One shot, one kill. Don’t write copy that tries to please everyone.

Tuesday: Write with the Pen of the Masters FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: “Half a loaf is better than none.” Or, something is better than nothing, even though it might be less than what you wanted. In copywriting it’s the same, generic content can weaken your message because writing for everyone means not targeting a specific audience. Writing for a specific group is the key for converting prospects to loyal customers. Keep reading to know how keeping your copies targeted can increase your brand’s conversion rates. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

One shot, one kill. Don’t write copy that tries to please everyone. When we write content for our sites, we want to provide our website visitors with copy they’d be interested to read about. Oftentimes, we try to make every single one of them happy. To achieve that, we might write generic content that offers nothing new, interesting, and exciting—just so we cover more topics and a wider audience. By doing that, the copy you could end up creating might be something everyone has already seen before. How do we not fall into this trap? WRITE COPY FOR 20% TO 35% OF YOUR VISITORS—NOT 100% OF THEM This is one of the rules pointed out in Joanna Wiebe’s CopyHackers Book 1 titled, “Where Stellar Messages Come From.” Your website traffic is often loaded with different types of visitors like… People reading your articles. Current clients who want to buy more. Prospects who saw really cool graphics on your brand’s social media account. Customers who are looking for support. … and many more. One thing’s for sure: All of them are your visitors— NOT all of them are your prospects. You can’t write for the needs and wants of every single one of them. If your goal is to create copy for consumers to avail of your product or service, you want to make sure that you’re writing for the right group of people. Imagine the work it takes to attract 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, or even 1,000,000 visitors to visit your website… When you write, have a specific profile in mind. It’s an exciting thought to sell to every single person that has shown interest, but it’s not an effective or efficient move to write for just the general public in mind. Targeting 20% to 35% of your overall visitors and successfully getting them to follow your call-to-action is better than targeting 100% and not getting a good response rate. How can you turn website visitors into customers? Practice writing for a single individual, not to the masses. Writing for an unsegmented and vaguely categorized group of readers can weaken the messages in your content. Try writing your copy like you’re talking to one person. We don’t mean that literally. “Speak” to just one specific group, not 100% of your website visitors. Bottom line: Know your target audience. Keep it targeted.   Be the brand or company that understands its customer segments. Your copy should be made for a specific group of readers. Recognize those readers and speak directly to them. If only a portion of all your website visitors is targeted by the copy you create, wouldn’t it be great to convert those to actual customers instead of none of them? For other segments you have identified from your overall group of visitors, you can write other kinds of content targeted only to them too.   Choose the type of website visitor you’re writing your copy for. Write for specific website visitors who are most likely to address the call-to-action in your copy. Write for people who are open to talking about your content and sharing it with others.   Let your prospects relate with the copy or content you publish. Choose topics and discussions that cater to their needs and wants. Use the words they use and relate to them using the right messaging, phrasing, and images. If possible, mention whom your product or service is made for so they can further understand that it’s them you’re talking to. After all, it’s better to get traffic from a targeted segment and enjoy better ROI than getting high traffic that won’t result in a high conversion rate. “Vague is the enemy of conversion.” – Joanna Wiebe When writing copy, remember that your goal is to hit a specific audience. Ask yourself if your copy is targeted to your ideal segment or if it tries to please the larger majority. Call out your prospects for them to see that they are who you’re talking to in your content. Apply today’s tip and see how it can change your conversion rates! Hope you found this week’s insights interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Tuesday’s Write with the Pen of the Masters! Not all reads are as enjoyable to read as the others Learn more about using key messages to help you get your message across to your readers on next week’s Write with the Pen of the Masters!