Great copywriting is one of the most effective ways to market your product or service. If it is done well, it essentially does the selling for your brand. It’s the front door to your business and speaks on your behalf. However, copywriting isn’t always straightforward and there is a method to the madness behind it. Read ahead for 10 mistakes you’re making in your copywriting and how to fix them. 

1. Writing for anyone and everyone

One of the easiest and most common mistakes to make in copywriting is writing for the masses. Attempting to appeal to everyone will attract no one and it’s completely unrealistic. This style of writing leaves your content vague and doesn’t create the value your true target audience is seeking. When homing in on your copywriting skills, ensure you invoke some type of emotion or reaction from your reader by being specific about the topic, otherwise it’s a value miss and you won’t have return visitors.

2. Being inauthentic in your writing style

One of the first things your reader can recognize is if you’re being inauthentic. Good copy does not happen from inauthenticity. You’ll find yourself getting caught up in the wrong details and trying to over explain concepts. You’ll also be doing yourself a disservice by trying to mimic what others are doing in your industry and end up not standing out as a top trusted brand. Think about how you would talk to your customer in person and write from that unique style. Consumers love brands that differentiate themselves in the marketplace by being authentic.

3. Writing for the sake of impressing yourself

Always remember one thing – you are not your customer. Your customer is your customer! Don’t write copy to impress yourself, you’ll end up impressing no one else and creating content that doesn’t convert to sales. It’s crucial you don’t get too caught up in industry speak by using buzz words just for the sake of impressing. You’ll end up sounding tacky and salesy and driving your target audience away or attracting the wrong crowd. Ensure you connect with your target audience by speaking their language, not one that will “impress” yourself.

4. Overcomplicating your copywriting style

Don’t focus on creating too many details in your copywriting. Instead, focus on providing value to your customers. It’s easy to get carried away and over explain your products or services or use wordy sentences. After completing your copy, edit the content twice. Ensure it focuses on the why and what of everything you’re trying to accomplish. Customers need to have a clear understanding of what they’re getting from you, simple is typically better!

5. Making assumptions about your audience

It’s easy to make assumptions about your reader when crafting copy but often those assumptions have nothing to do with what their goals are. Never assume your audience will understand the level of expertise you have with your own product or service. The language you use must be easy to understand for your target audience. 

6. Not interacting and receiving feedback from your customers

Feedback is your best friend. It’s crucial to gather feedback from your customers to understand their needs and desires. Your future products and services can be crafted directly from the feedback you receive. Your customers purchase your product for a reason, but why? Find out what works well for them, why they chose you over another competitor, and if they’ll make a return purchase. All feedback is helpful, both the positive and negative, so you know what’s working and what you can improve upon. 

7. You don’t follow a proven process

Copywriting is an art, contrary to those that believe it’s generic write up. When you follow a proven process, your copy converts to more leads and sales. Start by researching who you’re writing your core content for. After researching, create a plan for your copy that includes persuasive arguments through an outline draft. Then, write the first draft of your copy by allowing those arguments to naturally flow into sentences. Upon finishing, edit your copy to review for any redundancies or mistakes.

8. Lack of specificity in copy

While writing copy, it’s extremely easy to get caught up in writing for the broader picture. It can be challenging to go deep on your core topic but doing so will ensure you hold authority in the topic you are writing about. Lacking specificity will cause your target audience to lose trust with your brand, resulting in them purchasing from someone else. Unpersuasive content is dry and boring for your reader, remember to invoke emotion and be as specific as you can when explaining your product or service. 

9. You use too many buzzwords

In today’s digital era of younger generations hanging out online more and more, using too many buzzwords will quickly turn them away. Customers want to engage with brands they can relate to and connect with. Using some buzzwords are fine but going over the top will leave your brand sounding salesy and like a gimmick. Remember to keep it simple and write as if you were talking directly to your customer. Simplicity and honesty are always better and resonate with the customer so much more than too many buzzwords.

10. You’re too focused on keywords

Ahh yes, the magical keyword game. Identifying the perfect keyword or keyword phrases can feel very frustrating. It’s even worse when you focus entirely too much on them. Keyword stuffing is when you over saturate your content with keywords for higher ranking in search engines. This practice used to be extremely popular, and while it’s still around, it’s one of the quickest ways to sound stale and turn your customers away. Nobody wants to read a paragraph that mentions a keyword 20 times before closing. It feels inauthentic and you definitely wouldn’t speak that way in person. Write in a flowing manner that has your content flowing effortlessly. 

How do you limit mistakes in your copywriting? Let me know in the comments! You might also find The 5 Ways To Make Money Online and 5 Brilliant Ways To Make Passive Income As A Writer helpful reads.