Ever feel like your words are just not hitting the spot? Don’t worry, we have all been there! In this blog post, we are going to share four easy copywriting tips to check if your piece is on point or not. We promise it’s as simple as pie!
So, are you ready to turn your good copy into a great copy? Let’s dive in and start this exciting adventure together!
4 Easy Copywriting Tips to Keep Your Readers Engaged
Here’s how you can validate and improve your copywriting skills:
1- Read it out loud – One of The Best Copywriting Tips
If your copy feels wrong, and you don’t know why, reading it out loud will usually identify the problem. Reading out loud forces you to slow down and pay attention to each word. It creates a rhythm and shows you exactly where you are losing your way.
You can spot grammatical errors and typos, and it lets you correct your tone and identify awkward sentences and phrases.
It would be even better if you get someone else to read it out loud for you.
2- The 5-Second Test for Your Website Copy
5 seconds is usually enough for your site visitors to determine if they are going to stay or go.
What is a 5-second Test?
The 5-second test is a qualitative research method that you can use to measure first impressions and recall of your message (sticky copy). Also, you can evaluate how well your copy is communicating your message’s purpose.
You can test things like your headline, subheading, value proposition, or email subject lines. However, you cannot test big blocks of copy. Here is how:
- Place an image of your website in front of your testers for 5 seconds.
- Remove the image and ask a few simple questions
- For example, to find out what stands out and what’s being ignored.
You can ask: “What do you think was the main message?”
- “What does the company do?
- Who do you think the website is aimed at?
- “Where was the phone number?”
If you get a lot of “I don’t know” responses, this can indicate your copy lacks clarity. While getting too many, “I can’t remember” could mean your copy is not memorable.
Now, make the necessary changes to your copy and test it again. Use this one of the underrated copywriting tips to stand out.
A visitor will stay longer on your website only when you deliver the following information in 5 seconds or less:
- Who are you?
- What product or service do you provide?
- Why should I care? What is in it for me?
3- The Cloze Test
One of the key steps for writing strong copy is the cloze test. It measures your visitor’s comprehension and is considered one of the most effective copywriting tips. That means how well your readers understand a piece of content through their previous knowledge and context.
This test works best for text 125 to 250 words.
- Test your copy with real users from your target audience.
- Remove one word every 5 or 6 words and replace it with a blank line.
- Aim for at least 25 blanks for good feedback, but no more than 50.
Ask your tester to insert the missing words in the blanks, relying on context and their prior knowledge of the subject.
You can either present the answers as multiple-choice answers, i.e., you provide a list of options for every blank for them to choose from. Or an open test, where participants enter words in the blanks they think might fit.
Finally, score the answers by counting the correct answers and dividing them by the total number of blanks.
Your results for writing strong copy:
- 60% or above – GOOD. This means your content is relatively easy for your participants to understand.
- 40%-60% – Your reader may have difficulties understanding the original text.
- Less than 40% – Your text will frustrate your readers and should be rewritten.
4- The Highlight Test – Key Copywriting Hack
The Highlight Test is often used for UX and aims to see how your copy resonates emotionally with your readers. Ask your tester to highlight the content that makes them feel confident in one color (for example, blue) and the content that makes them feel uncertain in a different color (yellow).
This lets you visually assess the parts of your copy that are confusing your reader and need to be rewritten.
The Highlight Test works best with follow-up questions to learn why some copy is causing uncertainty.
Final Word
To implement the best copywriting tips, make sure you always take your results with a grain of salt. While you can learn a lot from these tests and allow you to catch things that you might miss, they are not perfect. Your tester is often not your target market. Whatever your editing process is for writing strong copy, taking a few steps back gives you the space to listen to what you have written from a different perspective.
