Avoid These 6 Copywriting Mistakes (Do THIS Instead)

Wanna grab more customers by the eyeballs? 👀   Then you must avoid these 6 costly copywriting mistakes👇

1. No hook

A hook gets people excited about what you’re writing. Try an open loop e.g. “Why Messenger is the #1 platform your business needs to survive.” 

You gotta include this! 

(Bonus points if you pair your hook with point #2 below. This is what I call my Two Step Hooker Formula  – a hook + power word combo – that will truly make your copywriting irresistible!)

Psst… want to find out exactly how to use my Two Step Hooker Formula ? I explain it here

2. No power words

A “power” or “trigger” word (e.g. “magic”, “mind-blowing”, “banned”, “#1″) is designed to elicit an emotional response. 

People never, ever make a rational decision when they hit that “buy now” button. 

It is always an emotional decision, and your power words help them understand that your product or service is the answer to their problem.

3. No call to action (CTA)

Add a CTA (call to action) at the end to get your users to perform the desired action… like:

👉 Buy Now

👉 Secure Your Ticket

👉 Book Your Free Call

Only use one in emails or landing pages. If you use more than one, it can confuse your customers and as soon as they hit that wall, they won’t perform any action.

4. No brand personality 

To work out your brand personality, ask yourself: 

If your business was a person, who would it be?  You can choose a Hollywood celebrity if you like! 

Next, consider the personality traits your brand has. These are often very similar to your own, and can be used in an amazing and unique way to differentiate yourself and your company from your competitors.

There’s only one you – so use your personality to your advantage.

Take inspiration from other brands. You can start a folder of examples, or even a Pinterest board. I like to screenshot examples from Instagram ads to use for specific clients. 

Don’t be afraid to look outside your niche either! I don’t work with any beauty brands (yet), but I often use them as examples for other businesses I have on my roster, to ensure the clients I’m working with don’t end up with a brand personality that’s exactly like their competitors’.

5. Wrong tone of voice 

This is what you sound like, both written and spoken. You can use examples of other brands here, too.

Think about the following:

• How do you want to be perceived? 
• What do you sound like? 
• Are you friendly and conversational? 
• Will you use abbreviations and slang?

For example, here’s a tone of voice snippet of what I came up with for a UK SaaS client:

COPY DOs

• Factual and accessible
• Clear, direct and to the point
• The tone is positive

COPY DON’Ts

• Be arrogant
• Be overly familiar or causal
• Sound vague or elusive, e.g use of “may”, “some”

Now over to you! Think it about it and write it down.

6. No benefit-driven statements 

I’ve said it a million times before…

 ✔️ People buy benefits NOT features

✔️ People buy the product or service that’s easiest to understand NOT the best one on the market…

👉 The #1 thing you must do each time you write is focus on your ideal customer and how your product or service is the painkiller that alleviates their pain!

Think about these each time you sit down to write anything – your website, emails, or social media posts – so you grab your prospect’s eyeballs and they can’t look away! 👀