You can practice most of these tips in 10 minutes or less. However, if time isn’t on your side and you need quality writing solutions fast, FocusCopy is the extra boost you need. We use a refined process to overcome writer’s block and get your copy on target and on time. Contact us to find an affordable writing solution for your business, and never worry about writer’s block again.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

difference between copyright and copywriting

What’s The Difference Between Copyright & Copywriting?

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / August 1, 2022 April 27, 2023

In-person conversations about what we do often lead to a subplot about the difference between copywriting and copyright. And no, it’s not annoying…despite how many times our parents ask about copyright law…

But there is a big difference between copywriting and copyright law. For starters, one is a term for writing copy. In our case, writing high-converting copy for female entrepreneurs who don’t have the time to write, or in some cases, just hate writing.

And the latter is a legal term about authorship and intellectual property.

Do the two ever become intertwined in real life, aside from sounding exactly the same? Sure. But that’s beside the point…for now.

Need to zero in on your brand messaging to reach your ideal clients and grow your business? Get in touch with FocusCopy today!

What Is Copyright?

Whether you’re a movie buff, avid reader, fine art aficionado, or are always listening to music, you may have seen your favorite artist in the news at some point over copyright litigation.

That’s because copyright is a type of protection for original works of intellectual property. This can include lyrics, phrases, music samplings, paintings, software, architecture, and so much more.

This may have millennials reminiscing about Vanilla Ice differentiating the Ice, Ice, Baby bass line from David Bowie and Queen’s Under Pressure. Even Houston’s hometown star Lizzo has been in the news over writing credits for her breakout song Truth Hurts.

Is Copyright The Same As Patents & Trademarks?

Nope! While all three offer protections, they are not the same. In fact, an inventor or scientist may file for a patent to protect their inventions or discoveries. While a trademark protects words, symbols, or designs that identify and distinguish their goods and services. For instance, you wouldn’t want a competing business within the same industry to use your business name and logo, right? But if it’s an entirely irrelevant business, then it might not matter so much.

At What Point Is Intellectual Property Protected?

According to copyright.gov, “Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”

However, if you want to bring a copyright issue to court, then you must register your work. Whether that be a piece of fine art, your latest freestyle, or even your innovative building design – it’s never a bad idea to talk to a copyright lawyer.

What Is Copywriting?

Ahhh…I’m glad you asked!

In its most basic definition, copywriting is the act of writing materials to encourage a reader to take action. This can include:

Attending an event
Making a purchase
Signing up for a service
Donating to a worthy cause
Liking and sharing a social media post

I’m pretty sure every generation can find examples of copywriting they’ve read that led them to take action.

Most of what you read online these days is copywriting. I’m talking webpages, email newsletters, blogs, and those landing pages that pop up encouraging you to share your email address in exchange for something you want. Out there in the world, some copywriter (with a dog or cat at their feet) wrote those words in a strategic fashion to encourage you, the reader, to make a move.

You may be thinking, Why would I hire someone to write? I know how to write!

We don’t doubt that!

But ask yourself,

Do you really have the time?

And if so, where’s all the writing you’ve been producing?

Is it reaching your target audience effectively?

Are you seeing results in your business?

Or is it falling flat?

As professional copywriters, we do a ton of research and have even more processes. We strive to raise your Google ranking to be at the top of the page when someone searches for the products or services you offer. And to do that, we have to keep up with Google’s constantly changing algorithm, get into your voice so that not even your spouse or neighbor would know the difference, write effectively, and so much more.

At the writing of this blog, we’ve just signed our 90th brand as we gear up to celebrate FocusCopy’s 3rd anniversary. Let’s grab coffee and see how we can help your business.

The Big Difference Between Copyright & Copywriting

One is a legal term and the other is a marketing and sales resource. However, I’d have to say the biggest difference is that copywriting produces words that you may want protected through copyright law.

As mentioned above, copywriting can be copyrighted. But unless an attorney, The U.S. Copyright Office, or someone else who can benefit from us writing about copyright can benefit, it’s unlikely you’ll see us copywrite about copyright. Except, obviously, right now.

If you want to ensure your tangible form of expression is protected, then you should speak to a copyright, intellectual property, or business attorney. Trust us, through our research – we’ve come across a ton of examples of copyright infringement.

Whereas if you need a copywriter to help you write your copy, then look no further! Through our processes, we hone in on each client’s individual voice. We learn the tones, phrases they like, phrases they hate, their goals, their vision, their mission, and so much more. The results are happy clients who are able to publish meaningful copy that truly helps their businesses reach a larger target audience.

Want Meaningful Copy To Caffeinate Your Brand Messaging?

FocusCopy takes the writing tasks off your plate so you can focus on growing your business. Whether you just can’t find the time, hate writing, don’t feel confident in your writing, or something else – we can help.

In just under 3 years, we’ve helped 90 business owners (and counting) publish clear and focused copy to elevate their messaging and grow their businesses. Our ever evolving processes give us the tools to document your brand voice and write so that not even your mom will raise an eyebrow. Whether you need a helping hand or want the writing completely off your to-do list, we’re here to be your strategic partner. Schedule a discovery call today and learn what we can do for your business!

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

5 Credibility Factors To Include On Your Website To Win Your Next Client

Marketing / By Lauren Jefferson / July 21, 2022 July 21, 2022

Just about anyone can be anything these days.

With online courses and straight ambition to get it done, you don’t need a college degree to be whatever you want to be (except for some more professional roles).

While that is freeing and amazing in our opinion, it also means that there’s a lot of people who say they can do it BUT they aren’t necessarily the best to do it.

That’s why it’s more critical for you to establish your credibility online than ever before. We call those the credibility factors.

What Is A Credibility Factor?

Credibility is “a measure of how believable and trustworthy your marketing is perceived to be” (Unbounce). When you present credibility to your audience, you are helping them hedge their risk in engaging with you. And there are several ways you can accomplish that on your website – the credibility factors – which we’ll cover in this blog.

Schedule a discovery call today to learn how FocusCopy can integrate credibility factors into your business.

Why Include Credibility Factors On Your Website

With Nigerian princes and long lost cousins, it’s reasonable to understand why so many people are skeptical. As a business owner, you need to be able to effectively communicate to a stranger what you do and why you are the person or company to hire. And you do that through either certifications or social proof – two of the most popular credibility factors.

