Okay so you’re a business. You offer X, sell Y, solve Z. Brilliant. But wait, there’s a business down the road that does exactly the same. How do you make your business stand out? How would it stand out in a room with 5, 10, or even 15 other businesses offering the exact same thing? What would you say to make people notice you, and come through your door?

Well, what it boils down to really is what you say, and how you say it. It comes down to the words (Copy) you use; in your advertising, on your window, in your newsletters, emails, door-drops, brochures, flyers, staff updates – in everything you say. Words are who you are. They are your brand. They are what will make people buy your product, use your service, or ‘put money in the charity tin’.

Consumers are fickle. The words you use to sell you and your business to them, will ultimately decide whether you sink or swim. It’s no longer enough for people to ‘believe that your product does what it says on the tin’ because every business in the world can say that. Customers need to believe in you, and what you offer. If they don’t they’ll go elsewhere.

The words you use in everything you write; in every email you send; in every single piece of sales collateral, need to have an impact. Every single one needs to be working its socks off to get a response from the reader – be it making them pick up the phone, going to your website, filling in a form, or booking an appointment. If you have the wrong words, you won’t get a response.  

• It’s okay to have a great website – but is every word working to get people to click?
• It’s okay to have an incredible Product or Service – but do you have the words to sell it?
• It’s okay to have an email campaign – but how do you get people to open it? How do you avoid the SPAM Filters?
• It’s okay to have top Google Rankings, AdWords and SEO – but what will make people click through to your site?
• It’s nice to have a fan page on Facebook – but how do you really engage with your fans?

Put simply, poor copy does not sell. Excellent copy does. Powerful response-focused copy means more customers, more sales, more business, and more money.  

Oli Johnson is an Advertising Copywriter www.orangejuicecopy.com  He works with businesses to ensure they’re using the right words to sell their products and services. He also owns and runs his own independent creative magazine, Kerouac’s Dog ® www.kerouacsdogmag.com He also likes Cherry Bakewells.