The 12-Step Checklist for Excellent Copywriting

Customers are the people who give your business life.   

Through their attention, engagement and actions, they convert into sales and revenue which drive business growth. 

It’s important, then, to communicate well and establish a strong connection with your target audience.  

Copywriting is a powerful Marketing tool that can help you with this.   

Through quality copywriting, you’ll be able to convey a powerful message that will connect you to your target customers and achieve your overall business goals.  

Here’s how. 

What is copywriting? 

Copywriting is an art and a science. 

It’s an art because copywriting requires creativity to be able to convey a compelling and entertaining message in a clever way.  

Copywriting is also a science because it’s done for a strategic purpose to achieve a trackable goal (such as conversions, click-throughs, readers, and so on.) Copywriting must also be based on research, strategies and founded ideas. 
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Both the art and science must come together to offer entertainment and information which create value for an audience. Only then will they be interested in reading. 
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Copywriting must offer entertainment and information  which creates value for an audience. Only then will they read.
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Because of this, writing effective copy is not easy!  

It requires a lot of time, dedication, flair, skills and knowledge.  

But most of all, copywriting must be customer-centric; it should focus on providing solutions to your consumers.  

So, for copywriting to be an advantage to your business, it must be utilised to create entertaining, useful and helpful content that will convince your audience to turn their attention towards you and your brand.  

How will you be able to do this?  
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Here’s a checklist to guide you.  

What makes excellent copywriting? 

The difference between poor copywriting and good copy is that the latter focuses on adding value to your customer’s experience.  
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Quality copywriting that works will compel your target audience to notice your brand, interact with you and initiate positive action. 
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Focusing on your customers, therefore, is key  
for your business’ success through copywriting.
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As you write the copy for your marketing campaigns, it’s crucial to take note of the following questions.  
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Make sure to incorporate the following tips in order to produce excellent content for your audience. 

1. What are your audience’s goals? 
 
It’s all about your customers - not your company. To write something that’s relatable for them, you must know them well. 
 
Make an effort to research your target audience to understand what’s important to them and what their priorities are. Most importantly, know what they need. 
 
Realising what your customer’s goals are will help you produce relevant and targeted copy that will pique their interest. 
 
2. What are their challenges? 
 
Listen to what your audience has to say.  
 
It’s not difficult: social media, forums, polls and surveys provide your business with the avenues to hear and learn. 
 
Then, as you start to plan your copywriting, it’s important to acknowledge their challenges or pain points. By doing this, you’ll be able to easily catch their attention and become more relatable to them. 

3. What can we do to address them?  
Communicate that you have the best solution for their needs by telling them how your product or service adds value to their lives.  
 
Express what exact benefits your consumers will get from you. 
 
Most importantly, as you write your copy, never forget to emphasise how your product can solve their pain points or challenges.  

 4. Why would they object? How do we address their objections?   
Now that they know you have a solution to their challenges, why and how will they resist? 
 
Is your product or service too expensive or too inaccessible? Your copywriting should identify these potential objections and provide a solution to this too. 

 5. What title would draw their interest?   
An attention-grabbing headline can be the push your target audience needs to finally interact with your brand. 
 
A quality copywriter should write a title that will ensnare curiosity and encourage the right people to read more about what you offer. 
 
For more, read: Is this headline clickbait? 

 6. What introduction would tell people this content is worth reading?   
Excellent copywriting will include an introduction that is clear, concise and compelling.  
 
By just reading your introduction, your customers should realise what can they get from reading more. Your copy in this part must be fascinating but useful at the same time. ​

7. How can we make the content skimmable?  
Expect your audience to have a limited attention span (8 seconds now!).

​Therefore, make your content easy to read and skim by using bullet points, spaces, and short paragraphs. 

 8. What other supportive media can we include?   
It is necessary to convey the right message in ways that work best for your audience. But that’s not always JUST words. 
 
Today, people prefer a mix of photos, audio (like The Copywriting Podcast) and video to learn more about your product or service. As such, it’s important to incorporate other supportive media when writing content.  
 
Graphs, tables and infographics can also be useful to separate slabs of text, too. 

 9. How should we describe our solution to them in a relevant way?   
Your copywriting should focus on why your customers would care about your product and your brand. 
 
Describe your solution in a relevant way by writing simple and straightforward copy that brings your brand into their world. Don’t make your customers guess what you’re offering.  
 
Avoid using weak descriptions, jargon and passive voice. Furthermore, write in a conversational tone so that your audience can easily relate.  

 10. How can we sell it to our audience?   
At this point, you’ve earned their attention. It’s time to go for the sell. 
 
Quality copywriting helps you to communicate your product or service’s benefits and features to your audience and appeal to their emotions – all of which makes them want to convert.  

 11. What action do we want them to take next?   
Last but not least, your call to action must be direct and simple.  
 
Your copy, then, must be clear in telling them what to do next. Never leave them at a dead-end! 

 12. Contact a professional copywriter to help you.
Not every business can do their own copywriting – you may lack the time, ability and resources to do what needs to be done.  
 
Don’t stress- there are freelance copywriters who can help you write copy for your business’ needs.  ​

How did you go with the Copywriting Checklist? 

Did you tick them all off, or just a few? How can you improve? 

Don’t get discouraged if you fell a little short with the good copywriting checklist.  
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We can help you! 

How can Melotti Media Copywriting help you? 

To engage your customer and achieve ongoing business success today, you need quality copywriting and consistent content. However, we understand that this is easier said than done. 

You’re time poor and spread thin, and writing isn’t your expertise. So, focus on what really matters, while we take care of all of your copywriting and content marketing needs! 

For more information or to speak to a quality copywriter to get the results your business deserves, contact me now at info@melottimedia.com.au. 

I can sharpen your words to achieve your goals, today! 

Christopher Melotti 
Melotti Media Copywriting and Message Marketing Bureau
www.melottimedia.com.au