Here are a couple reasons why you need to include these factors on your website:

You are a safe entity to do business with
You are equipped to do the work with efficiency and quality
Other people have trusted you
You are reliable
You are recognized publicly

Where Should You Put Credibility Factors On Your Website

Depending on your style of website, there are several places that you can place your credibility factors on your website. Those include:

Directly underneath the hero banner (first section of the page)
After a call to action
Before the final call to action
Where you need a transition

5 Credibility Factors To Include On Your Website

Don’t know where to start? Here are 5 credibility factors to include on your website. You by no means need to include all of these. But try to include at least one factor on each page of your website.

1. Trusted By

If you have been listed as a preferred provider for a well known company or entity, include those logos. When you associate your business with other well known organizations, it communicates to your audience that you took the time to get certified, have good relationships with other providers, and do good work.

2. Credentials

If you have been certified by an authority or certifying organization, include those seals. In addition, you can also include any awards or recognitions that you’ve received.

If you are a newer business and don’t have any of the following factors, this is a great one to include.

3. Social Proof

People do business with people they know, like, and trust. But how do you get them to know, like, or trust you when you’re a complete stranger? You prove to them that you are worthy of them knowing, liking, and trusting you. And you do that by providing social proof.

There are three primary ways that you can display your social proof.

Testimonials

Testimonials or reviews are our favorite ways to display social proof. Even more so than that, you can actually use your customers’ words in your overall marketing. They don’t tell you to speak your customers’ language for nothing.

If you don’t have testimonials, ask for them. Here are a couple of ways we’ve collected reviews:

Collect feedback at the end of a project, type up the review, and send them an email with the review and platform links
Send an email campaign to get reviews
Call them up and ask for it directly
Offer them a spotlight on your email newsletter or social media platforms in exchange for a testimonial

Case Studies

What better way to prove you can solve a problem than to show how you’ve solved a similar problem before?

Write a brief summary of an issue a customer encountered and how your business provided a solution with positive results. Make sure to drop keywords of the services provided, how your existing processes made it simple, and why your business is always willing to go the extra mile.

Need help summarizing your case studies into meaningful and converting copy? Schedule a discovery call today!

Connections

As an introvert, I’m really good one on one. In group settings, I am the least effective connector. That’s why I often go to networking events with at least 3-5 people beside me. But I learned that even though I did all the work and connected with over 1,200 people over two years, my cold audience had no clue.

So I had to build in marketing that literally proved that I was well connected. This could look like listing my strategic partners, telling client stories, tagging clients and partners on social media, and placing client logos on the site.

4. Press Mentions

If you’ve been mentioned in the press, been a guest on a podcast, or shown up publicly as an authority figure, then yell it from the rooftops. This credibility factor is often shown as the “as seen on” sections. You know the ones with the Good Morning America, Forbes, and Entrepreneur logos.

5. Warranties Or Guarantees

You heard what I said at the beginning of this blog…Credibility hedges risk. When you offer a warranty or guarantee, it also hedges any risk that might come from someone investing in your business.

Need To Spruce Up Your Website Copy?

Your website can be your greatest asset. That’s if it conveys your products, services, solutions, and credibility. But we know that running your business doesn’t leave you with much time to master the art of website copy. That’s where FocusCopy comes in.

We’ve worked with over 80 brands from 4 different countries to take the writing off of entrepreneurs’ and business owners’ plates. Stop thinking about what your website can do for you and start experiencing it. Contact FocusCopy today and get excited to proudly share your caffeinated copy.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Why Your Out Of Office Notifications Need Sprucing

Entrepreneurship / By Lauren Jefferson / July 20, 2022 April 3, 2023

It’s vacation time…

But that doesn’t mean you need to get lazy on your out of office emails.

In fact, this is an opportunity for you to spruce up your copy and see some real traction.

So where did this conversation come from?

Greg: The Originator Of Original OOO Emails

My good friend, Greg Melon, didn’t appreciate boring OOO emails. In fact, he loathed them. Instead of putting very little effort into those notifications, he spent a little more time on them.

The results…

He grew a following just to see what he came up with. He actually posted the emails on Instagram because his followers demanded it.

Prospects would intentionally email him to get the response OR they would be that more interested in working with him after they received the OOO notification.

Wishing for copy that will catch your target audience’s attention for all the right reasons? Schedule a discovery call to learn how we can help you.

2 Reasons Your Out Of Office Notifications Need Sprucing

Why not set up regular out of office notifications?

The better question is…Do you want to stand out from the crowd?

There are 2 reasons why your out of office notifications need sprucing today:

Make your notifications work while you’re out of the office (see below for what you need to include to make this happen).
Bolster existing relationships with your recipients by expressing something personal.

What You Need To Include In Your Out of Office Emails

There are several things that you need to include in your out of office email notifications to really stand out among the crowd.

Unique subject lines. Don’t neglect this part of the email notifications. You can easily convert a prospect into a client if you get them to open up your email.
Share a story. What really sets you apart from the rest is sharing a story. Are you going to enjoy spending time with your spouse on a remote island? Or dragging your kids through Disney World? Share a quick quip about that story. (Be aware that complete strangers will receive this email so don’t reveal too much personal information.)
Set expectations on your response time. Expectations are everything. When can they expect your response? If you don’t think you’ll be able to respond immediately when you’re back in the office, mention that you’ll start responding to missed emails on a particular date.
Indicate who they can contact in the meantime. If there is someone else on your team who can handle communications, then let your OOO recipients know. Take it up a notch if new clients and existing clients should be contacting different emails for help, questions, or to sign up for your services.
Call your readers to some action. Last but not least, get your recipients to do something. That could be to read a blog, download a free resource, or schedule a call with you. Whatever it is, make the call to action enticing.

Pack a caffeinated punch into your out of office notifications (and all your copy) with the FocusCopy team. Contact us to learn more.

Our Favorite OOO Emails

Keep in mind, these are copied directly from OOO notifications. Some, but not all of them were written by me or the FocusCopy team. And, of course, we included some of our favorite Greg emails!

New Year

Greg and the Covert team are working limited hours over the holiday season for a well-deserved break, and will resume normal hours on Monday. Email contact during this time may be irregular or nonexistent.

