As a copywriter, you will sometimes need to inform your customers about an upcoming offer or product. To do so, you need to write compelling promotional copy that will persuade readers to take action. But how can you get started with promotional copywriting?
To write compelling promotional copy, you need to identify your target audience, define your objectives and write text that is clear, concise, and descriptive. Also, ensure your headlines are catchy, and your call to action is strong. Finally, split-test and optimize your copy on a regular basis.
In this post, we will discuss how to write great promotional copy and explore some examples of successful marketing copy. Ready to learn? Let’s get started!
What Is Promotion Copywriting?
This is a form of writing that uses persuasive language to raise awareness and promote interest in a product or idea.
Ultimately, the primary goal of promotion copywriting is to get readers to take an action, such as signing up for updates or subscribing to an email list.
How Do People React To Promotion Copy?
Before we dive too deep into promotional copywriting, it’s crucial to understand how people react to marketing messages.
Understanding the psychology behind this will help you avoid making mistakes in the creation of your next promotional material, whether it’s a flyer, leaflet, brochure, email campaign, or ad.
There are two common reactions you can expect readers to have. In the first one, people might dislike the copy, so they don’t read it.
For instance, you hand someone a flyer, they take a quick look, crumple it up, and toss it in the next bin. In another scenario, the reader receives a brochure, takes a quick look, then proceeds to read it.
This means the copy is interesting and captivating enough to make the reader want to find out more. Also, when they read to the end, they may be compelled to take the recommended course of action.
Obviously this is the response you want when you’re creating promotional copy! The quality of the copy and the way it is written determines whether or not the reader will take action.
To avoid copy that backfires, you need to understand what makes copy effective.
2. What Makes A Good Promotion Copy?
A lot of work goes into writing good marketing copy. The following are some of the elements that make up effective promotion copy.
- Good marketing copy has a clear call to action that persuades the reader to take the next step forward.
- It is written in concise and clear sentences that are easy to read, captivating, and compelling. Also, the tone is friendly yet authoritative.
- Successful promotional copy identifies the pain points of the target audience and then offers a realistic solution.
- It’s able to elicit emotional reactions that help make a brand or product memorable.
- It represents a brand’s image by communicating marketing messages in a way that reflects what the brand stands for. This way, all the marketing elements of the brand work together to ensure that the company’s objectives are achieved.
Generally, good promotional copy brings about measurable results.
Some indicators of successful marketing copy include increased website traffic, a higher number of clicks, conversion rates, and increased on-page times.
How To Write Irresistible Copy For Promotions?
You need to write promotional content each time you have an upcoming offer or product launch. To get it right, your copy should be well-crafted to boost awareness and persuade as many people as possible.
The following guide will help you craft compelling copy that converts.
1. Identify Your Audience And Write For Them
It is not enough to just write—you need to tailor your message to meet the needs of the target audience. To do that, you need a crystal clear understanding of your audience.
For instance, you need to find out what they are lacking and what their pain points are.
When you identify your audience’s challenges, it becomes easier to write a message that shows how your product or service will address their pain points.
If the audience finds that your marketing message is helpful for their challenges, they are more likely to trust you.
You may also need to create the buyer personas for your audience. These help you to find out what motivates a buyer to purchase a product.
With these reasons in mind, you’ll be able to promote the benefits of your offer by showing the customer how it will save them time and effort.
Finally, studying your audience helps you communicate with a language/tone that they can relate to. It also helps you to write for the audience rather than for your business, which makes a huge difference.
Additionally, communicating in your target audience’s language helps you to describe product features in a way that customers can relate to.
2. Define Your Objectives
Once you understand your audience and their needs, you need to define what you need the promotional copy to do for you.
For instance, do you need a copy to persuade people to sign up for more information, or do you want the company to persuade somebody to download a free resource in exchange for an email address?
Whatever you want to achieve, make it clear before you begin writing your marketing copy. Having clear objectives will help you stay on course and avoid deviating from the main marketing message.
3. Grab The Attention Of Your Audience
As the amount of content on the internet grows, readers get access to more and more information each day. The more they are bombarded with information, the more their attention spans shrink.
As such, you only have a small window of time to grab your reader’s attention.
You can captivate your audience by creating a strong opening for your copy, especially if you use bold and descriptive headlines.
Once you have their attention, you need to maintain it by using clear and concise copy for the promotion. Another way to keep your audience is by staying laser-focused on a specific promotion.
For example, if you’re creating an email or a social post for a promotion, ensure you keep the details relevant to the particular offer.
Avoid adding extra information about unrelated promotions because this may divert the attention of the audience and prevent them from taking action.
4. Use The 3 D’s In Your Copy
To run a successful promotion, you need to ensure your copy is detail-oriented, descriptive, and provides the deadline. These are known as the 3 D’s.
Let your readers know what the promotion is about, who it is for, and for how long it will run. This way, prospects can prepare adequately to avoid missing out.
For instance, a spa copywriter promoting a bonus might write, “Enjoy a 50% discount on a massage”. Another version of the copy could be, “Welcome to Excellent Spa.
