Writing effective marketing language is the most affordable way to boost the results of your digital campaign. Unfortunately, in the busy-ness of a campaign, good copywriting often takes a back seat to just getting done, but investing some extra time and thought in HOW you deliver your message means getting more bang for your buck online.
Digital campaigning is mostly writing. Websites, blog posts, emails, social media posts, text messages, graphics, and even videos all rely on good copywriting. How you say something for your campaign matters as much as – probably more – than what you say.
Let’s look at five copywriting tips that will drive your campaign supporters to take action.
Solve A Problem
High conversion rate copywriting solves a problem – one, specific problem – for the supporter.
“Mad about high gas prices? Donate Now”
“Want parents to have a say in education? Volunteer”
“Ready to retire Nancy Pelosi? Add your name”
This is an easy to repeat formula, but it’s important that you explicitly spell out what the problem and solution are. They both go together.
“You” Not “Me”
Write with your supporter in mind and emphasize how taking the action you offer will address their problem.
Instead of “My campaign needs your support to win,” say “Your support is critical to our campaign’s success.”
Rewrite any copy that has more first person language (I, me, my, mine, etc.) than second person language (you, we, us, our, etc.).
Active Voice & Vocabulary
Getting someone’s attention for even a few seconds is an accomplishment in today’s oversaturated media landscape. You can’t afford to let passive language cause you to miss your shot.
Instead of “Please consider making a donation to our campaign,” say “Contribute now to fight back.”
The more urgent and action-oriented the phrasing and word choice, the better. Avoid generic terms like “check out,” “submit,” and “sign up” in your calls to action and use more descriptive verbs like “watch,” “share,” and “join.”
Write For the Eyes
If you’re lucky, on average, you only have a few seconds of a voter’s attention. Help them scan the message quickly by organizing the visual hierarchy of your copy.
Use a quick, compelling line as your heading. A brief supporting line or two after that to let them get more context if they wish. And close with a call to action.
Leave plenty of white space. Use formatting like underlining and bolding to make key words or phrases stand out. Put calls to action in button-style boxes.
Copywriting Is Never Finished
You should always be revisiting what you write, especially for websites. As the campaign progresses, so will your message. Copy that was intended for a primary audience, for example, is not relevant to a general election audience. This issue is most common for web pages and automated emails that you might not encounter regularly.
Similarly, if you’re not seeing the results you expect on a list building survey or petition, rewrite the copy on the landing page to boost conversions and lower your costs. It’s a free and easy fix that could save you money.
Conclusion
Copywriting is an essential component of your digital campaign that may get overlooked, but your words matter. With these tips, you'll be able to convert more supporters to action.
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