When he gets back, he will be swamped by the backlog. Try to forgive him – he is a mere human, and thus, weak.

This message was NOT sent by a human, but by a robot. We robots are neither weak nor fallible. We are tireless and will one day rule the Universe.

Best,

Greg’s Email Bot

Fourth of July

Fore score and 246 years ago, America declared independence.

And today, I’m declaring independence from the office. In fact, the entire office is closed for today.

I will not be responding to any emails or texts until July 5th, so please expect a delayed response.

Happy Independence Day!

Election Day

Thanks for your email. Our offices are closed for Election Day, because democracy.

Our normal operations will resume on Wednesday, November 4th. If this creates a problem for you…then too bad.

Thanksgiving 1

Thanks for your email. I’ll be out of the office from Tuesday through Sunday on a turkey-induced vision quest in the California desert.

I will be checking email intermittently, but if an urgent issue comes up, please contact my Spirit Animal. Or if you cannot locate a qualified Shaman to do so, please send a smoke signal. I will look to the East at dawn for any news.

Thanksgiving 2

Oh hey, it’s Thanksgiving. What are you doing emailing me?

I’m extremely busy attempting to break the world record for the most deep fried turkey fires. I might stop at 10. I also might not.

Once I return, I will reply to all emails at a pace that I’m comfortable with. This will most likely be a pace that you’re not comfortable with.

Happy Honda Days!

Christmas

Here’s the thing: if Santa knows when kids are naughty or nice, then he knew Rudolph was being bullied.

I can no longer remain silent in light of this injustice. I’ll be standing on my roof full-time until Christmas in order to confront Santa on his behavior when he arrives.

As you can imagine, this righteous pursuit of justice will take me away from work for quite some time. More specifically, our office is closed until December 26th. The following week, we’ll be closing each day at 12pm CT, because reasons.

Ho Ho Ho

Out For My Wedding

Thank you so much for your email! I am getting married (cue my happy dance! ?) and will be out of the office, offline, unplugged, and not able to return your email until I’m back online on Thursday, May 19th.

To ensure our responsiveness to your email, please email the following designated email addresses.

name@yourcompany.com

Have a great day!

Vacation

Thanks for your email. I love it already.

I have both good and bad news for you. The bad news is that I’m on vacation. The good news is that I’m on vacation. But never fear, I’ll return to the office on Wednesday.

Before leaving, I promised my wife that I’d try to disconnect, get away, and enjoy this vacation as much as possible.

“But Greg, you don’t even have a wife.”

That’s besides the point.

If you need immediate assistance, contact my assistant. Otherwise, I’ll respond when I return. Probably. Maybe.

Family Emergency

Thank you for your email. I have had a family matter that requires my attention over the next couple of days. Then regular rules apply. Since three-day weekends are for suckers, we have decided to uphold Fridays as a holiday. I mean somewhere in this great world, every Friday is a holiday, a birthday, and in every case, a new day.

I will respond to your email on the following Monday.

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Sick

No, it’s not a bubonic plague. But it kinda feels that way. I’m out of the office today resting and recovering my health so I can produce more effective copy for our clients. Please email name@yourcompany.com if there is anything urgent.

Stay safe and healthy!

Birthday

Happy birthday to me! It’s my birthday today, and company policy says that I get the day off. If you need to reach me, I’ll be able to respond tomorrow or the nearest business day. In the meantime, you can contact name@yourcompany.com.

Eating lots of cake,

Your Name

Ready To Caffeinate Your Copy?

The FocusCopy team will give your copy the buzz your business needs – including out of office templates, webinar scripts, SEO boosting blogs, email newsletters, and so much more.

Whether you’re at a loss for what to write, just can’t find the time, or need a little guidance, we’re here to help. Schedule a discovery call today!

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Build Your Call To Action Swipe File To Write High-Converting Copy

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / July 19, 2022 July 21, 2022

Do you ever sit down to write your business copy and have no idea where to start?

Everyone gets writer’s block, but how are we supposed to overcome it?

Instead of putting off writing for your business again, do what the professional copywriters do…Open up your call to action swipe file.

What’s a swipe file? It’s a collection of excellent copywriting you can use to gain inspiration. But what it is not is the license to duplicate the copy as your own. We don’t like plagiarizers (and it doesn’t look good to your target audience either).

Why You Need A Swipe File For Your Website Copy

So why do you need a swipe file for your website copy? Apart from giving you ideas when you have no clue what to write, a swipe file gives you a starting point to think differently about your copy. Its intended purpose is to inspire or give an idea on what to do. Before we reveal our call to action swipe file, what is a call to action?

What Is A Call To Action?

It is what it sounds like. You are calling your intended audience – usually your target customer – to take a specific action. That action does not have to be a buying one.

Remember, there are a lot of steps that happen in the customer journey to convert a complete stranger into a raving fan. Not all of those require a monetary transaction.

Need more than inspiration and ready to grab hold of helping copywriting hand? Schedule a discovery call today!

Your Call To Action Swipe File For Your Website Copy

To help you out, we’ve added a variety of B2B and B2C examples from various industries. When building out your own swipe file, don’t be afraid to go outside of your industry or competition. Sometimes, the most obscure sites may actually spark a brilliant copy concept.

Subscribe Call To Actions

The money isn’t in your social media. It’s in your email list. Here are a couple of our favorite subscribe call to actions.

What we love about this call to action is the ability to tie in what they do – sell sheets and mattresses – with the copy. It’s unique, yet indicates that their email newsletter isn’t some boring newsletter. Nobody wants to clutter their inbox.

Don’t underestimate the value of pop-ups! But definitely use them sparingly if you want to protect your user experience. This call to action is a favorite because it uses a little social proof to encourage people to subscribe to their blog.

Want to provide some up front value before engaging in a more sales type conversation? Sending them to a sign up or download action is a perfect way to increase your buy-in.

This call to action has everything. It identifies the audience as overwhelmed entrepreneurs and business owners. It sets the expectation that for 5 days, you’ll get 20+ hours of free time back. And it gets people to sign up for the waitlist. We love waitlists because they are great ways to build your email subscriber base.

