12 Copywriting Tips for Small Business Owners

As a small business owner, you need to master a range of skills. As well as finance manager, CEO and pot washer, you need to become a copywriter. And the truth is that although copywriting seems simple at first, it can quickly become overwhelming. My copywriting tips for small business owners are just what you need!

Copywriting tips for small business owners.

Are you ready? Coffee in hand? Let’s go…

1. Writing doesn’t need to be a drama. You’re just communicating with your audience. If you feel anxious as you approach your keyboard, then try some mind tricks to help you relax into it. One such trick is to pretend you’re talking to just one person – you’ll feel yourself slipping into a much more comfortable frame of mind, ready to write!
2. Worries about your grammar? Install Grammarly – it’s what all the copywriters are using. It handily checks your grammar & gives you a little nudge if things look incorrect. Beware, the free version has a fondness for Oxford commas & American spellings, so use it with good judgement and align it with your preferences.
3. Forget yourself. You’re not writing for yourself. You’re writing for your audience. So make sure your writing talks to them about what they’ll get. Not what you can deliver.
4. Bad writing is better than no writing. After all, you can’t edit a blank page. So no matter how uninspired you feel or how bad your cold, get something down on the page. Chances are it won’t look that bad when you review it. Speaking of which…
5. Sleep on it. Leave everything you’ve written for a good few hours before you send/upload/share it. Overnight (or even longer if you have the time) is best. You’ll be amazed at how much you want to change on your final reading.
6. If it’s not your idea, say so. After all, you’ll just get into hot water if you try to pass off an idea or passage as your own. And in any case, it’s an opportunity to link to or mention your contributor, by which you broaden your audience.
7. Share! What’s the point of writing fine words if they just sit on your laptop or blogging account without ever seeing the light of day? Share, share and share again. And then repurpose it so you can share it even more. The world deserves to see your brilliance wouldn’t you say?
8. SEO is dead. Or so they keep saying. If you want your online writing to index well with search engines, you need to write naturally. Keep it relevant to your audience and use a broad range of vocabulary that refers to your “keywords” – not that anyone admits to using these anymore.
9. Keep it simple. Forget the long words and keep to simple language that’s anyone and everyone will understand. There are no prizes for the number of readers who don’t understand you.
10. Leave out unnecessary words. The more words you include, the more your audience needs to process, and the more likely they are to stop reading. Remove words such as “to”, “of”, “then” and “that”. This goes a long way to making your copy that little bit easier to read.
11. You don’t need to start at the beginning. It can be easier to get stuck into the meat of what you’re trying to say and then build the copy up around it. Don’t worry about finding the perfect opening paragraph – just leave it, write the rest of your document and then come back to it later on.
12. Get help. No-one is an island. If you’re really struggling, get a copywriter (shameless plug, my apologies!). Otherwise, ask willing (and capable) friends and family to proofread your work and give you feedback. A brainstorming session with your network can go a long way to giving you new ideas for your next few blog posts or emails.

Looking for more copywriting help?

As a copywriter who regularly writes for small and medium sized businesses, I can help you in a number of ways.

1. I can write for you. Give me a call, tell me what you need and I’ll get writing!
2. You can book a 121 inspiration call. You can use these calls in any way you like – from brainstorming ideas to coaching you to write perfect blogs.
3. You could join one of my copywriting workshops. I run a range of free and paid workshops, they all contain copywriting tips for small business owners!
4. You could sign up for my email. You’ll get a monthly update with advice and news to help you improve your writing. You’ll also get a free blogging basics guide to help you get started!