We’ve discussed in more than one article that not all copywriters are equal – but usually, we’re referring to the industries that they have experience writing for. This article will focus on the fact that there are so many different kinds of assets, and that having someone who is great at writing articles might not mean they are the right copywriter for your website or landing page copy. 

Some copywriters can do it all, and are really good at it! But if you’re looking for someone to write the text for your new website, or a new landing page you’re creating, you want to make sure that they have examples of this kind of work in their portfolio.

Articles and blogs are not always indicative 

Writing long-form texts like a blog or white paper requires a whole different set of skills than the ones needed to write good website copy. Of course, many of the skills are useful in both scenarios – the ability to understand your target market, knowing your brand tone of voice, ability to highlight your USPs. But where websites and landing pages are concerned, there are some other important skills that you need. 

Writing articles for a blog is a challenge in itself. The research, skeleton, making sure you’re achieving what your client wants the article to achieve. But with these articles, you can generally follow some kind of template. Introduction, Body paragraphs, Conclusion.

Website copy is a horse of a different colour

Finding a copywriter who has experience with writing text for websites means they should have some understanding of design principles, UX writing, and readability. 

Often the best text is clear and concise. Hitting on all the key points to make sure visitors understand exactly why they’re on that webpage. But it needs to look good too!

Making copy easy to read in an article is a different task altogether. We, copywriters, use tactics like;

• Headlines, 
• subheadings, 
• bullet points or 
• numbered lists

to break things up and help guide the readers’ eyes. But on a web page, we have different sections in the design that do that for us.

What makes website writing unique

The key here is ensuring the webpage has all the right info while making the copy look good. Finding a balance in the text and making decisions on character limits for different sections are just some of the ways we ensure high readability. 

This includes things like, in a section of 3 blocks side by side, making all the copy the same or similar length.

Or ensuring that the most important headlines have the punchiest text, and fit within a character limit so that they don’t awkwardly scrawl onto more than one or 2 lines.

It isn’t an easy task making different pieces of copy the same length. It takes exceptional skill, a great thesaurus, and genuine creativity to be able to do this. While, of course, also making everything SEO-friendly!

How do I find someone to write copy for my website?

We always recommend looking at someone’s portfolio. Ideally, they’ve written copy for websites in your industry – for instance, if you are a Fintech company, you want a copywriter who understands Fintech. 

However, this shouldn’t be a deal breaker, especially if you see that there is something in the portfolio of the copywriter that catches your eye. 

The recommendation we make is the following: 

1. Look at the portfolio of the copywriter to see if they’ve written copy for full websites or landing pages
2. Determine what you like about their writing, and what you’d want done differently for your project
3. If they have website copy in their portfolio, but it’s not your same industry, look at some of their other work – perhaps they do have experience in your industry, just not in writing website copy for it 

Power of the portfolio

Handing copywriters tasks to do often doesn’t actually show the skill of the writer and will rule out some of the best copywriters. Experienced copywriters will pass on projects or employment that asks for tasks, especially unpaid tasks. 

Too many companies have used this as a tool to get free work out of unsuspecting copywriters. Also, more experienced copywriters won’t waste their time – that’s why they’ve taken the time and put in the effort to create a portfolio!

The best way to determine if someone is the right writer for you is to see examples of other projects they’ve worked on. 

In some cases, copywriters can’t put all of their work in their portfolio, so you can always reach out and ask if they have examples of something closer to what you’re looking for. 

“Do you have any examples of full website copy?”

“Can you share any examples of something you’ve written in HealthTech?”

Copywriters are proud of the work they do, but because of, sometimes, strict NDAs they are unable to publicly post certain pieces of content. Also, their portfolio might be targeting a specific industry, so they’re only sharing work relevant to that target. 

It never hurts to ask for additional samples if you really like someone’s work. Chances are they will have folders upon folders of work they’re more than happy to share with you, privately in an email.

Having to start from scratch can be daunting. But maybe you don’t need to scrap everything you’ve got. Sometimes it can actually be faster, and better, to find an experienced copywriter to revamp your existing copy. 

This works for all kinds of content

Revamping old copy can work with almost any piece of content, whether it’s your website, a whitepaper or even a feature sheet. 

