How To Perform Copywriting & Graphic Design
There’s no doubt that hiring a great copywriter and graphic designer would be a worthwhile investment for your business. However, for many of us, financially speaking times are tough right now and the less we have to outsource the better.
This is why we have prepared this guide to copywriting and graphic design, to give you the best tips on performing these essential aspects of any business yourself.
Copywriting
What is Copywriting?
Copywriting is the broad term for any writing that is done for a business. This includes:
- Your website copy.
- Emails.
- Social Media posts and comments.
- Leaflets of other marketing materials.
- Adverts.
What is the Aim of Copywriting?
The purpose of any copy written for your business is to help you sell your products or services.
To do that effectively the following things need to be considered:
- Does it have a defined target audience?
- Has it considered the readers’ point of view and level of understanding about the topic; you might be the expert but your customer needs layman’s terms.
- Does it address your customers’ pain points?
- Are keywords and other SEO strategies being used effectively?
- Does it contain relevant links?
- Is it compelling? Does it make the reader want to get to the end?
Copywriting: Top-Tips
- Keep it simple. Short sentences and no overcomplicated words or jargon.
- Always include a Call To Action or CTA, this is where you point your potential customers where you want them to go for example ‘Buy it here’, ‘sign up now’, or ‘get in touch’.
- Use a spelling and grammar app to help you spot errors and improve readability. Grammarly and Hemmingway are among the most popular.
- Know and understand your customer.
- Keep the tone and content relevant to your brand.
- Break up your text with pictures, video, white space, headings and subheadings and numbered lists or bullet points.
- Don’t always make it about a hard sell. Remember that people buy from people so make your copy relatable, tell stories, provide value, and build trust.
Graphic Design
What is Graphic Design?
Graphic design conveys messages visually. For businesses this commonly means giving your customers and potential customers messages through the following:
- Business logo.Product packaging.
- Web design.
- Brand identity.
- Print design.
Aspects of graphic design include:
- Pictures.
- Layout.
- Font.
Top Tips for DIY Graphic Design
- Know your brand identity and stick to it. Keep colours, fonts etc. consistent.
- Simplicity is best. Don’t overcrowd the elements of your design or use difficult-to-read fonts.
- Take inspiration from big brands. Collect examples of graphic design you like and think about what you like about them and why.
- Use a tool such as Canva it is free and easy to use even for beginners.
- Understand that white space is your friend.
- Always be clear on the objective.
How to Get Started
Just start! Play around with both copywriting and graphic design and try to relax in the knowledge that you’ll get better as you go along. You never know, you might discover an untapped talent you didn’t know you had.
Watch a few videos and read a few ‘how to’ guides including some of our other blog posts.
If you find that some bits of the copy or graphic design come easier than others then do get in touch with us at Approved Business as we can help you pick up the slack with website design, email marketing, social media, SEO as well as other aspects of copywriting and graphic design.