A simple step-by-step guide to copywriting and content creation

All websites and literature (leaflets, brochures, features, flyers, postcards, blogs, etc) need content. And whether the content itself ends up being videos or scripts, flowcharts, images… or good old articles and thought pieces.   Whatever is needed, words and thought are where it all starts. Copywriting is an essential part.   

“Copywriting Guide” – where do you start when you don’t know where to start?

It’s difficult to consider any other way to make a connection with our target audience these days.  But where do you start, when you don’t know where to start?

Our simple step by step copywriting guide will take you through the points you need to know.

Step 1 – start with a broad brief.

• Where is this content going to be published?  This is the big-picture stuff – do you want to populate a website? Or write an article?  Or create a newsletter?
• What do you want it to do?  Sell something, engage with an audience, build a pipeline, provide information, do a product recall? What is the point of creating it?
• Who is it for?  (We’re looking at the big picture right now – we’ll get down to the nitty gritty in a moment, but all you need to do now is get a really rough idea). Is it for existing customers? New clients? Where are they – which country/city?
• What sort of feel do you need for it?  Is it educational or entertaining? Serious and hard-hitting?  Techinical or scientific?  What other purposes may it be required for?
• What kind of message do you want to get across?  (eg: authoritative, legal, fun, engaging, etc)
• What space do you need to fill?  (Get a word count if possible)
• Essentials – eg: does anyone need to be quoted? 
• Who will need to approve this piece?  And what is their agenda?
• Images – are there images provided? What are they?  Or do you have free reign to find your favourite images.
• Designer – will you be working with a designer, or fitting in with an existing design? Are you even expected to create the design yourself?
• Dates and deadlines – for approvals and finished work

Step 2: Build a persona of your target reader

First of all – even if this is a website and your broad brief from step 1 above, is: “get me traffic!” DO NOT, under any circumstances, write for the bots.  Yes, in the ‘90’s it was all about black-hat SEO and wizardry, but that is so last…. Millenia!  Nowadays it’s really important to write for people, so let’s start there:

The first suggestion that we give to a client is to build a persona of their ideal target. Here’s a link https://www.bigresults.co.uk/how-to-build-a-target-persona/ – just work through the steps and come back here afterwards.  

Got your persona sorted?  Are they named, and photographed?  Do you know exactly who they are and where to find them?   Good work!

Once you know who you are writing to – you know more about what to write!  Also it just gets to be so much easier.

Give your persona a name,  and find a picture of someone who could perfectly represent your target persona, get to feel like you could actually know this person – find out as much as possible about them.  Because when you know where your target audience is… You can make certain that you are there too. 

*TIP to get to know them better – read their tweets, check out their social media, notice what they are commenting on, liking, following. 

• Follow and watch the influencers that they like. 

• Read/watch the media that they also enjoy.

So, now you’ve established that your target persona is most definitely NOT the general public, you’ll need to find ways to connect meaningfully and authentically with the people you actually do want to target, and start doing that by providing them with the quality information they are looking for – on to step 3

Step 3 – Find out what they want to know – so you can respond.

How to find out what information they are hungry for?

• ASK THE PUBLIC
• Quora
• What questions are they asking on social media?
• What questions are they putting into google?  (start off a google search and let it self-populate)

Create yourself a spreadsheet of potential questions – all these can be great starting points of your actual content/copy.

Step 4 – Welcome to the “WHATs of writing”

Writing copy isn’t just about creating a bunch of words.  There are numerous formats to consider, and it’s worth mixing these up to get your audience interested.

If you are in a position to offer them expert information/advice or perspective – go for it!

• Q&A’s
• Expert How-To articles
• Case studies
• Research
• Hints and tips
• “Hacks”
• Diagrams
• Photos
• Features
• Short stories/testimonials
• Showcase stories
• Memes
• Cartoons
• Videos (live or scripted)
• Podcasts
• Invited celeb/expert guests
• Invited audience guests
• Social media “lives”

Step 5 – fingers to the keyboard!

Here we are.  Finally – the finishing post. 

Except it isn’t quite.  Because the idea of writing a piece of copy or content can instill terror into some people.  If that’s you – either check out our article on Breaking the Block, or subcontract someone else to do the work for you.

Hint: It’s much easier to write about other people’s businesses or causes, so perhaps even trade the work with another content provider. Share this Copywriting Guide with them.

FINAL NOTE: on Refreshment (no, not that kind!)

Refresh everything regularly. Nothing stays the same.  Your personas, the questions they ask, the formats of the responses, and the media sources you’re looking at.  So continually hit the “refresh” button, and do a double-check on all the beliefs you hold about your work.  If nothing has changed since you last looked – then you aren’t looking hard enough!