How much copy there actually is doesn’t matter. Usually, we say the more you have, the better. It just gives us copywriters more to work with – but we expect to be adding copy to any content we work on anyways. 

Why would we re-vamp old copy?

In a lot of cases, when building a whole new website, for example, some of what you already have there can be really useful. Chances are your USPs and the benefits to your customers haven’t changed too much. 

This means we can easily just improve the copy you already have, re-organize it, and put it in a new design so that it feels new. Of course, this doesn’t work for every project, but in a lot of cases, it can be a great way to enhance your website’s presence without having to start from scratch. 

Your copywriting brief should clarify details

If you do have some new USPs or have discovered some new benefits to the users, the best is to include these details in your copywriter’s brief. This way they can make sure that those are highlighted in the refreshed copy. 

The same goes for old USPs, features or anything that is no longer relevant or offered by your company. You can leave notes in your brief to let the copywriter know that they should remove these, or replace them with something else. 

SEO opportunities

Re-vamping old copy is also a great way to take advantage of new SEO keywords. Perhaps your site wasn’t search optimised before, or maybe the keywords you included before don’t have the same impact anymore. 

Or as mentioned previously, you might have new USPs that you want to highlight, which might mean some new keywords you could include. 

Re-vamping old copy is a great way to add in some new keywords and re-evaluate some of the ones you have in there currently. Make the most of the opportunity to revitalize both your copy and your SEO. 

Re-vamping isn’t for everyone, but you should still ask about it

Refreshing old copy isn’t always the best option, but it’s definitely one worth exploring with your copywriter. In some cases it won’t work – maybe too much information has changed, or perhaps you don’t have enough information in the content to work with. 

However, it’s always a good idea to ask a copywriter if they’re open to doing a quick audit to determine if it is possible and worthwhile. 

Writing copy from absolute scratch can take longer, and can be more challenging – whereas re-vamping half-decent copy you already have can save time and be a good way to get some great copy faster. 

You can always get in touch if you want to find out if some of your old content can be rejuvenated and brought back to life!

You’ve got a photo of yourself in a great suit on your LinkedIn personal profile. Your banner image shows off your business USPs or tagline. You’ve got some basic info filled out. 

But is this showcasing the real you?

Often, we think that because it’s a photo of ourselves, obviously, it’s us. But, we often forget to look at our profiles from the perspective of a stranger. 

Why do you have a LinkedIn account?

One of the first questions we need to ask ourselves is – “Why do I have a LinkedIn personal profile?”

There are a variety of reasons why you have your personal account. In a lot of cases, you probably tick off more than one of the following:

• Looking for new employees or for employment
• Connecting with people in your industry (or adjacent industries)
• Reading the latest business insights being shared
• Because you were told you should have an account

Regardless of the reason, connecting with others is sort of the whole point. But will people want to connect with you?

Robots, everywhere

When we say robots, we don’t mean actual robots. We mean those annoying spammers whose repetitive posts you see, or whose generic messages end up in our inboxes. You know the ones. 

Now…imagine you try to connect with someone, and they think you’re one of those robots! 

Oh no, but how could that be?!

Making people want to connect

In the office, you’re able to show off your personality and people learn to trust you because of the interactions they have with you. Some of us even like to think we can just tell from a first glance what kind of person we’re dealing with. 

Most of us love to connect with like-minded individuals. Often, the foundational traits we look for are honesty and trustworthiness. But online, we don’t have the same opportunities as we do in person. 

You can create those opportunities by making sure your personal profile is a genuine representation of you. 

If you don’t usually wear a suit, don’t wear one in your profile picture. Instead of a company slogan in your banner image, put an image that means something to you. 

Filling out your LinkedIn personal profile

In person, we can sit face-to-face and ask questions/ get answers. But online, people want to know something about you before they hit that connect button. 

This is why filling out key sections of your profile is so important.

You should go through each section of your LinkedIn profile, and determine if you have something you can put there. If you do – you should! Education, languages, even your summary. These are all key areas that will help you build trust and start bringing in connection requests. 

