5 Copywriting Fundamentals for Blogs

Many people view copywriting as a tool for advertising, where the copywriter uses the art of writing to sell a specific product or service. However, it encompasses more than that. According to Copywriting.com, copywriting is “the art and science of writing words to promote a product, business, person, or idea. It involves carefully selecting, editing, weaving, and constructing those words in a way that persuades the reader to take a specific and measurable action.“

The keyword in this definition is “persuade.” While selling a business to potential customers is a form of persuasion, it is only a subset of what copywriting entails. Blogging about your opinions can also be a form of persuasion, whether it be to persuade readers to your view, increase traffic flow to your site, or motivate others. As a freelance blogger myself, I firmly believe in the ability of words to inspire and even change people’s lives.

Regardless of the purpose of your copywriting, there are certain fundamentals that we can follow to hook our readers. Here are a few of them.”

1. Making it Conversational

Copywriting differs from other forms of writing, such as news writing or novels, as it aims to establish a personal connection with the reader by adopting a conversational tone.

When writing copy for blogs, it is essential to remember that your post may be read by thousands of people, but you should write as if you are addressing a single person. This is because each reader will be reading your post alone, and you don’t want to disrupt their reading flow.

This personal connection is particularly important when trying to persuade your reader. You must communicate in their language and connect with them through personal experiences, observations, and emotions, which are unique to humans.

To maintain a conversational atmosphere, use short paragraphs and limit each one to a single idea. This technique ensures that the flow of the conversation remains uninterrupted, and your ideas are easily absorbed and understood.

2. Be Clear, Concise, and to the Point

When it comes to copywriting for blogs, online readers are different from offline readers. With a wealth of information available at their fingertips, they can easily skip from one site to another if the first one is boring. A blog becomes tedious when it offers many words but little information.

The first rule is to keep sentences and paragraphs short. This makes your ideas clearer and turns your article into neatly organized, easy-to-read chunks. Use headings and subheadings to show the organization of your writing at first glance. If readers can’t immediately identify the general structure of your article, they may try other sites that are more systematic.

Minimize the use of jargon as it hinders understanding. Remember that on the internet, nobody wants to waste time figuring out information. Everyone wants it quick and fast.

3. Customer-Focused

Although the term “customer” seems to imply that you are selling a service or a product, it can also be generalized to selling ideas, solutions, and knowledge to your customers, also known as your readers. Therefore, you need to assess who your target audience is and what their needs are. Remember that you are selling and persuading others, so what you write must emphasize how your customers can benefit from reading it.

What kind of information do your readers want to receive from your blog? Do they want tips or solutions on how to troubleshoot their computer problems? Or are they looking for something that inspires and motivates their lives?

These questions will be answered once you understand who your target audience is. From then on, you will know what topics are sought after by them, down to the details of how you should structure your articles. Your research (if any) for topics will be more effective because you will know beforehand what interests them and what does not.

4. Start with Good Headlines

What is the first thing that any reader notices in an article? The headline! To encourage the reader to continue reading, your headline must be catchy enough to motivate further reading. As with sentences, keep your headline short (preferably seven words or less) so that the reader can understand what it’s about upon first reading.

There are many ways to lure readers in. You may use a witty headline or something that piques curiosity. The most common (and perhaps even foolproof) method is to state the benefit.

After all, as per #3, anyone reading the article is wondering “what’s in it for me.” Revealing the benefit right from the start would spur anyone to read on, so long as it’s what the readers want. Such headlines are straight to the point and clear to Internet readers, who, as we all know from point #2, are “fickle-minded” individuals.

5. Proofreading

Practice makes perfect, and the same goes for proofreading. In any type of writing, it is critical for the writer to reread the entire piece and ensure that it flows smoothly. Without a cohesive flow, it is difficult for the reader to establish a connection with the writer through the words, sentences, and paragraphs. Persuasion requires the reader to relate to what the writer is saying.

Furthermore, if the spelling and grammar are correct, the reliability of the article is less likely to be questioned. This has implications for the number of readers who will return to your blog for more entries.

In addition to proofreading your work yourself, why not have someone else read your post? Sometimes, when you spend too much time working on a specific piece, your mindset and perspective become rigid. You may fail to see your own mistakes and may not be able to detect a lack of flow. Having another person read your article, who has not seen it before, can provide unbiased, objective, and constructive feedback.