Every week on Digital Copywriter, we publish new ideas, new trends, new tools, new marketing methods… new ways for you to become a better writer, attract higher-quality clients, and make steady progress toward your goals.
There’s a lot here, and to help you make the best use of it all, occasionally we like to gather some of the recent, most useful action items that we’ve published and share them all in one place.
So here goes…
— 1 —
Tap into the Power of Curiosity
for Better Email Results
Curiosity is a powerful emotion. When you set up a scenario and tease to the ending or open a question and tease to the answer, your readers want — almost need — to know more.
Try building curiosity into your emails for better open rates and higher click-through rates. But make sure you do curiosity right. You don’t want to overpromise and leave your reader disappointed. And when you open a curiosity loop — say, in your subject line — you want to be sure to fulfill that curiosity before the end of your email message.
One technique to try: Ask a question early in your email and then wait until the end to answer it.
Find more ways to weave curiosity into your email messages in “How to Increase Click-Throughs by Teasing Content and Building Curiosity in Emails.”
— 2 —
The Science Behind Stories
Imagine you’re standing on stage doing a presentation. You have a fascinating, career-changing fact to share with your audience. This statistic should completely alter the way your listeners view success. If you just share that fact with them, only 5% of them will remember it even a short time later.
But tell your audience a story, and 63% will recall the details of that story. If you want people to remember what you write, you need to use stories.
One technique to try: Think about the product you’re writing about and how people realize they need it. Open your story with that moment of disruption.
Get more ideas for how to use stories in your copy when you read “How to Grab Your Reader’s Attention with Storytelling.”
— 3 —
The Copywriting Gold Mine
You Completely Overlooked
With the rise of AI, search and discovery are becoming more complex. That’s a fancy way of saying your clients are having a harder time getting found by their audience. One way to adapt to the new landscape is to be visible on more platforms… places like Pinterest, which is part search engine, part discovery algorithm, and part big opportunity for copywriters.
One technique to try: Include numbers and specific details in your pin titles to get more clicks on your pin.
Learn how to help your clients show up on Pinterest when you read “How to Write Pinterest Content That Gets Results.”
— 4 —
Stand Out by Combining Key Skills
Your clients need to do more than rank on Google — they need their content to perform after the click.
They need better engagement, more time on the page, and higher conversion rates. Algorithms have become more sophisticated, favoring content that satisfies user intent and provides a seamless experience.
See how you can blend search engine optimization (SEO) with user experience (UX) principles to deliver the results your clients need.
One technique to try: Use stronger phrases for on-site CTAs to get more clicks.
Read “Add More Value with SXO: How Writers Can Blend UX and SEO to Stand Out”to find out more about how search is evolving and how you can help your clients keep up.
— 5 —
Give This Part of Your Message a Boost
If you’re laboring over every word of your email message or sales letter and then either skipping your P.S. or just tacking on the copy as an afterthought, you’re missing out on a big opportunity. The P.S. is still one of the most-read parts of a sales letter or email message, so you want to make the most of it.
One technique to try: Include a surprise bonus in your P.S., one that you haven’t mentioned in the body of your message.
Find more ways to make your P.S. work better for you in “What You Write Last Might Be the First Thing They Read: Why Your P.S. Deserves More Respect.”
— 6 —
A Different Way to Get More Done
If you struggle with procrastination, it might have less to do with how much time you have and more to do with getting started in the first place. If you’re waiting until you feel like doing the work, you’re always going to struggle to catch up. The good news is you can reshape your habits, so that you’re starting work sooner and finishing it with time to spare.
One technique to try: Break getting started down into the smallest step — opening your document, writing the first sentence, or writing for five minutes. Since getting started is the hardest part, this can help you break through that.
Discover more ways to reframe your relationship with procrastination in “The Secret to Beating Procrastination.”
— 7 —
Own Your Position
If you want to be remembered by your prospects in the moment they need your services, then you need to own your positioning. What do you want people to think of when they think of you? And more importantly, what things do you want people to associate with you? In this issue of the Reality Blog, Edgar Morales explores how powerful positioning can be in your business.
One technique to try: Choose what you call yourself — a freelancer, a strategist, a copywriter, a storyteller — even if you don’t feel like you’ve earned that title yet.
Read Edgar’s full story about the power of positioning in “A Guide to Owning Your Copywriting Identity.”
— 8 —
Make Them an Offer They Can’t Refuse
A lot of copywriters are guilty of not being clear about what they do for their clients. You go to a networking event, you make small talk, maybe collect a few business cards, but you never say, “This is how I can help you.”
Without that clear offer, you’ll struggle to close sales. In his Reality Blog journey, Edgar Morales has seen firsthand how a clear offer can take you from meeting lots of people and having lots of conversations to actually landing clients.
One technique to try: Start with the pain point your prospect has that you’re uniquely positioned to solve. A lot of great offers begin with that understanding.
Edgar uses a four-step system to define a strong offer. Put the full process to work for you when you read “How to Make Offers That Win Copywriting Clients.”
— 9 —
Blogging Is Changing in the Face of AI
A lot of writers are wondering if companies still need blogs or if AI is changing how search works so much that blogs are obsolete. Blogging is definitely not dead… but it is a little different from how it was two years ago. In this recorded webinar, you’ll see how AI tools use blogs to surface their answers, and what you can do to show up in those answers.
One technique to try: Before you begin writing, make sure you understand user intent —what will your reader want to achieve by reading your post? If you start there, you can write high-quality content that delivers on reader expectations… and that will help you show up in AI search. But more importantly, it will help you lay the foundation for a strong relationship with your readers.
Watch the whole thing: “Blogging in the Age of AI.”
— 10 —
Take Small Steps to Win Big
In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear lays out the power of developing positive habits — and gives you a roadmap for making habits stick. In this webinar event, I shared with readers my top takeaways from this powerful read.
One technique to try: Determine what triggers you to do the habit you want to ingrain in yourself, and then make that cue more obvious.
I share a ton more of James’ methods for creating strong habits in “Book Review – Get More Done with Atomic Habits.”