If you see a LinkedIn personal profile that really catches your attention, think about which elements that person has included that you might also include in your own. Is their summary easy to read and interesting? Maybe their job experience section is filled in with bullet points.

Whatever elements that catch your eye in someone else profile will likely also catch the eye of others too.

LinkedIn workshops

Workshops are a great way to find out what your profile is missing. When you work with people experienced in using LinkedIn for marketing purposes you gain different insights than if you just read articles online or follow guidelines you googled. 

It can be more than just changing your profile picture – even if that’s usually a great place to start. 

Social media is ever-changing, and LinkedIn is becoming more important for both individuals and businesses when it comes to creating professional connections. It’s important to keep up and stay relevant – while also being able to build trust.

The chicken and egg paradox is as old as time…probably. When working in marketing and content creation, we’re often met with a similar paradox. What should come first, copy or design?

The absolute truth

Depending on how experienced your copywriter is, it really won’t matter too much which comes first. Anyone who is considered a wordsmith can manage to fit the key details, in a catchy way, within guidelines set by the designers. 

If you have a less experienced copywriter, having the designs could also help to guide them. 

Needless to say, there is no one right way to do anything. But there are better, more efficient ways to do things. 

The better way

Some might disagree, but we believe the best way to go about creating a landing page or website is to start with the copywriter. 

An experienced copywriter will already have experience working with designers (some might have even been designers or taken design courses). This means that they can lay out a google doc in such a way that it informs the designer how they imagine the page should be laid out – using the best practices they’ve learned from past tasks. 

It’s also helpful when the copywriter leaves notes for the designer, this can be in the form of a comment in the doc. Designers, of course, have the final say in the layout, but it doesn’t hurt to be guided a little bit by the copywriter so that you can be certain the right information is going in the right order. 

Why write copy first?

The point of your landing page, or website, is to inform potential customers about what you do. So naturally, the copy is what will educate them – highlighting your unique selling points and demonstrating the benefits of your product or service. 

Rather than constraining what copy should be included on the page, it’s usually more beneficial to constrain the design (not that the design is really constrained by the copywriter though). 

When copy is written well, and by someone who is experienced with creating texts for content like webpages, infographics or anything else that requires heavy design, you will gain the benefits of their understanding of design and how to improve readability. 

Copy challenges

When those of us who aren’t writers think about copy, we just figure writers can throw a few words together and there you go. 

Or sometimes we’re even told the copy on the page doesn’t really matter…but we know that is never the case!

When writing copy for content like a website, or infographic, we not only need to include all the important information. We also need to:

• Make sure that all copy sections (like in a row of 3, for example) are the same length
• Include buzz words or SEO keywords
• Fit character limits for sections
• Make headings catchy
• Keep to the tone of voice of the brand we’re writing for
• Ensure the flow of the copy makes sense and guides the reader
• Consider where and when to include CTA (calls to action)

For projects that require multiple pages, we can also be involved in the architectural decisions (what goes where and what is the best order). 

Waterfall or Agile?

When working with a copywriter and designer we always recommend taking an iterative approach. Again, the more experienced writers and designers you work with, the fewer iterations you’ll need to get the job done. 

Step 1: 
First comes the copy, with some design guides in the doc. 

Step 2: 
Then the designer takes that copy and the comments and creates their design. 

Step 3: 
From there, depending on your agreement, one of the 2 will implement the copy into the design. 

Step 4 & 5: 
The copywriter and designer should have direct communication. This way they can determine if some of the copy needs to be modified, or if the design can be modified to optimize the readability. 

This final step shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours if both people can set aside the same time and just go through the final draft.

The well-versed will say “copy-first”

There are so many different ways you can go about completing projects like websites, landing pages, feature sheets or infographics. Any design-heavy project, really. 

From our vast experience, we find that copy-first is the best route. It ensures that all the most important information is displayed and then through design, highlighted. The ultimate key in all this is to ensure your copywriter and designer have direct access to one another on a messaging tool like Slack. This will speed up the process if time is of the essence (it usually is). 

Most tech companies have a product or service they want to sell, but there is a tendency to want to focus on the technology itself. It’s not that you shouldn’t talk about your tech, but a good copywriter will make sure that you’re highlighting your Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) in a way that isn’t so “we-centric”.