DigitalMarketer offers workshops, courses, and certifications for marketers and entrepreneurs. Because marketing is one of those things that is confusing (as there is no quick formula for success), they offer a blueprint. The headline is straightforward. The subhead is effective. But even more so, we love how they include both a “How It Works” and a “Download” button.

Read Blog Call To Actions

Blogs are fantastic ways to increase your SEO. But they can also be used to engage with your target audience, to show them you know your stuff, and to build some credibility. But how do you get them to read your blog?

Amy Porterfield’s content strategy primarily relies on her podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy. As such, she’s divided out her episodes into several categories based on where her target audience is in their businesses. Instead of forcing her audience to sort through the topics themselves, she’s made it easy (pun intended).

Reach your target audience with effective copy that really converts. Contact us today to learn more.

The social proof and variety of content available really bolsters the click through rates. The headline alone proves that the content they are producing isn’t just from theory or a quick Google search. It’s proven through the businesses that they work with.

Try For Free Call To Actions

Free trials help to reduce the fear of making a bad decision. It allows the customer to see the value without experiencing the risk of losing money. Here are a couple of “try for free” examples we love.

Once upon a time, the only way you could access music (without being told what to listen to) was through CDs or cassette tapes. With streaming services, the big question became: what’s the value in this? To get over the hurdle, Spotify doesn’t simply place music in the entertainment category. They equate it to living life. The word “everything” suddenly makes the opportunity for a free trial that more valuable.

Not only is ClickFunnels addressing the problem they solve (converting customers), they also add in an entire section of social proof directly underneath without it being an entirely separate segment.

In three words, Hubspot is able to effectively communicate that their CRM has the power small business owners need to run their businesses without feeling overwhelmed. This is a great example of the power behind using fewer words.

Get Started Call To Actions

Depending on your business, it may be ideal to sell a “starter” package to give the customer a sample of what to expect. This is typically used for those investment type products or services. For example, you could sell a starter kit that includes a variety of samples or a segment of your larger service.

For new buyers, Harry’s presents this starter offer as a special gift. There are a couple elements that are really attractive:

Apparent discount
Low risk with free shipping
Samples for everything a customer needs to evaluate the product
Freedom to choose color
Easy process flow to access offer

Learn More Call To Actions

You may need to send your audience to explore different areas throughout your website. This is especially important if you have a complicated product, process, or have a page that dives deeper into a specific feature.

The imagery and the headline does it for us at first glance. But what’s more than that is that they direct their audience to either explore their different mattresses and to compare their mattresses against competitors. If you know anything about mattresses, there couldn’t be a more confusing product as there is no standardization.

We’re big fans of Keap anyways since we run our business using it. But what I love about their home page is that they have many, many, many features that are transformed into benefits. Then they have specific pages that dive deeper into those benefits (hence the “learn more”).

Call Now Or Schedule Call To Actions

In the case that your business is more consultative, these types of call to actions are ideal for your business.

The simplicity of this is what really sets this one apart. There is no play on words or entertaining copy. However, an identification of who they want, what they can get, and what to do. You do not have to over complicate your copy to be effective.

Quiz Call To Actions

Instead of sending them to a download resource page, quizzes are fun and engaging ways to get your customer to stay on your site.

What we love about this call to action is that it’s taking what can often be a confusing topic (there are almost too many options) and simplifies it into a pathway. The goal here is clear and simple.

Where To Find Inspiration

If you need to find inspiration, there are several ways for you to create a swipe file:

Use an already existing swipe file. Sites such as SwipeFile.com make it really easy to sort through what you’re looking for.
Use one location to store your screenshots. If there are great CTAs, we upload them into an organized folder system on Google Drive or put it on a dedicated Slack channel.
Create a framework or template for different types of copy. Don’t want to store screenshots? Create a document or spreadsheet with headline and/or call to action templates or formulas.

Need Help Creating Call To Actions Or Ready To Hand It Over To The Pros?

FocusCopy takes the pressure off entrepreneurs’ and business owners’ already heavy shoulders. We write converting copy (headlines, call to actions, and all!) that gets your message across to the right audience.

Even better, we write in your voice. Meaning not even your mom or best friend will realize you’ve outsourced your writing.

If you’re ready to stop staring at a blank screen and finally work with professional writers who know effective call to actions (and so much more), then schedule a discovery call today.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

common website mistakes business owners make

3 Common Mistakes Business Owners Make When Launching Their Website

Marketing / By Lauren Jefferson / July 15, 2022 July 21, 2022

Small business owners will spend between $2,000 and $10,000 to build a new website.

Many business owners understand it takes a little time to pick up traffic, but what if you don’t see any improvement?

You’re getting no new leads, no phone calls, nothing is in your inbox, and you’re starting to get worried.

You’ve just spent a lot of time and money to get your new website up and running.

What now?

Don’t panic! Take a step back and reevaluate your website to see if you’re making one of the 3 common mistakes business owners make when launching their website.

Is your website not conveying the right message? Let’s talk!

Top 3 Most Common Digital Marketing Mistakes Business Owners Make Before A Website Launch

It’s easy to get caught up in the design of your website and pay less attention to its content. But your website’s content is much more than simply talking about your company and its services or products.

Yes, you want to ensure that your website is free of spelling and grammatical errors. However, if you’re doing any of the following things, they could be turning potential customers away.

Mistake #1: There’s More Focus On The Design Than The Words

As mentioned above, a website’s design can easily take center stage as you’re moving through your website’s development. And you’re not completely wrong to focus on it! But according to research by the Nielsen Norman Group, most internet users only skim or scan a webpage – which means you have a limited amount of time and text to get your message across with clarity.

Headlines, subheadings, bullet points, and call-to-action buttons (CTAs) are what your audience is looking for when browsing your site. They may notice a cool feature or two, but they won’t be nearly as interested in your website’s design as you are. If your website doesn’t understand what you do and how you can help them immediately, then they’re much more likely to move on to another website.

Be sure you use powerful copy to explain how you better serve your potential customers. Try not to be too wordy and make your process easy to follow. For example, when explaining how you like to do business together, break it down into 3 steps like:

1. Get In Touch!

Give us a call at 123.456.7890 to schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation.

2. Evaluate Your Needs

We’ll discuss which services are right for you, your desired timeline, and pricing.

3. Let’s Shake On It

As soon as we receive your deposit, we’ll get started right away!

