The three common copywriting mistakes

Copywriting mistakes – where do they come from?

Let’s start with the question what is copywriting related to.

The scope of activities includes:

1. sales texts,
2. blog articles,
3. product descriptions.

Why (as for the current standards) there are so many errors that reduce the effectiveness of the texts then? The answer is as simple as it seems – it stems  from the lack of regulations of copywriting.

Copywriting mistakes arise from improper implementation of services provided by person that does not have sufficient knowledge of writing and marketing.

In other words, the dilettante is not about the role that the created content should play. It is understandable only after deeper reflection. We do not have one education path that introduce evolving issues imposed by the market (those are positioning, social media and e-commerce) to us.

What is more, specialist knowledge is required often along with the content marketing trend that is developing. You should be fluent in the language and do not commit any aberrations. Not such a simple job, is it?

Basic goal of copywriting

The main marketing goal of copywriting is sales. Although it is usually implemented indirectly, copywriting is an investment that ultimately brings profits to the client (investor).

As you can read from the first definition, we write about an extremely broad profession. However, if you look closely, you will realize that every element of copywriter’s work is financial benefits oriented, even when prospect of earnings is long way off. If it was otherwise, this profession would not be needed in the labor market.

Three most common copywriting mistakes

Below, we present three the most common errors that, we believe, fit perfectly with the given definition, and yet are still frequently observed.

Linguistic errors

This is obviously a trivial issue to which we are constantly exposed when creating every sentence. Linguistic errors are mistakes that everyone make. However, in copywriting the limit of tolerance is narrower.

All of us have been avoiding spelling mistakes since we graduated from primary school. Simple rules can even make grammar of our complicated language clear.

Commas, the core of all punctuation errors, are much more problematic. Some people separate commas according to breathing pause, regardless of the sentence structure. Of course, when you are a copywriter such things can not happen, mostly because we would be exposed to high randomness while typing thousands of characters every month.

In fact, most copywriters can easily operate the language and create fully correct texts. Most often, we are dealing with linguistic clumsiness, for example in the form of pleonasms or syntax errors.

Although these are mistakes to which people turn a blind eye, we need to require the copywriter to be correct, or at least to pay attention and avoid indisputable aberrations. The primary tool in our profession is the text – it brings profits when it is of the highest quality.

How to avoid linguistic errors?

There are several ways. We recommend reading books. In fact, we believe that by avoiding reading, we have no potential for professional writing.

It is impossible to avoid all linguistic errors. They result from:

• loose and unsanctioned interpretations (the aim of punctuation is to ensure text legibility, hence you can unknowingly bend certain rules)
• ignorance (that applies to every human being). We believe that the most important thing to do is to break down your own barriers and ego in order to analyze the texts that we have created better. You may be surprised how many doubts arise from the use of stylistic means or sentence construction

That is one thing. Creating attractive content is another. Can we call someone who writes correctly a copywriter? Can we go a step further and be tempted to say that writing unattractive content is a mistake itself? We leave this question open.

Incorrect text structure

Copywriting errors concern structure of the text. It may be degraded by the current indexation standards.

Search engine algorithms are constantly being updated. Texts that were regarded as lucrative a decade ago may be meaningless today. Does it mean that Google has changed its attitude towards some types of content? It did!

Of course, we are talking here about Panda, that has been “eating” low-quality content since 2011. Colloquially speaking, this algorithm bans texts that “throw” key phrases around.

Google promotes reliable and transparent articles that respond to user queries by providing substantial value. For this reason, the fight for top positions is hard and time-consuming, and any “smart” attempts to bypass the algorithms will probably not be successful. Copywriting may still be associated with the magical use of key phrases, however, effective content has been directed onto different paths for several years so far.

If your company creates unique values or provides services at a high level, do not be afraid to inform your audience about it. Sharing professional knowledge is the most reliable showcase of the presented offer. To quote a wise aphorism: one should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.

Lack of strategy

The last, but not least is precise copywriting strategy.

As we have already established, texts ordered from copywriter have a specific assumption. Building brand recognition, substantive content for SEO or direct offer presentation – these are different marketing goals that require content of different specificity.

Slogans must be short and catchy, while sales texts need to be direct, persuasive and attractive. Specialized and expert articles require adjusting information to the recipients’ level of knowledge. In the same time, product descriptions combine objectivity with the language of benefits. These are simple rules known to everyone, however, implementation of the guidelines mentioned is a bigger problem.

For example, our offer is directed to educated entrepreneurs, characterized by high awareness of promotional activities on the Internet. It would be tactless to overly colloquialize or to take a laconic approach to the discussed topics.

Apart from linguistic mistakes and text structure, the content sometimes turns out to be too long, incomprehensible or completely inconsistent with the marketing assumptions. For this reason, it is worth starting cooperation with a copywriter that will provide comments on your strategy and clarify the specificity of the content, taking target group and company mission into account. The texts must strictly accomplish tasks, and contrary to appearances, it is not so easy.