Speaking the language of benefits is a game-changer for any company looking to market itself.

What is “we-centric”?

We-centric copy is when your company talks about all the things that you do. 

• We help you keep your passwords organized. 

• We’ve got more than 10 years of experience developing software solutions. 

• We’ll help you build your website from strategy to design. 

So what’s wrong with being we-centric? Well, you aren’t highlighting the benefits, you’re just talking about all the things you do. 

Language of Benefits

It’s been proven time and time again that you should use and choose your words carefully. How potential customers and clients will view what you can do for them will be based on what they read on your website or social media pages. 

Instead of using “we”, emphasize what the customer will get out of it. Let’s take the examples above, and re-write them so that they’re using the language of benefits. 

• Organize your passwords with one simple, secure online tool. 

• Enjoy the perks of working with a team that has over 10 years of software development experience.

• Seamless website development, from strategy to design, to implementation. 

See what we did there?

Take my word for it

Using the language of benefits will transform the way your company talks about itself. It becomes less about all the things you do, and more about what you’re actually doing for your customers. 

This makes your product or service far more attractive, and readers don’t have to guess or search for what they’ll gain. The perks are right there in front of their eyes. 

I challenge you to go to your website and see if you are using the language of benefits. It’s no small feat, but the value of using the language of benefits is clear as crystal. 

For consultations, or to re-vamp your website copy, just get in touch. We’ll make those words work!

Finding a good copywriter can be difficult, but finding a good tech copywriter – well that’s a whole other world. 

Most experienced copywriters will have experience in proofing and editing documents, coming up with catchy taglines and writing engaging, well-researched blog posts. A tech copywriter will have all that same experience, PLUS they will actually understand your technology. 

Speaking from experience, writing about a drink or photography is a different kind of challenge – but most copywriters with any experience can easily pick up those topics and do something really special with them. 

But will all experienced copywriters be able to easily explain the difference between Machine Learning and Deep Learning?

Get someone who gets your business

The tech sector is growing, and it’s a broad spectrum of everything from the different types of technology being developed to the different industries in which these new technologies are emerging. 

From HealthTech, FinTech and AgTech – These sectors are increasingly automating their processes through emerging technologies. Not to mention, HR solutions, online shopping and other areas of business that are looking to improve the way they function. 

Technology isn’t just about finding the new big thing, it’s about making our workflows more efficient and making it easier for users to find whatever it is they’re looking for. 

The tech world is a world of its own

Those of us who work in the tech world know that often when we’re talking to our less “techy” friends, we sound like aliens from another planet…Let alone trying to explain this amazing Whitelabel Saas solution or that really interesting open-source password manager to your mom and dad. 

A lot of the time, our buyer personas are not us. Meaning that they aren’t always “techy” people. This means that we need to make sure that we’re able to take these complex details about our technology and clearly outline the benefits to our customers or users – while ensuring we don’t negate the important technical aspects. 

What sets a tech copywriter apart from the rest

Tech copywriters will have experience working with solutions like yours, or solutions that have some overlapping themes or technology. There’s also a good chance that they will have experience working with “tech people”, like developers or data scientists.

This experience is something that you should be seeking out. It’s having these experiences that help tech copywriters to fit in with your team smoothly and will understand and know exactly how to work with the different roles within your organization. 

It’s also important to point out that it isn’t always just about the technology, but most tech copywriters will also have experience in different sectors – whether it’s with healthcare technology or agricultural technology. 

Benefits of an experienced tech copywriter 

Tech copywriters are not as common as “regular” copywriters, but we do exist. There are a great many benefits that come from working with someone who has previous experience working with tech companies, rather than hiring a junior with no experience. 

The main benefit is obviously efficiency. There is a lot less explaining and teaching about the technology. In our experience, we also find copywriters who have some experience with tech tend to grasp the more complex technology details much easier, as they already have some foundational knowledge from their previous experiences. 

Another benefit: clear and concise copy. All copywriters must first understand what it is that you do, and then be able to relay that information to the target markets. Tech copywriters will already have experience with taking more complex topics and breaking them down, especially related to technology – which means your copy will be clear and accessible from the get-go, rather than various revisions.  

