Step by Step Copywriting: 5 Replicable Tips for Success

Are you looking for a step by step copywriting process that you can use and replicate?

Copywriting is one of the most valuable skills you’ll learn for your business. Once you can sell products with just your words, you’ll never go hungry again.

The only problem? Copywriting can take years to master, and you can only get good at it through practice and repetition.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to make your copywriting better INSTANTLY.

So, today, we’ll look at 5 tips in this step by step copywriting guide. Let’s dive in!

Step by Step Copywriting: 5 Tips

Before diving in, let’s get clear on the difference between what we’re covering in this guide (a step by step copywriting plan) and what you’ll see in lots of other places: copywriting formulas.

While copywriting formulas can be a BIG time saver, they aren’t the place to start.

That’s because you need to understand a few other things before any of these formulas will actually work.

With that in mind, let’s look at our quick and easy 5 step copywriting process.

1) Research (& Understand) Your Target Audience

A big mistake that many marketers make is trying to sell their products or service to everyone.

This can be a HUGE waste of time and resources, as well as lead you down the road of failure.

Instead, what you need to do is research your audience. You’ll want to know their biggest pain points and how they’re currently solving them.

You’ll also want to know how much they’re willing to pay for a solution, and what features are most important in the solutions you offer (and which ones you can skimp on).

Finally, you’ll need to understand what kind of language your audience uses.

Don’t worry, this isn’t as hard as it sounds.

You can find out how your users are talking about your products (or your competitors’ products) by looking at reviews online.

Remember, read reviews that are between 2 – 4 stars.

Why? Because 1-star reviews are too negatively biased, and 5-star reviews are often too positively biased.

Build a spreadsheet with common words or descriptions that real customers are using. That way, you can more effectively embed this language into your copy.

2) Determine the Type of Copywriting You Need

There are many different types of copywriting, and you’ll need to use the right one in order to get your desired outcome.

That’s because you’ll approach copywriting differently depending on what type of content you’re creating, such as:

• Paid ads
• Emails
• Long-form landing pages
• Optin forms (popups, floating bars, etc.)
• Blog posts (which CAN be considered copy when you do it right)
• And so on…

You’ll also want to get clear on what stage of the sales funnel this piece of copy will be used with.

For example, if you’re trying to build awareness for a brand or product using headlines alone (without supporting content), then you should be using what’s known as “attention-grabbing” copywriting.

This type of copywriting is meant to draw attention through curiosity and promises, but it’s not always the best approach for converting prospects into paying customers (though it could be good to collect emails).

Conversely, if you’re trying to increase conversions on your site or have already built a steady amount of traffic, then “conversion-focused” copywriting is the best option.

This type of content focuses on the benefits and features of your products, along with a clear call to action (CTA) at the end.

The point is that you need to determine these 2 things before moving forward:

• What type of content are you writing copy for?
• Where does this copywriting fit into your sales funnel?

Once you’ve answered that, you’ll be ready for the next step.

3) Find a Template, Formula, or Proven Model to

This next copywriting tip isn’t controversial, but some new copywriters try to avoid it: you shouldn’t be writing your copy from a blank page… ever.

You’ll definitely modify and customize your copy for your audience (in the next step), but the first thing you need to do is find a piece of copy that already exists or a formula to help you write original copy FASTER.

A couple of examples include:

a) Headlines – You can find successful headlines by looking at what’s already working for your competitors. All you have to do is Google “[competitor name] + reviews” or “headline generator.”

b) Content titles – Many marketers use headline generators, but there are also tools that let you take a “seed” word and generate a list of relevant content titles that fit into your niche.

c) Email subject lines – Look at the most popular email newsletters to see what types of wording they’re using for their subject lines. Analyze them, change around some words, and you’ll have a winning formula in no time!

d) Optin copy – This is the copy you put on your optin forms (to get people to sign up for your email list). Pick one that’s working really well and make it fit YOUR business.

The goal here isn’t to plagiarize, but rather to find a model or template so that you can create original content without having to struggle through writer’s block every time.

4) Modify the Copy to YOUR Audience

Now that you’ve got some copy to work with, it’s time to modify and customize the content for your audience.

You can do this in a few ways:

a) Use your customer research from earlier – One of the best things about writing long-form content is getting into your customers’ heads. You’ll want to look over any customer research you have, remove the names of your competitors and replace them with yours.

b) Use data from Google Analytics or SEO tools – If you’re not doing this already, then start immediately. You’ll be able to see what people are searching for in relation to your niche (and even find new keywords). Use these terms or phrases when creating titles or headlines.

c) Ask your audience – You can do this in a variety of ways, but the easiest is just to ask them! Create an “ask” survey that asks people what their biggest challenge or problem with [X] topic is, and then use that as content fodder (especially if you have A LOT of responses). That’s free market research for you!

d) Read customer reviews – This will show you EXACTLY what your customers are looking for and how other companies in the industry have solved their problems. It can be a great place to add keywords, but also key quotes or testimonials that help build trust with prospects.

e) Use social media – If you’re an active member on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook groups, etc… then you can glean a lot of information from the questions people post and what they’re looking for.

What you’re trying to do is take a piece of copywriting that you’ve seen in practice and modify it for the language and offers that best connect with your audience.

5) Track, Test, & Tweak the Results

Ok, so you’ve written some great copy that resonates with your audience… but how do you know if it’s working?

The first thing is to track where the traffic and sales are coming from. If people found out about your product through a certain link or blog post then make sure those links all go back to one page on your site.

You can also test the copy to see if it’s converting better or worse than before. And then continue experimenting based on those results.

For example, let’s say you have two different headlines of blog posts that are getting a lot of traffic, but one is converting at 20% while the other is only bringing in conversions at 15%.

That would be one example where you might try to test different ways of phrasing the headline.

Or maybe your optin form is converting at 3%, but a similar form converts at 7%. Then it’s probably worth testing out some new copy for that page and seeing if anything changes there.

But above all this, here’s what you need to remember:

Copywriting can only be judged by the results it produces.

That means relying on data to refine your copy over time, regardless of how you feel about it.

Sometimes you might have to sacrifice headlines or descriptions that you’re proud of when the data shows that it’s not converting well.

In fact, as a general rule of thumb, I’ve learned that the more “clever” I feel after writing copy, the worse the campaign usually performs.

For whatever reason, the most effective messages usually prioritize clarity over creativity.

And that’s all for today! This has been a short step by step copywriting guide that will help you write more persuasive messages in LESS time.