Simple Copywriting Tips That Most Writers Use

Summary

The content outlines essential copywriting tips gathered from various experts, emphasizing the importance of simplicity, active voice, and reader-focused writing, while also introducing Eddie Shleyner's "Copywriting Wisdom of the Crowd" mini-course.

Abstract

The article delves into copywriting strategies that have been distilled over three months of study by the author, who has immersed themselves in the world of online content creation. It highlights the significance of utilizing white space, simplicity, active voice, and reader-centric language. The author reflects on their personal journey, including the creation of a 30-day email challenge for content creators in Hungarian and their current endeavor to master English copywriting. The piece also promotes Eddie Shleyner's "Copywriting Wisdom of the Crowd" as a valuable resource, showcasing actionable tips from hundreds of copywriters and marketers worldwide. The author encourages readers to connect on LinkedIn to follow their ongoing copywriting journey.

Opinions

The author values the use of white space as a tool to emphasize important elements and enhance readability.
Simplicity in messaging is crucial; the author suggests that if one cannot explain a concept simply enough for a child to understand, they themselves do not fully grasp it.
Active voice is preferred over passive voice, as it is deemed more efficient and engaging.
Copywriting should focus on the reader's interests and benefits, not solely on the brand.
Reading copy out loud is recommended to catch errors that might be missed during silent proofreading.
The author advises minimizing the use of adverbs to strengthen writing.
Calls-to-action should be reframed as calls-to-value to better convey the benefits to the reader.
The author acknowledges the universality of these tips within the content creation and copywriting community.
There is an emphasis on the author's transition from creating content in Hungarian to mastering English copywriting, indicating a commitment to growth and learning in the field.

We’re all familiar with these tips, but can you put them into action?

I have been consciously studying copywriting for 3 months.

During that time, I knew a whole new world of the internet.

I found out who the top creators of Twitter and LinkedIn, discovered Medium and Substack (I made 20 dollars on Medium), finished the writing course of Kieran Drew, and learned the basics of online writing.

Yesterday I ended up on Eddie Shleyner’s page, VeryGoodCopy. It’s full of jam.

He has a very interesting and unique free mini-course, called Copywriting Wisdom of the Crowd.

“This is a collection of copywriting, writing, and persuasion tips authored by 100s of copywriters and marketers from around the world.”

Sounds great? Yes, it is! So I jumped on it and started to read the tips.

Here are my favorite ones:

Use white space: Writers can use white space to create emphasis and draw attention to something important. White space also makes copy look less intimidating and more readable. It structures the message in a polished, elegant frame that invites The Reader in.

Keep it simple: If you can’t explain a message simply enough for a 6-year-old to understand, you don’t understand it sufficiently yourself.

Use active voice: Passive voice sounds stuffy, not to mention inefficient. Active voice means the subject of the sentence is doing the action rather than receiving it.

It’s not about you: People aren’t interested in your brand (sorry) — they’re interested in what your brand can do for them. Use the 2nd person, “you”.

Read your copy out loud: You will notice tense changes, misspellings, and grammatical mistakes more than just proofreading the copy.

Count your adverbs, then halve the number: adverbs are quite effective at weakening your writing.

Rewrite your call-to-action as a call-to-VALUE: Imagine, for example, a travel website. A typical CTA button might read: “Book Now!” But here’s a better CTA: “Book Today & Fly Away!”

I bet these tips don’t sound totally new to you if you are interested in content creation or copywriting.

Two years ago I created a 30-day email challenge for content creators. Every day I sent them a copywriting tip and a task. I have never studied copywriting before but I have written blog posts and social media posts for 10 years.

Do you know what were my tips for them? You can read a few above :)

The only catch? All of this happened in Hungarian. That’s why I’m now on a journey to master the art of writing in English.