Finding a tech copywriter

There are some effective ways of finding tech copywriters. You can search LinkedIn, go by referrals or use one of the many freelance platforms. Be sure that you take the time to request or view a portfolio or case studies prior to reaching out. 

You want to make sure, not only that a tech copywriter is a good fit, but also that they have the type of experience you’re looking for. 

Well, yes, yes you do! Not all personas are equal, but you absolutely need buyer personas in order to properly understand your target audience and to be able to reach them effectively. 

In many cases, we see buyer personas with detailed information, including things like age, education and how many kids they have. But are the details absolutely necessary?

What should my buyer personas include?

As mentioned before, not all buyer personas are equal – and what I mean by that is – the details you include in your buyer personas should reflect the way your company deals with clients. Not all the details that would be beneficial to one company are useful for another. 

For example, if you are selling a product, like a beverage that promotes a certain kind of lifestyle, then details about the age range and family situations will likely be more relevant. Whereas if you are providing a service like software development, those same details might not be as important – but other details like salary ranges and education will be significant. 

You need buyer personas because they will inform your marketing and sales decisions, but you should also strongly consider what details are most important for your business. Including irrelevant details could bog you down or limit your reach if they become a focus or make your target too narrow. 

Details you can include in buyer personas

Here you’ll find some of the details that can be included in buyer personas but you’re not limited to these alone.

Addressing pain points is vital

One thing that every buyer persona must include is the pain points for each persona. These pain points are the challenges faced by your personas, for which you have a solution. This helps you to target your audience based on their actual needs, rather than some broad assumption about what will attract them. 

The paint points can come from past experiences with previous clients, from user research, from any data you’ve collected on customers or from your gut instincts. It’s usually best to draw from a couple of these areas, rather than just going with your gut, though. 

You also need buyer personas to include the solutions your company offers. Think about the pain points for each persona and what your business does to solve those problems. Is your persona short on time? Perhaps your automated process helps make their daily work more efficient. Is your persona not particularly trusting? Think about the ways that you can build trust, and be more transparent. 

I need buyer personas, but how many?

This will vary from company to company, and business to business, but on average we usually recommend 3 buyer personas. When you create too many personas then it becomes very difficult to target any one of them, and the content you create will be too broad. That, or it will become even more challenging to create enough content to target each persona. 

You need buyer personas to really help you focus on your target market. Narrowing your focus helps to ensure that you are in fact targeting the right people for your product or service and do it effectively – in the right places, in the right way, using the right language. Don’t spread yourself too thin because you could just be throwing content out there that doesn’t grab anyone’s attention at all. 

This is not to say that each piece of content will only target a single persona. In some cases we’ll find that pain points in buyer personas can overlap, so we can create 1 piece of content that targets 2 personas at the same time. 

Start building your buyer personas

The best place to start is to start collecting any company documentation you have, like your Unique Selling Propositions (USPs), Business Model Canvas, any notes from discussions you’ve had about target markets and any information you can collect on past clients (assuming you’ve already had some). 

You can also look to your competitors to get a sense of who they are targeting. You could learn that there are some important differences in their personas versus yours – or you might find that they are missing a key niche market that you could target. 

All of this documentation can help to inform your buyer persona details. 

Buyer personas are not a one-and-done

Like most business documents, buyer personas are also living documents. As the market changes, your business grows or other factors develop over time, so will your personas. 

We recommend that every 6 months to 1 year, depending on your situation, you revisit your personas to see if there are any new insights that might change some of the details in each persona. 

Of course, you might not see any changes at all, but generally speaking, there are usually a few details that you’ll find need updating based on the information you’ve collected and observations you’ve made over time. 

One size doesn’t fit all

It’s so important that your buyer personas are tailored specifically to your company. Even your direct competitors will have some differences in their personas and it’s important to determine exactly what details you really need to include, to ensure that you can effectively and impactfully reach your target market. 

Buyer personas will help to inform your marketing and sales efforts, but also the direction in which your company continues to move or grow. You need buyer personas, and not having them clearly outlined could mean that you’re missing out on opportunities. 