Enjoy half prices for a shoulder massage today and tomorrow only”. The second version is likely to convert better because it is specific, offers more details, and provides a deadline.
Let’s take a look at the following promotional copy from Sidewalk Juice.
The copy provides the details of the promotion i.e. the purchases made will be used to feed a hungry child. It further states that the promotion will run for the next 7 days.
It also states that the reader can enjoy a free 2 Degree energy bar if they take action (buy a juice).
4. Check The Length Of The Copy
When it comes to the length of the copy, there is no one-size-fits-all format because the ideal length depends on a lot of factors.
In most cases, the length of your promotional copy depends on the mode of delivery you intend to use. For instance, if you use Twitter, you must ensure your copy length is between 71-100 characters.
If you are writing an email subject line, keep it between 28 and 39 characters. As a rule of thumb, keep your text clear, concise, and to the point.
Resist the temptation to include extraneous details that are unrelated to the promotion at hand. When you minimize distractions, you increase the chances of persuading the reader to act.
5. Add An Urgent Call To Action
Your copy would be incomplete without a call to action. This section of the copy gives the reader a clear step to take after reading the copy.
Each promotion should be backed by a strong call to action for it to be effective. Keep your CTAs short and clear.
For instance, “Sign up today and earn extra points” is an urgent and compelling call to action for royalty-based programs.
6. Proofread Your Copy
Nothing discourages a reader more than a page full of typos. Before publishing your work, ensure the promotion is free from typos, punctuation errors, and grammatical issues.
Errors have a way of hiding in plain sight, so try to bring in an outside pair of eyes to check your work. If you can find someone to go through the copy multiple times, that’s even better.
You can also make proofreading easier by using tools such as Grammarly to spot issues such as run-on sentences, passive voice, and poor word choice.
7. Remember To Test Your Promotional Copy
Finally, do not forget to test your marketing copy. A/B split testing is a great way to gauge the reaction of your audience toward your copy.
As stated earlier, your audience’s reaction to your promotion will directly affect the number of readers that take action.
A/B split testing enables you to test how various elements of copy perform (such as headlines and text length).
With the insights you get from the tests, you can optimize your promotion copy to convert more effectively.
Examples Of Great Promotional Copywriting
Writing a great promotional copy can help your brand stand out from the competition. The best way to quickly produce persuasive copy is to learn from other businesses.
In this section, we will study a few ideas and examples you can emulate in your promotions.
1. Running Pre-Launch Promotion Campaigns
The main goal of running a pre-launch promotional campaign is to create awareness around the product before it even becomes available for sale.
With this kind of promotion, brands can build excitement around new products and even do some orders before the launch. A great example of a successful pre-launch promotion is Dropbox.
The aim of the copy above is to get people to install Dropbox on their computers. To achieve this objective, Dropbox gets people to refer their friends to join the program.
They make it easy for prospects to invite their friends by email because they provide a helpful interface.
The copy cleverly highlights the benefits that prospects get when they refer their friends. Both the referrer and the friend will get a bonus storage space of 500MB.
Additionally, the copy has a magnetic headline that is hard to miss. From the headline, readers can immediately see benefits they will get if they invite their friends to Dropbox (16GB of free storage).
2. Running A Newsletter Sign-Up Promotion
Getting people to sign up for a newsletter is among the top calls to action used by brands to collect leads for their email campaigns.
As people see more and more sign-up forms, they get used to them and hence may not take action every time they see one.
Backing up a sign-up CTA with a promotion is a great way to convince people to join. This is because they gain something from the interactions, such as a discount or a free item.
For example, California Olive Ranch uses a sign-up discount to entice the reader to join the program..
The copy is clear, concise, and to the point. After a quick glance, readers can tell they’ll get a 10% discount on recipes, tips, and much more if they sign up for the email newsletter.
This is followed up by an irresistible call to action that states, “Oh, why not!”
3. Social Media Giveaways
Social media giveaways are another great way to promote your brand by creating buzz around a service/product.
Here, you can use some ideas from our article on social media copywriting ideas.
Brands use giveaways for various reasons, such as to grow an email list, increase the number of followers, or drive engagement.
For instance, Crystal Clear Skincare wrote the following promotion copy to boost the number of followers and increase awareness about its existence as a cosmetics retailer.
The copy opens with an attention-grabbing headline coupled with a lovely visual of the city of Paris. To sweeten the deal, they allow the winner to go on a trip with their loved one.
The text is clear and provides all the information a prospect needs to know, such as the age of the winners, flight and accommodation details, plus the terms and conditions.
To create a feeling of urgency, the copy also provides details of the competition and the deadline.
Wrapping Up
Promotion copywriting is a great marketing tactic that helps you spread awareness about a product or brand. It also enables you to persuade people to take a specific action without being pushy.
People do not like being pressured or receive promotions that seem spammy.
You can give people a gentle nudge to take action by providing all the details about your promotion (especially the benefits) and also write a clear call to action.
Additionally, you should ensure that your copy revolves around your audience and is free from errors and passive voice.