I studied English Language at A Level yet I have difficulty remembering most of what I was taught. In today’s society the ability to write well for different platforms is seen as a requirement in nearly every job going and the ability to write to sell is seen as a absolute must. The question is how to write to sell well!

I attended a fantastic day of seminars recently called “Words the Sell” which is my inspiration behind this post. I want to share with you, our lovely readers, the trick to writing copy that will sell your brand.

One of the most important things you need to remember when writing to sell is to focus on your target audience. Do not start your writing with “we” or focus entirely on the features of your product. You need be using “you” at least three times more than “we” and you need to focus on the benefits to the customer of using your product or service, rather than its features.

So instead of saying “We provide the best marketing service for you which includes direct mailing and online marketing” we should be saying “You get fantastic marketing services from us which will help you to sell your business in a variety of different ways”. Let’s be honest – you’re much likely to buy from the writer using the second quote then the first.

Another big no when writing to sell is to write for reading. This sounded a little bit bizarre to me at first as well as I thought “but we are reading it...” however, it’s recommended that you write it to be said as it’ll flow more easily and will be attractive to the reader. A way in which you can do this is to write less formally and structured; have a bit of fun with your writing, keep it casual and friendly.

One particular seminar from the day really stood out for me which was by Alan Barker who ran a workshop called “Copywriting for Non-Copywriters”. He put forward three dimensions of copywriting which has stayed with me since the workshop. Sense, sound and structure. By paying particular attention to these three areas in your writing you can create copywriting that sells.

One phrase he used which has stuck with me was “all copywriting aspires to the position of the proverb”. I think this says it all with copywriting. We want our service and brand to be remembered and used and we try to use slogans and catchphrases to make this happen – all of which aspire to the power of the proverb.

There are so many different ways to write and a variety of opinions on how to write to sell well. But one of the main points from the seminars and a reoccurring theme is this: be confident! If you are confident in your writing, your writing will reflect this in a big way. If you have no confidence in your writing, you’ll never write as well as you want to. This would be my main tip – confidence is the key to good copywriting!