All content should serve some kind of purpose. Either brand awareness, lead generation, product exposure, supplying a website with traffic. There are many possibilities, and you, being on the serving side, should specify in detail what needs to be delivered. Best if in an organized fashion, in a written, good copywriting brief. 

If you don’t properly brief your copywriter, the outcome won’t be what you expected. Because you didn’t specify what you wanted.

1. With a bad brief comes grief

After a third round of amendments, redoing the headlines and reminding your copywriter that you’re using British English and not American English, you tend to wonder what went wrong along the way. Well, I hate to break it to you, but it’s likely that you didn’t properly brief your copywriter before the work started.

Some elements, like English spelling, might not seem like a big deal to you when starting cooperation with a copywriter – but it’s exactly these types of details that should be included in a copywriting brief.

A brief should be written down, not communicated orally

Usually, it’s very easy to avoid this type of time-wasting email ping-pong. If briefing copywriters is something new to you, try writing down a list of rules, do’s & don’ts, industry faux-pas that should be avoided. 

We tend to assume others know what we know and prefer to briefly talk over what our requirements are. Writing them down and sending them over email is a must. A “quick chat on Google Meets” won’t cut it.

A good copywriting brief is your responsibility

When it comes to copywriting briefs, the better your input, the better the copywriter’s output. In a nutshell, this means describing:

• why you’re creating this content,
• who is your target audience, 
• your product itself, and
• technical requirements reflecting your industry.

If you can’t write down responses to the above, you can be sure nobody will be able to do this for you. So if your brief will be a one-liner “article about e-commerce platforms in the United Kingdom for our company blog”, you can be sure that you’ll spend a lot of time rewriting the copy or re-briefing your copywriter again and again.

Long story short, it’s worth spending one hour to describe what you want from the content, instead of spending three, four or more hours on redoing what should have been properly done in the first place.

“Good copywriting briefs = Good copy”

2. Why you need this piece of content

To put it bluntly – what are the objectives lying ahead of this piece of content? This will define the structure, length, tone of voice, expected response of your audience.

Content goals vs its environment

For example, if you’re in the IT industry, trying to acquire traffic in an ongoing manner, you’re aiming for an evergreen piece of content that will always be attractive to a specific group of users. 

This requires the content to be SEO-specific, answer a popular topic that has lots of searches online. And since it’s an online piece of content, it should be full of headlines and short paragraphs – users scan content before actually reading in – take a look at a study on how users read on the web, held by the Nielsen Norman Group from 1997. It was right then, and it’s right now.

Supply your copywriter with the proper tools 

Assuming that you hired a copywriter that doesn’t create SEO-friendly content on a daily basis, you’ll have to supply that person with a list of keywords that will drive search engines to your website. Tools like Google Trends, Semrush or Senuto will come in handy when researching topics and cherry-picking phrases that should help drive organic traffic.

You may also be working with an SEO agency that will provide you with keywords and their key data. It’s crucial to include these keywords in your copywriting brief – especially if SEO is important for the content you’re creating.

Copy is only a part of the puzzle

Also, keep in mind that the right keywords, proper length of an article and its general readability are only half of the work – backlinks are key to driving traffic to your website. 

You can have the perfect article on headless e-commerce platforms, but if no one is linking to that article, it’s very unlikely to get large amounts of traffic organically. Depending on your business objectives, you’re going to need totally different types of content.

Include any internal or external links you want in your copywriting brief. You should also determine if you want them to be “follow” or “no-follow” links, if your copywriter will also be publishing the copy on your site, as part of their tasks.

3. Describe your business

Nobody knows what you’re selling better than you. Even if the copywriter you’ve hired has lots of experience in your industry, it’s highly unlikely that they know your product inside out. 

If you want your audience to fully grasp the USPs of your product, understand the technology or whatever is attractive about it, this knowledge should be passed on to your copywriter. 

Screening your website usually won’t be enough for an external entity trying to help you deliver your KPIs…particularly if it’s your website copy that needs to be improved or re-written entirely. 

Is it an elevator pitch, product roadmap or business strategy?

