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4 Copywriting Mistakes and How To Fix Them

By April 18, 2022No Comments

copywriting-notebookNo matter how long you’ve been writing copy, you’re bound to make some small mistakes. Luckily with access to analytics and customer feedback, you can make informed decisions about what needs to be changed.

The best way to be a good copywriter is by learning from your mistakes and trying something new. Here’s a list of four copywriting mistakes and what you can do to fix them!

1. Trying To Appeal To Everyone

Separating your audience can be difficult due to the fear of losing potential customers. The truth is, polarizing your audience actually helps you find your ideal audience. You will figure out who your audience is by first figuring out who your audience isn’t.

A big copywriting mistake is if you try to write copy that appeals to everyone. Create some separation so you can focus more on talking about who and why your product or service can help a particular person.

Your audience just wants to know why they should care about whatever you’re offering. Polarizing your audience will help you find the ideal customers who will support and trust your product.

2. Features Over Benefits

When writing copy, especially sales copy, it’s always better to focus on the benefits rather than the features of your product or service. 

Features are the technical or descriptive aspects of your product, while benefits explain why these features matter and how they can benefit your customers. This copywriting mistake occurs when you focus more on the features than the benefits. 

The Google Store does a great job of emphasizing the benefits of its products.

All of the benefits listed for these products answer the question, “Why should I care?”

Why do I need an audio entertainment package? To fill your home with rich sound.

Why would I buy a home security package? Peace of mind when you’re home or away.

What’s so great about a video entertainment package? So all your entertainment is a cinch.

These are results expressed by desired emotions and are more compelling than solely listing the features. You only have a few seconds to engage users online, what benefits would impress someone to make them stop and read on?

3. Not Optimizing For Mobile Devices

The percentage of internet traffic coming from mobile web users is only increasing. The bounce rates tend to be higher for mobile users – most often because the page is not optimized for mobile viewing.

To avoid high bounce rates, you’ll want to make sure your copy is optimized for mobile users. This includes things like using short paragraphs, condensed headings, easy-to-follow copy, and making sure everything looks good when viewed on a mobile device.

4. Confusing!

It may be tempting to use big, fancy words to stand out from competitors and not look basic. Unfortunately, this is one of the biggest copywriting mistakes as complex copy does more harm than good.

Your job is to guide your user all the way through your message until they take a call to action. The goal is to get your audience to read the first sentence, and then continue on to read the next sentence, and so on. When you interrupt this flow using complex words, it will break the connection with your prospect and you will lose them.

Keep it simple, use repetition, and avoid using complicated words just because they sound unique and different. The easier something is to understand, the more likely we are to actually believe it.

Recap

Hopefully, this guide provided some helpful tips to keep in mind the next time you write. If you find out that you’ve been making these mistakes – don’t worry! The only way to get better is to learn from your mistakes and test something new. If you need some help brainstorming some sales copy, reach out to our experts at Sweet Rose Studios today!