Simple Copywriting Tips for Early-stage Start-ups

Budget is often understandably tight at the early stages of a start-up, so brands must focus on wise investments. One such investment that can help your start-up gain customers is good copywriting – virtually no company can survive without it. Good copywriting can improve your messaging and even distinguish the business from competitors to help you nudge consumers into becoming paying customers. Here are some copywriting tips to help your start-up craft messages that resonate with the target audience.

Write as If Speaking to a Friend

The mistake some start-ups make is trying to pass on information about every product feature to customers with jargon (aka geek-speak). That approach can turn potential customers away. A better approach is writing as if you were speaking to a friend and limiting or removing the jargon. That way, you’re approaching the audience with information that’s easily understood.

Convey your message as if you were having coffee with someone and keep the tone casual. And whenever you have to use technical terms, be sure to define each one. Conversational writing can help the audience connect with your brand.

Explain How You’ll Solve the Consumer’s Problem in One Sentence

Keep the copy focused on how your product will solve the prospect’s problem. Consider the underlying theme behind all the problems your product solves – think about the main benefit that the product provides to the target audience and convey it in one sentence.

For example, the petty cash app, PYCO, understands that filmmakers often face difficulties when managing petty cash. Filling out spreadsheets, paperwork and hunting down receipts from the film crew are only some of the main issues for producers. So, the company summed up all issues with a simple value proposition: “PYCO is a simple app to help producers manage petty cash with clarity and ease.”

Decrease Friction

Friction is anything that would slow down your flywheel or a natural resistance that can prevent consumers from taking the desired action. You can reduce friction, and while it’s not possible to eliminate all resistance, here are some things to bear in mind.

The first visit to your landing page is pretty much equivalent to meeting someone for the first time for the prospect. You wouldn’t ask a total stranger to marry you, so don’t overly push for the sale right away – everything should be in progression.
People are often reluctant to give away money when the benefit is unclear or don’t have the full picture. That’s why it’s best to soften aspects of your copy and call-to-actions. For instance, you can add a link to your money-back guarantee policy right below the “Shop Now” button. Similarly, you can use softened phrases to make requests politely.
Offer positive reinforcements to help prospects come to a decision.
Find out what words and phrases the target audience uses to describe the problem and solution. Then naturally inject those words and phrases (it doesn’t have to be exact) in your copy. That should help make your brand more relatable to consumers.

How the above copywriting tips for decreasing friction are applied will depend on context and the product being sold. None of it is a requirement.

Make the Audience Curious

“Fat Moe: Take the money and run, Noodles. What’s keeping you here?
Noodles: Curious…” – From the movie, Once Upon A Time in America

Provoking curiosity can keep prospects reading until all your intended messages are conveyed. Make each line’s goal in your copy to keep the visitor reading, starting with the headline. That way, the visitor is more likely to engage your CTA (call-to-action).

Try to remain thin on the details, so the prospect craves more. Curiosity is one of many powerful tools copywriters use, and like all the others, overall context and business situation deserve consideration.

Evoke Emotions

People buy with emotions, so if you can evoke the right ones in your copy, it should perform better.

One way to evoke emotions is to help the prospect imagine how your product will make them feel through storytelling. A study by Professor Paul Zak revealed that stories could change our behavior by evoking emotion. People are more generous and willing to do certain things after hearing a good story.

Another way you can evoke emotions is by using specific words. For example, you can apply trigger words, such as helpless, savagery, and impatience.

Use Data to Backup Your Claims

Whenever you make a claim, use data to back it up if applicable. You can use numbers to tell people how big the problem is that your product solves. For instance, “there are one billion people with X, and our product enables them to X.”

Similarly, you can use numbers to illustrate your success rate, such as “we’ve helped X number of businesses generate X dollars.” Data can help make your business more credible, trustworthy and persuade undecided consumers.

Wrapping Up

The world, in general, is a crowded place, and there are lots of businesses trying to push products to consumers. Good copywriting can help you hold people’s attention long enough to become convinced about your product’s value. However, good copy alone won’t turn your start-up into a success overnight. Doing a combination of things in a certain way is what leads to success. That means your SEO (search engine optimization), paid advertising, prospecting, and any other activities deemed necessary should support and reinforce each other.

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