Depending on your product, the way you describe it to your copywriter will differ. For many organizations, it’ll be an onboarding presentation describing the business, for smaller start-ups it’ll be a one-pager product roadmap. The more details you pass on to your copywriter, and include in a copywriting brief, the more knowledge can be translated into the content you’ve ordered. 

In some cases, the process of creating marketing briefs is the beginning of a whole series of events that drive the creation of a marketing strategy, that should define what type of content you need. And we’re back at square one!

What makes your product special?

Based on the market research, demand for the product or service you offer, you’ve pinpointed why people need what you’re selling and most likely you’ve made your offer in some way unique – creating Unique Selling Points, that should define your company’s main messages. 

These USPs, alongside market or industry research, should be condensed into a list of points that are to be mentioned in the content. If you share a 90-slide presentation about the industry in general, your copywriter will bill you for the time that’s needed to go through that material. 

This also comes down to respecting your supplier – if presented with a two-page brief instead of 7 attachments with partially outdated data, you’ll get much more points for being a great customer, and the quality of the content you’ll receive will go up accordingly. 

Also, it’ll take much less time to create, hence saving you money – once again.

Who’s your audience?

This should go without saying but I’ll say it anyway. You have to explicitly explain who your target audience is in each copywriting brief- best if explained with personas, which we can address when creating your content. What they want from your product, why they’re interested in it, which USPs are created for which one. 

This will help your copywriter create the proper tone of voice that should resonate with a specific type of audience while ensuring each piece of content targets the pains and needs of the intended personas. Also, this will help understand the product context and the business background in general. It’s all coming together, isn’t it?

It all comes down to saving you time & money

Creating a good copywriting brief shouldn’t feel daunting – what should concern you more is the time and money you’ll spend when you aren’t explicit about what your needs are with a given piece of content. 

Knowing why you need this content, why your product answers specific needs, what types of challenges your business addresses, and who the end-users are – and having all of this written down on about two pages, best in bullet points – your copywriter will precisely craft content that’ll address all the above, saving you a lot of time and money on follow-ups.

Finding a tech copywriter who’ll fill that “communication void” in your organization and who’ll know how to take the CTO’s 400 slide presentation about your products and services, boiling it down into a few slogans and paragraphs is practically impossible if you’re looking for a quick win. 

BUT if you’re willing to play the long game, are aware of your needs and content requirements, know how to compensate for a job well done AND have the patience to teach someone about your products, you’re just about ready to work with a tech copywriter! They’ll most likely be nerdy, and have a passionate mind that loves to build stories – Just like you love to build software.

Step 1 – The Job Offer

With great software products should come perfectly described job offers.

Do you want to upsell current products? Or maybe you’re penetrating a new market and nobody in that segment is aware of the product or technology solutions you provide? Maybe you’re concentrating on a framework that’ll replace a legacy solution that everyone’s been whining about for the last few years.

That’s a strategic approach that you might not want to share during recruitment… but it’ll be exactly what your future tech copywriter will want to know. 

“Will I be selling software?”; 

“Am I supposed to translate case studies into short, internet-friendly stories?”; 

“Is performance marketing a key area where copywriting is lacking at the moment?”. 

These are only a few questions that will be thrown at you by a copywriter who’ll be genuinely interested in working with you and your products and respect your time. 

You’re looking for a tech copywriter, but the less you explain your requirements, business and products in job offers, the less likely it is that you’ll find the right match. Swipe left… sorry.

Step 2 – Tech copywriter background (and experience in the field)

Describing success stories about digital products, explaining in an engaging way why a native app is a better solution than a hybrid option, without going into a rant about technical details is tough. Especially for a copywriter without a technical background and/or knowledge about your industry. 

When searching for a tech copywriter be sure to evaluate their portfolio, case studies, examples of content that they’ve created. Maybe ask why that person chose that client, what was intriguing, what caused problems? Those are the types of questions you’ll hear from us if you choose to brief us on your project.

Step 3 – Their experience with your Audience. B2B, B2B2C, R2D2? 

Does your company have a more B2B or B2C product? Or maybe B2B2C or B2B2B? Do you have a Business Model Canvas, a Product Roadmap or buyer personas, written in plain English (not a link to GitHub)? 

