A Case for Copy: Why You Should Care Now, Not Later
Marketing Your Small Business
In today’s world, there’s a million and one strategies for scaling up your business. Marketing is always a key piece of that conversation, and in our increasingly online world, digital marketing is a key player.
Current stats show that in 2024 globally, the digital advertising and marketing market is estimated at around $667 billion. 1
But outside of digital vs print, there’s dozens of marketing niches and techniques. In fact, according to Mailchimp, there are 9 common types of marketing: 2
Content Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Influencer Marketing
Search Engine Marketing
Email Marketing
Public Relations
Print Marketing
Direct Mail Marketing
Television and Radio Marketing
A quick Google search expands that to at least 24 common types of marketing strategies. That’s a lot to wade through as a small business owner.
In all of these types of marketing, copywriting remains the backbone. While it can be easily overlooked in favor of graphics and visuals, the words you use are pivotal in transforming leads into customers.
Why?
Copywriting at Its Core
At its base level, copywriting is the art of using the right words to encourage the right reader to take action. Copy is the finished written product. This is a key part of every single marketing strategy on that list – regardless of the strategy, the words need to compel action or the strategy will fall flat.
What does that mean when implementing a marketing strategy? The goal is to personalize your words to your customers.
Ask the questions:
What do they desire?
What life do they want to live?
How does your product or service help them get there?
Whether it's your website, your ads, your emails, or even your product descriptions themselves, all of them can be used to connect to your customers.
That connection is what bridges the gap between a consumer of content and a buyer of your service. It’s what makes a customer say, “They really understand what I need. I’m going to give them my business.” Copywriting is the art of making that happen.
What Types of Copy Are There?
Typically, I break down copy into 2 categories:
nurturing copy
promotional copy
Nurturing Copy
Nurturing copy is copy that doesn’t directly sell anything to your customers but builds and tends to the relationship between you, your business, and the customer. It is great for building brand awareness, building trust, and moving customers through your sales funnel.
What are the goals for nurturing copy?
To help the potential customer gain interest – then they feel emotionally invested in your company
To show you care about their needs – so they feel less like a number and more like a person (and that you even know their needs or desires – a big overlooked key ingredient)
To promote reciprocity – you give them free info/knowledge/etc and often they want to give something (ideally their business) in return
Statistics show that nurtured leads typically make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads and companies that do well at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lower cost. 3, 4 Those are large enough numbers not to overlook nurturing content!
Good examples of nurturing content include:
Blogs
Newsletters (commonly via email though other versions exist)
Welcome email sequences
Freebies or opt-ins
Youtube videos
Social media content
post-purchase thank you emails
Promotional Copy
Promotional copy is where you promote and sell your product or service. This is typically what you think of when you think of sales and marketing. It is great for showing what you sell and for specifically encouraging a lead to take action and become a customer.
Business owners often forget that second part so let me say it again: You need to specifically encourage leads to take action and become a customer.
What are the goals for promotional copy?
To describe the product – then the customer can decide which product is right for them
To tell the customer to buy now – and you make the sale
To upsell – if a customer is thinking about which product to buy, you can sway them to buy both
According to 2024 data, “60% of consumers made a purchase in response to promotional emails they received.” 5 This is another great statistic that shows the power of promotional content – people want to purchase products but they need to be encouraged to do so.
It makes sense. Nurturing copy is about promoting feelings and persuading customers that your business is the right fit for them. Promotional content is about making the sale.
Good examples of promotional content:
Sales pages/landing pages
Sales email sequences
Web copy (aka your website)
Product descriptions/product pages
Abandoned cart emails
Call to action buttons (these are little forms of copy but can pack a punch!)
(Note – Social media posts can also be used here, but they must be used sparingly and
strategically. People tend to be turned off by a social media page that’s constantly selling them something.)
Utilizing a combination of nurturing content and promotional content is a large part of what prevents your content from feeling too “sales-y.” Too much nurturing content and you’re just an influencer or blogger who isn’t selling anything. Too much promotional content and it feels slimy and like your reader is just a number.
But a healthy combination of both? That’s where the copywriting magic happens.
The Combo to Greatness: Copywriting’s Usefulness in an Overall Marketing Strategy
The best businesses don’t use any of these content types in a vacuum. Instead, when you use these strategically throughout your marketing plan, potential leads and customers alike are more likely to come along for the ride.
Ultimately there’s no one-size-fits-all marketing recommendation. It depends on your goals, your niche, and your specific business plan. And to be fair, that’s partly why there’s a million and one strategies. (And a million and one talking heads telling you their strategy is “THE BEST STRATEGY EVER TM.)
But give me a moment and let me be another one of those “talking heads.” Here’s what I suggest:
Focus on personalization – personalize your strategy to your specific business’s needs and your ideal customer’s desires
Don’t stick to one marketing strategy – focus on what strategies fit your niche best and pick 2-3 to start with (AKA maybe don’t focus on print or direct mail if you don’t have a storefront)
Strategically use both nurturing copy and promotional copy – prevent your brand from feeling too sales-y by utilizing a variety of copy from both categories
Recent data indicates that “76 percent [of consumers] said that receiving personalized communications was a key factor in prompting their consideration of a brand.” 6
76% of consumers.
That’s too many potential customers telling us they want communication customized to them to ignore.
The Case for Copy
You don’t want your customers to feel like a sales number and copywriting is a key factor in personalizing your communications to your ideal customers.
Copywriting is something you can do yourself or something you can hire an expert for. After all, you know your business best. But whatever you do, don’t skimp on it. Copy is a key factor in all marketing strategies, whether you pay attention to it or not.
So pay attention.
Interested in how hiring a copywriter can help your business? I provide intentional copywriting in a loud world.
Schedule a free 30-minute call below!