Copywriting is an essential skill in affiliate marketing. Being able to persuade a user to complete an action comes down to communication and a lot of the communication on a website or landing page is written text.
When I write copy I follow a build > breakdown > rebuild workflow. What this means is I’ll write a straight forward piece of persuasive text and then analyse it to pull out the most important aspects. Some copywriters discuss removing insignificant text of up to 80% when proofing. I tend to extract the best bits, the core benefits to the user and the key phrases which can engage a user. It’s these golden gems that I then use to rewrite the entire piece again, simplifying it and producing a minimalised piece of text that engages the user.
A golden gem can be something that:
- elicits emotion from the reader
- the reader can relate to
- connects the reader to a raw need or want
- simply explains the product/service in a way that induces desire
- adds value to the product/service
These are all powerful motivators in getting a user to respond. Whether that be to submit an email address or fill in their credit card details, persuasive copywriting is a powerful tool that all affiliates should have a working knowledge of.
Some golden gems:
“Celebrate next month being your best month ever.”
“Connect with a community of like minded individuals.”
Some not so golden phrases you see all the time which are a waste of space
“xProduct is the leading ….”
“xService has been established since 1806”
“Sixty percent of the time it works every time“
OK so the last one might actually elicit a smile from a reader but the idea is there. Paint a picture with your words. Cut out blurb or text that doesn’t need to be there. Anything that doesn’t push a button for the reader shouldn’t be in the piece. Every sentence should make the reader want to read the next sentence. Could you convince yourself or a reasonable member of the target audience with what you have written?