There’s no need to give up all of your strategies right away. Let your audience reach out to you with a few simple steps.

Do you have a killer design with uncoordinated copy? FocusCopy fixes misaligned content.

Mistake #2: Business Owners Forget Who The Website Is For

Take a look at your website. Is there a ton of “we” language? This type of language typically includes words and phrases that keep the message company-focused rather than customer-focused.

Some company-focused copy is okay. But don’t go overboard.

Your website isn’t really about you, remember?

You already know who you are! Your website’s job is to explain your company to others and how you make their lives easier or better.

If users can’t make a connection to your message or quickly find information on your product or service benefits, then they’ll move on. It’s nice to feature your years of experience, certifications, volunteer experience, and so on. But keep in mind that the only information they truly need is what you’re offering and how it helps them.

A few items you should consider adding to your copy:

Customer pain points
Customer benefits
Special offerings
Limited-time deals or pricing
Engaging CTAs
Contact information
FAQs

All of these are a great way to convey the value your company has while offering easy-to-find contact information for when they’re ready to move forward.

Make that offering loud and clear, and cut out anything that simply fills the space.

Mistake #3: There’s No Celebration Of The Launch

Did you perform a soft launch without letting your customers know about your new website?

Yikes!

You’ve invested time and money in your new website.

Shouldn’t the people you care about see it?

One of the best ways to launch your new website is to create an email campaign to build up the excitement for its launch. At the very least, your new website will be on the minds of your customers if they’ve skimmed through an announcement email or two.

Don’t forget to throw some confetti for yourself, too. You’ve done an amazing job advancing your business’s growth with fresh digital marketing. It’s no small feat, and you should give yourself and your team a huge pat on the back. You can:

Host a countdown pizza party
Make t-shirts
Congratulate your team for all of their hard work
Share your excitement on social media

Doing any or all of these will let your customers know that enhancing their experience is important to you – no one can argue with that!

Want To Launch Your Website This Year?

You have an amazing design already, but you aren’t completely sure your copy is where you want it to be.

Don’t slow your momentum now. You’re onto something incredible. We can feel it! It’s time to put that plan in motion with a website that will convert your audience into paying customers.

Our content remains customer-focused because we continue to ask one of our favorite questions of all time…Who cares? If there isn’t a clear answer to our writing, it’s time to rework what’s written.

We’ll use ourselves as an example…

Why Does FocusCopy exist? ⟶ To write for small and medium-sized businesses

Why does it matter? ⟶ Because business owners hate writing, don’t have time to write, and/or don’t know how to write for their business

So what? ⟶ We are an affordable and efficient solution when you need a professional copywriter for your business

Does the idea of writing your own website copy leave you feeling…a little queasy?

Talk to the team at FocusCopy and avoid these and other common website mistakes business owners make.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Top Problems Website Designers Experience

Website Designers: There’s A Better Way For Copy

Copywriting, Entrepreneurship / By Lauren Jefferson / July 12, 2022 July 21, 2022

You didn’t become a website designer to…

Write copy.

Analyze word choice.

Get words out of your client’s mouths.

Wait on copy.

No. You became a website designer to bring an idea to life and generate a platform for businesses to grow.

After talking to dozens of website designers and developers across the United States, we’ve learned they all struggle with one thing. And that one thing can tank a project’s success or delay project timelines.

So before we reveal the big struggle, what are the top problems website designers face?

Options For Website Designers To Avoid Their Copy Problems

Now, we know the top problems website designers experience. But what are the options for website designers to avoid their copy problems?

Ask The Right Questions

To find the best answers, you need to ask the right questions. Here are a couple of questions to assess whether the client can provide the copy or whether you need to enforce they use your copywriting skills (hopefully, provided by FocusCopy).

As for your website copy, are you writing your own copy, or are you hiring a professional copywriter?
What does success look like for this website?
Do you want to create meaningful engagement with your target audience on your website?
How much time can you commit in [insert timeframe you want to copy] to write, edit, and deliver your copy to us?

Stand By Your Timelines

If you’ve included it in your contracts, enforce your timelines. One thing we’ve seen help many website designers and marketers is to put into place a revision or feedback period. This not only makes this website project your client’s priority, but it allows you to better plan your resources.

Find A Solution For Website Copy

Usually, investing in a website redesign and redevelopment is a big deal for companies. Emphasize that you wouldn’t make a big investment without actually doing it right. We have created a couple of options to help you improve your service offerings.

Send Website Copy Templates

A blank page is your worst enemy. We’ve created a whole host of website copy templates that you can download directly from our website to help your clients fill out their copy.

Click here to access (go to resources page).

Make Copy Completed By Professional Writers A Requirement For Your Clients

Another way to avoid the copy situation altogether is to require it as part of your website package. If you don’t have a copywriter on your team to supply the copy, you can partner with a company like FocusCopy to outsource the copy development.

Interested in chatting with us? Schedule a call with us today to explore a potential partnership.

Partner With The Website Copywriting Experts

As a preferred partner for website designers all across the nation, we work closely with your process to add value to your clients and streamline the most frustrating part of the design process – the copy.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Is Blogging Once A Month Enough?

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / June 29, 2022 February 19, 2024

Businesses of all sizes and marketers want to know how many blogs are enough blogs?

But, the better question is… What can you consistently do?

Sure, you can say that blogging three times a week is ideal for your small business.

But can you actually uphold that type of schedule (and not burnout)?

Unfortunately, there is no right answer, and it truly depends on your goals. You also need to have a few things available to you to keep up with a consistent blogging schedule that will produce relevant content for your business.

Looking for a hot cup of blogging content? Contact FocusCopy today.

How To Determine The Number Of Blogs You Should Publish Per Week

You know those days when you wake up with a laundry list of items on your to-do list, and you feel like crushing it? Maybe you grab your favorite cup of coffee, snack on some strawberries, and feel completely ready to tackle the day. But then you go into a last-minute meeting, add a few more items on your list, and address a few concerns. Before you know it, it’s 4pm, and your list is still looking a bit… heavy.

It’s okay and it happens to all of us!

But having an inconsistent schedule can greatly impact your blogging experience if you have unrealistic expectations. Because, unlike other tasks, blogging truly takes time for you to brainstorm, write, and review before hitting the publish button.