Of course, these tools aren’t mandatory BUT having them will (literally) save you endless hours on onboarding processes, explaining who your target audience is, what they want/ need from your products.

At the end of the day, your business has to speak your clients’ language – through your copywriter(s). An experienced tech copywriter will be aware of the differences between B2C and B2B marketing, and what follows – what tone of voice is required, know the appropriate nomenclature and jargon if need be. They know that there are 10 types of people in this world.

Those that understand binary & those that don’t.

Ha, see what I did there?

Step 4 – Briefing – that’s on you

Even if you hire the most expensive copywriter, with a perfect technological background, and leave them with a short, vague email that makes requests like “for the CTA, just dazzle me!”, you’ll probably get technologically-correct content – but it’s likely going to be generic and won’t get the job done. 

Why you might ask? Because you didn’t specify what you want.

Be open to feedback on your most likely less-than-perfect “about the company” mind-map from 2017. We’ve seen a lot of these and they tend to be deal-breakers because we need you to explain what you were really trying to explain.

Think of a brief as a user story, which tells us what you want the end-user to do. We want to build great stories – but those consist of building blocks which, at the very core, you provide in a (best short) brief. 

Finding an expert tech copywriter is key in the success of converting leads for tech company blogs and other content. Tech marketing is not easy. It’s hard to have specialized copywriting knowledge, command of technical jargon, and the ability to translate your technology to broader audiences. 

Managing a tech company and creating marketing content, focused on the reader, is even more challenging. In fact, it can be a real roller-coaster ride, as most of you have probably experienced!

Grabbing attention and keeping it

Like Will Rogers, actor and comedian, once said, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” And that’s even more true these days. 

People are bombarded with a tremendous amount of information every step of their way across the internet. When somebody enters your blog and sees a lot of technical jargon and details irrelevant to them as potential clients, you can be sure that they’ll leave and won’t ever come back. Their attention span is very short and steep. You have to embrace the one and only opportunity to make a good first impression.  

Tech copywriters not only understand your tech’s lingo but also have the skill to make sure you’re talking directly to your target audience. They will take into account foundational marketing documentation you have, like buyer personas – making sure to touch on their pain points, needs and wants.

A lot of loops can make you dizzy

As a tech C-level, it’s hard enough for you to take care of all the complicated business tasks. You’ve put a lot of time and effort into creating your product or service. Its complex mode of operation and all the function descriptions can be hard to follow for your potential customers. 

In addition, preparing a complete marketing strategy and creating well-written blog posts may be too time- and attention-consuming to do in your precious time.  

On the other hand, well-written copywriting tailor-made to your business is essential to achieve your goals and see positive ROIs. But what if you’re not an expert in copywriting? Answer: Find a tech copywriter!

Our tech copywriters have got you covered

At Writelingo, we’re passionate about technology. We’re a team of nerds that love what we do – we combine our laser-sharp copywriting with a wealth of experience in the tech industry. 

Tech copywriting can be challenging for a variety of reasons. It’s not just about understanding your technical language, but there’s also the fact that, often, you’ll need to reach two kinds of readers – both the tech and the business buyers. Their needs may differ, but it’s vital to speak to both of them. The key is to align your copy to their goals and do it in a relatable way. To understand your audience and resonate with them. 

Our tech copywriters help you to make sure your potential customers feel like they are in the right place when they’re looking for a solution. You have to be that solution. You need to catch their attention and keep them interested long enough to learn how your company and products/services address their pain points. And then you just have to tell them what to do next – become not only your paying customers but also your loyal advocates.

Move towards success

Never underestimate the power of words and never doubt the power of a well-written copy. High-quality copywriting is a powerful selling force, but only if written with your custom audience in mind and by a tech copywriter who understands both the tech lingo and the readers’ needs. 

All the text on your website and blog should speak to them, connect with them and offer them real value. It should inspire them to take action. Engage your readers and educate them on their level – translating jargon and overcomplicated terms into human words. 

Create your brand voice. It’s crucial to have a unique identity because your tone of voice matters. We’ll show you how to be consistent, concise and tailored to your customers’ needs. We’ve got the power to turn strangers into your loyal customers. We’re here to help you to increase your profitability.