When it comes to your marketing, the strength and efficacy of your strategy will always rely on the quality of your copy. Whether you are writing an email, a landing page, or just a tweet, solid copywriting skills are needed to capture your audience’s attention and usher them along the client journey.
Whether you handle your copywriting yourself or use a professional, understanding key copywriting components is essential for financial service professionals looking to take their marketing to the next level.
Here are three tips for creating top-shelf copy.
1. Use the PAPA Formula
In 1982 marketing Guru Victor O Swab released his book “How to Write an Advertisement,” which captured a copywriting formula that has survived for decades. The formula is simple:
- Define your audience’s Problem
- Illustrate the Advantage of solving the problem
- Prove that you can solve their problem
- Invite them to take Action.
First, you must prove to the reader that there is a problem that they have and that needs solving.
When you can accurately describe a problem or situation that your ideal clients face, you will help them identify it themselves. By describing it and capturing it, you create a context for them to view the situation.
Next, explain the advantage of solving this problem and taking it on sooner than later.
By illustrating what they have to gain if they take action or what they stand to lose if they procrastinate–you can provide positive and negative motivation for them to take action.
Next, you must prove that you can solve the problem. Again, this is a great place to demonstrate knowledge and expertise. You can include references to past experiences with clients. You can also illustrate that you have a unique technique or process unavailable from other sources.
Finally, the last part of the PAPA technique is to invite action. Your copywriting piece will not be effective without an excellent call-to-action or CTA. A good CTA consists of a single simple step the reader can take to continue their engagement with you.
By following the simple 4 step method, you can quickly and effectively write a piece of copywriting that doesn’t just fill space but inspires engagement.
2. Write to an Audience of One
There is a lot of talk about “audience” when we discuss copywriting. Segmentation personalization and targeting all stem from the idea that you know who the person is that you are talking to. While demographics and client research can provide technical information for defining an audience, it often does not inspire a good copy.
Many copywriters find that a more effective technique is to choose a single person with whom they are intimately familiar.
By writing a piece of copy to one person, you will create an experience for them for all of your audience that feels personal and specific. For example, using buyer personas in an email campaign improved open rate by 2x and clickthrough rate by 5x.
When thinking of your potential audience, remember to ask yourself if they have specific characteristics in common with your generalized ideal client.
For example:
- Are they the same age as your ideal client?
- Are they of the same marital status?
- Do they have a similar career to those you would like to work with?
- Do they have a similar annual income?
- Have they achieved the same level of education and focus?
Even when writing copy for an audience of one, it is essential to still leave it general enough to apply to everyone.
If you can find an example of a person who fits these criteria and then create a piece of copy that would speak to them directly, chances are you have just completed a compelling marketing asset.
3. Optimize for Voice Search
One of the most significant trends in search today is the transition from typed to voice-oriented searches.
Voice-activated devices like the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple’s Siri have made voice searching easier and more accessible to a larger audience. 30% of searches now occur on devices without a screen.
It is essential to realize that we speak differently than we type. Therefore, consider that many of your potential clients will be searching for you through voice search when creating marketing content. This means that both your keywords and content strategy should match voice searches. Your tone should also sound as if it could be coming out of your mouth rather than your keyboard.
How to get started with voice search
Dictation Tool: One great way to create this kind of content is to use the dictation tool available on most word processors. While using this tool will require you to spend extra time editing your piece, you may find that the content and copy you create through the dictation tool will have a more conversational tone.
Long-Tail Keywords: Another way to make sure your content shows up more often in voice searches is to use something referred to as a long-tail keyword. You may have previously heard the term keyword used concerning marketing and search engine optimization. Keywords are short, sometimes two-word phrases that readers will focus on when creating a piece of content. Later, when they bid on advertising spots, the strength of their keywords will dictate how much they pay for PPC advertising.
A long-tail keyword is similar in that it is used for search engine optimization. However, it is, as the name suggests, longer; often a phrase or sentence. Long-tail keywords are great because they help financial advisor marketing content fit a particular search niche. Make your long-tail keywords a sentence or question that you could imagine your ideal client speaking into their home device while searching for your services.
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While creating your content pieces, blogs, and landing pages can be a rewarding experience, we have found that many busy advisors don’t have the time. FMG Suite offers an array of content and copywriting services for financial service professionals to use. If you would like to learn more about the services we provide, then click here to see how we can help. (By the way, that was an example of an excellent call-to-action).