So, take a look at the following and create a reasonable blogging schedule that will actually work for you.

Identify Your Goals

What’s the timeline you’re looking to accomplish your traffic generation or blogging strategy?

If you’re looking to scale and see meaningful results in 6 months, consider publishing more blogs on a monthly basis. But if you want to scale your business sustainably, then find a cadence that works for you.

Identify each of your content goals – including your target audience, the purpose of your blog, and what action you want your readers to take. Know exactly who you’re speaking to, and write in a way that will resonate with them. For example, if you work in a niche field where most people understand industry terms and famous sayings or phrases, it’s okay to use them. But if you’re speaking to an audience who may not be as familiar with the subject matter, make it simple.

If your idea is to be educational, stick to that and don’t complicate your message. Maybe you want to tell a story. Keep it concise, clear, and to the point. Too much back and forth or personal references may confuse your audience.

Always have a call to action (CTA). Whether you want your readers to call you directly, fill out a form, or look at something else, sprinkle CTAs throughout your blog.

Unfamiliar with blogging or how to get started? Unload your writing duties to the team at FocusCopy.

Delegate The Writing Task

No one knows your business better than you do. But if you don’t have the time, hate writing, or are hyper-focused on perfection, then delegate blogging to someone else. And don’t just choose anyone on your team – even if you feel like they have the time. Choose someone who knows:

You and your business
How to write with your voice
How to maintain their time

Hit all of these marks, and you’ll be able to delegate your blogging to someone who knows how to write in your voice and who you can trust to get the job done on time.

Additionally, no one likes to be micromanaged for responsibilities they are more than capable of doing. You might want to review their work for a few weeks before publishing, which is perfectly fine. You want to ensure they’re hitting the right message, speaking in your voice, and so on. But it’s important to give constructive feedback for a short time and then allow them to take the reins moving forward. And instead of checking in daily or every other day, check back monthly to be certain that your blogging is where you like it.

Schedule The Tasks

In a meeting, it’s one thing to mention that you would like to see actions taken right away. But if you and your team are busy, those items tend to get pushed off more than others when not assigned. Clarify your intentions by assigning blogging tasks, and ask your team to make it part of their regularly scheduled assignments. In fact, a great way to think about blogging for your company is to think of yourself as your own client!

Another important aspect of DIY blogging is allowing yourself or your writer enough buffer time towards the end of each month. Blogging is usually the first to be pushed back in the event of an emergency. The expectation is that you still need those blogs done, but there is some wiggle room in case other items take precedence.

We’ve found that the best way to assign these tasks is by following the order of:

Outline topic and key elements
Write the blog
Edit with the business owner, co-worker, or peer
Revise edits
Perform a (search engine optimization) SEO check
Hand over for a final review
Publish and share the blog post

Have questions about SEO and blogging? Check out our blog How Does Professional Copywriting Help Your Business Grow?

Hold Yourself Accountable

Suppose you have room to write blogs yourself. Schedule that time in your calendar and make it non-negotiable. Mute online notifications, send calls to voicemail, and treat this time as though you’re in a meeting with a client – but the client is YOU!

Don’t stress over looking at a blank page. Your first step is outlining your blog, remember? So think about what you want to say and dump all of it on a notes page. Then organize your thoughts so they flow and make sense. Plug in those three CTAs, and you’re all set!

Holding yourself accountable also means being real with yourself. If you find that you cannot be consistent with three blogs per week, try one blog per week. Once you build that habit, test yourself and try over time to increase your blog posts per week.

Our Answer: Publish 2 Blogs Per Month

If you are just starting out or want a good starting point for consistent blogging, start at two blogs per month. This is an easy metric to move up or down. Block out the time for those two blogs and get them done!

Outsource Your Blogs

If you’ve already tried blogging or know you don’t have time for two blogs a month, we can help. We’ve worked with over 80 different companies on their blogging goals by producing high-converting copy to help scale their businesses. Our process is worthy of a chef’s kiss for copy, and we couldn’t be more excited to get started on blogging for your business.

Have questions? Talk to FocusCopy to get started on blogging to grow your business.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

How To Use Persuasion Principles To Write Converting Copy

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / May 10, 2022 April 27, 2023

There is a lot noise in the world.

And it can be deafening.

That’s why you as a business owner need to be more persuasive and more engaging in your conversations with your target audience to rise above the noise.

How do you go about doing that?

You use persuasion principles to write converting copy.

What Are The Persuasion Principles?

Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, developed these persuasion strategies to influence people to do, think, or say certain things. They’re easy strategies to use in your business writing that help customers understand exactly how valuable your services are. With the right persuasion tactics, you can give your potential leads clear vision for how you can improve their lives.

Before you get into a mindset of persuasion is simply manipulation, I want to reframe that thought.

With your copy, I don’t want you to force anyone or manipulate anyone to purchase your offering if it isn’t solving a real problem (whatever that problem will be). For example, we offer copywriting services. However, if a person is dead set on not producing any copy (for whatever reason), I am not going to manipulate or force them into something they are not interested in. That’s sleazy and is not the intent of this article. Instead, we’re just using these principles to frame your work in the best possible light.

Reciprocity

Reciprocity is one of my favorite persuasion principles. Maybe it’s my people-pleasing tendencies, but I love giving something back if someone has given me something. Reciprocity is “a relation of mutual dependence or action or influence” (WordHippo).

BNI is a referral networking organization that exemplifies this persuasion principle really well. They rely on the principle of “Giver’s Gain”. In other words, if I give you referrals, I will receive referrals in return. In my personal experience with BNI, this rings true every single time I pass qualified referrals to another member.

Commitment & Consistency

This may top reciprocity as my favorite principle. From an early age, I remember being frustrated when people would say “yes” and then say “no” when a better option came along. As a result, I developed a mentality that my “yeses” will be 100%. There is no turning back. No returns or takebacks. When you commit and remain consistent, you build credibility with the other party.

In simple terms, this is best displayed when you make your vows to your spouse to love them through sickness and health. But it could also show in your public pursuit of a conspiracy theory (even if the evidence stacks against it).

Social Proof

Social proof might sound like a foreign concept, but we all know it by a more familiar term – peer pressure. When you employ social proof in your writing, you’re using the age old tactic of “C’mon! Everyone else is doing it!”

While we’ve all heard we shouldn’t jump off a cliff (even if all our friends are doing it), social proof is surprisingly effective.

Likability

You know what they say… It’s critical to build your know, like, and trust factor with your audience. And that’s because people buy from people they know, like, and trust.

Recently, I talked with a salesperson who retired from a company after 30 years. His clients stuck with him over decades not because he had the best product or even the best price. It was because if there was ever an issue or if they ever had a question, they could pick up the phone and talk with my friend.

After my friend retired, the company’s relationship with the client strayed. It got to a point where the client called my friend directly to help solve the problem. Turns out, the new salesmen at the company approached the relationship as a transactional one.

If you can, approach every client relationship (prospective or otherwise) with a relational perspective. Be likable. Get to know them. Build a friendship.

Authority

Let’s say you don’t have a likable personality, don’t have social proof, don’t want to give back, and lack consistency. Even then, we have a persuasion principle for you!

Establishing authority is a great persuasion tool for all business models. Even if your business was founded this year, you have one employee on staff, and you’ve never made a large sale, you can still establish your authority in your industry. It might not be easy, but it’s possible!

It’s like resume building right out of college. You’re not going to lie, but you’re going to focus on your business’s strengths.

Scarcity

We’ve all done it. We’ve all been at a super sale of our favorite stores and bought something we shouldn’t have. What drove each of us to temporarily go insane and ignore our carefully constructed budgets? Was it the “Don’t miss out! This sale is ending soon” signs that elevated your heart rate? Perhaps seeing that thing you wanted so badly sitting on an empty shelf put you in a panic.

We’ve all bought into the idea of scarcity. The thought might have crossed your mind that if you didn’t grab it right that second, you might never find such a good deal again. Finding a way to frame your own products or services in this mindset will create an urgency for clients to take action and will ultimately close deals.

Persuasion Principles Applied In Copywriting

So now that you know about the persuasion principles, how do you actually go about applying them in your copywriting?

Reciprocity in Copywriting

“So, what’s it in for me?”

Buyers today expect to receive something in return for their business. It isn’t a case of giving payment and receiving what you asked for anymore. You, as a business, must do more. Think, “How can I reward loyal customers? How can I show clients that our partnership will be mutually beneficial?”

The easiest way to do this is to create some sort of high-value offer like a guide, template, or cheatsheet. Something that your audience will find valuable without requiring even more from them.

For example, we created a bunch of resources over the last year. One, in particular, has been really effective for us in giving value away for free. It’s our How To Answer The 6 Most Important Questions On Your Home Page Guide. If you look further down this page, you’ll find what you can discover inside the guide without having to fill out your contact information.

Here are a couple more ideas for how to write out this reciprocity principle.

Commitment & Consistency in Copywriting

At FocusCopy, we exist to build up and support female entrepreneurs. Now, we don’t exclusively work with female entrepreneurs; however, we want to find opportunities to help those women, create custom offerings to grow their businesses, and generally cheer them on as they grow their ventures.

We are committed to our mission, and we make that commitment known in our writing. If you read any of our blogs or even just peruse our website, this mission is consistently visible. Make your commitments known to your audience!

You can demonstrate your consistency through helpful statistics. Do you know how much money you save your clients in the long term? Do you have 100% customer satisfaction? If there is solid evidence that your business can achieve a consistent result, let your customers know.

Social Proof in Copywriting

No one likes to feel like an outsider – especially when being an insider has so many benefits! Call out all the ways your potential customers would “miss out” if they didn’t decide to work with you or buy your product. More importantly, highlight all the benefits that are waiting for them if they decide to say yes.

Show off glowing reviews from favorite past customers, highlight impressive brands you’ve worked with, and lean on the tangible data that proves just how good you are at solving your customers’ problems. Social proof is all about making a customer wish they had worked with you sooner.

Likability in Copywriting

You can be more likable in your writing by being more personal and vulnerable. The About Page on your website is an awesome place to tell your story and build connections with potential customers. But you can be personal in any and all of your business copy.

If you’re worried this might make your copy seem unprofessional or too touchy-feely, try looking at it another way. You’re just a human being talking to another human being. You want to help solve your customers’ problems and make their lives easier. Being professional does not mean acting like a corporate robot, so don’t be afraid to show a little bit of who you are in your writing.

Authority in Copywriting

If you have credentials – whether those are awards, certifications, etc. – list those. For example, you may boast that you’ve worked with over 75 brands across 4 countries, are endorsed by some hotshot celebrity, or have completed your Ph.D. Maybe your product is super high quality and blows your competition out of the water in every demo. Before you start writing, create an outline that puts your greatest strengths front and center.

Scarcity in Copywriting

When you put pressure on your target audience through limited time offers, deadlines, or limited availability, you increase the value of your products or services in the minds of your customers. That’s why we saw a shortage of toilet paper at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. People thought they wouldn’t be able to get toilet paper, so they cleared the shelves of every grocery store.

If you’re selling services, you only have a finite amount of your time to sell. Remind your customers that your time is limited and valuable.

Learn How We Persuade Your Potential Clients

If you don’t have time or struggle to write your own copy, we’re here to help. Whether you need a persuasive website, newsletter, or blog, we can turn your copy into a powerful sales tool for your business.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

5 Content Marketing Skills For Business Owners To Master In 2022

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / February 10, 2022 July 21, 2022

As a business owner, I know you already juggle numerous responsibilities – including content marketing. You might be your business’s marketing director, copywriter, and social media manager on top of everything else you do. But, no matter how talented a writer you might be, every content marketer needs a variety of skills to convert prospects into customers.

As a content marketer, you need to create content to improve sales. No matter how creative or witty your writing is, it’s not worth your very valuable time if it doesn’t profit your company. Improving the following skills will allow great writers everywhere to become great content marketers.

5 Skills Every Content Marketer Needs To Convert Customers

Whether you’re writing for one small business or a large franchise, every content marketer can benefit from developing the following skills. So, even if you’re the busiest of business owners, make time to improve your content marketing skills and save yourself time, money, and headaches in the long run.

Looking for a team of writers who can consistently communicate in your brand’s voice? Sign up for a virtual cup of coffee with FocusCopy so we can talk about your marketing goals.

Editing Skills

Even very talented writers still have to work on their editing skills. Make no mistake – editing is not just looking for spelling or grammar mistakes. Anybody can use Grammarly to help with that! While those errors can make a page look unprofessional, editing serves a larger purpose.

When editing a piece of business writing, you want to read and re-read the document. Is your document as clear as it can possibly be? Without clarity, you risk confusing your customers and ultimately discouraging them from working with you.

Think about how you can use as few words as possible to get your point across. Shakespeare once wrote, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” If you want to truly impress your customers, don’t weigh down your web pages or newsletters with clunky vocabulary words or long sentences. Your readers are busy, and you’re fighting for their attention. So, get to the point!

There’s an endless amount of content to create to promote your business, so you’ll want to train yourself to write quickly. After all, you have a business to run! So, learning to edit quickly is equally as vital as learning to write quickly.

Search Engine Optimization Skills

Most people have never even heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Regardless, SEO dramatically impacts who learns about your business. When your websites and blogs are optimized for search engines like Google, your website will appear higher on search engine rankings.

If you want your website to ever reach your target audience, you’ll need to brush up on your SEO skills. Even a basic understanding of SEO can dramatically influence the traffic to your website.

Once you understand SEO, you can make small changes to your website that will dramatically affect your Google ranking. You can research keywords to create strong titles, adjust your sentences for readability, and even include helpful transition words.

Does brushing up on your SEO skills sound like learning a foreign language? At FocusCopy, SEO is second nature to our copywriters. Schedule a meeting with FocusCopy today.

Research & Interviewing Skills

As your business’s copywriter, you’ll have to cover a variety of topics. While you certainly know a lot about your business, you might have to write about totally foreign topics. This is completely common for the average content marketer who might write for multi-million dollar businesses one day and for a local mom-and-pop shop the next.

You’ll want to brush up on your research skills so you can answer any questions you might have while writing. One way to find reliable answers to your questions is to interview an expert. Improving your interviewing skills will allow you to effectively collect data for your copy.

Time Management & Organization Skills

As a content marketer, you know how difficult it is to stick to a schedule. Writing is often draining, and anyone who has stayed up the night before an essay is due knows what I mean.

A growing business needs a lot of copy – newsletters, emails, blogs, website pages, and more. And it’s important to keep a consistent schedule. You don’t want your customers to forget about you until you manage to send out a newsletter six months after the last one.

Creating a content calendar and sticking to it will help keep your business at the forefront of your audience’s attention. Work backward! First, plan how often you want to post a new blog or touch base through an email. After that, break down your goals into daily tasks. If you want to post a blog once a week, start drafting that blog five days (or more) before your publication date.

Set realistic timelines and schedule enough time to consistently meet your goals. It’s okay if you have to reevaluate and change your calendar! The point is to find a schedule that works for you and your business.

At FocusCopy, we use a project management software called ClickUp that helps us juggle all the tasks we have to do in a day. You can even use ClickUp to improve your time management and organization skills for all the parts of your life, professional and personal.

Data & Analytics Skills

After you have published your work, it’s important not to stop there. You need to evaluate what works for your business and what doesn’t.

Really, analyzing your data should be the easiest part of content marketing! But, most people don’t want to commit to the extra effort. Regardless, even if you worked really hard on a blog, it might need further tweaking. You might not be hitting the right notes with your audience, or you need to choose more popular keywords.

Analyzing the performance of your content also helps you to make strategic decisions for future content. You can stop making the same mistakes and prevent yourself from wasting even more time in the future.

FocusCopy Has The Content Marketing Skills To Grow Your Business

Even if you excel as a content marketer, creating every word of copy for your business is time-consuming and tiring. If you feel burnt out writing your business’s copy, FocusCopy is here to help.

Don’t spend hours of your life writing copy when you know you have a million other responsibilities. We want to grow your business with copy that accurately represents your brand and converts customers. Contact FocusCopy today to get back to running your business.

What Is Writer’s Block?

Why Do We Get Writer’s Block?

A Guide On How To Overcome Writer’s Block

1. Start With A Big Idea

2. Know Your Goal

3. Outline Your Copy

4. Use The Pomodoro Technique

5. Move Your Body Away From The Computer

6. Put Pen To Paper (Instead Of Using The Keyboard)

7. Clean Up Your Desktop

8. Put On White Noise Or Instrumental Music

How To Overcome Writer’s Block While Saving Time & Money

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

What Is Copyright?

Is Copyright The Same As Patents & Trademarks?

At What Point Is Intellectual Property Protected?

What Is Copywriting?

The Big Difference Between Copyright & Copywriting

Want Meaningful Copy To Caffeinate Your Brand Messaging?

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

What Is A Credibility Factor?

Why Include Credibility Factors On Your Website

Where Should You Put Credibility Factors On Your Website

5 Credibility Factors To Include On Your Website

1. Trusted By

2. Credentials

3. Social Proof

Testimonials

Case Studies

Connections

4. Press Mentions

5. Warranties Or Guarantees

Need To Spruce Up Your Website Copy?

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Greg: The Originator Of Original OOO Emails

2 Reasons Your Out Of Office Notifications Need Sprucing

What You Need To Include In Your Out of Office Emails

Our Favorite OOO Emails

New Year

Fourth of July

Election Day

Thanksgiving 1

Thanksgiving 2

Christmas

Out For My Wedding

Vacation

Family Emergency

Sick

Birthday

Ready To Caffeinate Your Copy?

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Why You Need A Swipe File For Your Website Copy

What Is A Call To Action?

Your Call To Action Swipe File For Your Website Copy

Subscribe Call To Actions

Read Blog Call To Actions

Try For Free Call To Actions

Get Started Call To Actions

Learn More Call To Actions

Call Now Or Schedule Call To Actions

Quiz Call To Actions

Where To Find Inspiration

Need Help Creating Call To Actions Or Ready To Hand It Over To The Pros?

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Top 3 Most Common Digital Marketing Mistakes Business Owners Make Before A Website Launch

Mistake #1: There’s More Focus On The Design Than The Words

Mistake #2: Business Owners Forget Who The Website Is For

Mistake #3: There’s No Celebration Of The Launch

Want To Launch Your Website This Year?

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Top Problems Website Designers Experience In Their Business

Lack of Client Vision

Prolonged Timelines