ASLU 069: Creative Canadian Natalie Gates and the Power of Great Copywriting For Your Business
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This week Melissa sits down with Vancouver Island based copywriter Natalie Gates. Natalie has turned her childhood love of writing into a career that lets her use her writing skills to help other creatives and service based entrepreneurs communicate with their customers and clients. She shows them how to embrace their quirks through captivating brand voice strategy and converting website copy. This week she shares her best tips so you can do the same for your creative business - whether it’s writing your own copy or finding the right person to write it for you.
Writing came early to Natalie - she has fond memories of writing stories about her dogs in elementary school. She loved being a creative kid - painting, drawing, dance and theatre all played a part in her childhood but, being a bit shy, she liked to be in the background roles.
In high school she continued writing and was fortunate to have teachers who kept the writing flame alive in her - English and Writing quickly become her favourite subjects. As much as she wished writing could be her career, she wasn’t sure it was a sustainable career that would pay the bills so, like a lot of kids who like writing in school, she thought journalism school might be the path for her.
But after studying journalism and political science in university, she found herself transitioning to PR and then, eventually marketing - where she worked for a destination marketing organization (DMO). Along the way she still found herself using her writing skills constantly while polishing her communication and digital marketing skills.
When the pandemic hit, tourism and DMO’s took a tremendous blow and Natalie found herself unemployed. That’s when she took the little nugget of an idea to start her own business that had been rattling around in the back of her brain for a while, and put it into action by opening her own copywriting firm.
Natalie is offering listeners a free mini web page review to help you with a second set of eyes on your copy.
This Episode is Great For…
If writing isn’t your jam (maybe you’re a visual creator or a musician or a maker) and you really struggle to figure out what to say on your website to draw new customers, clients or fans to you, Natalie has some really great advice. And if you are good with words, you might already know that writing to talk about yourself and what you do doesn’t necessarily come easy - even Natalie admits it’s hard for her to write about herself!
In this episode we’ll run a lot about copywriting, why it’s so important and the basics that you need to know to help you create successful, converting copy for you website, social channels and product listings.
If you just want the links to the resources mentioned in this episode, scroll down to the bottom.
Listen To the Episode
Here’s a direct link to Episode 69 . You can also listen via the player below or on your favourite podcast app (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, and more). Just search for And She Looked Up!
take your customer on a journey
In this episode we cover…
In this episode:
Natalie breaks down what copywriting is and how it’s different from content writing and where they overlap (because they often do!)
copywriting is used to spur your readers to take an action - usually sales focused. Think website copy, sales focused email campaigns, sales pages, launch packages etc
when you might want to bring a copywriter in to help you - a new website, a sales launch or to help you write sales copy when mindset issues around selling your work get in the way. Sometimes an outside voice can help you get through those big hurdles
where to focus if your budget for a professional copywriter is limited
what a copywriter will look for when they audit your website that can help you ensure better conversion
what should you focus on if you don’t have a budget for a copywriter (hint: get crystal clear on what you’re offering and who you’re speaking to and then focus on the benefits of your services or products and how they will make your customer’s life better!)
think about your customer’s journey when they land on your website - the planning and structure of your website is just as important as the actual words you write.
where do you want the customer to end up and what action do you wan them to take when they get there
think about your customer’s problem and how the journey you take them on is the solution
give your customer the chance to connect with you. You are your business, so don’t be afraid to embrace that - that connection can be very powerful.
they key things you must have on your website from a copy perspective: who you are, what you do, how you do it, who you do it for and how you do it differently from others (this could be your values or process)
how you can leverage copy when you don’t have a website - instead you sell on Instagram or Etsy or another product based platform
how to get started with product listing copy and what to focus on. Let the customer envision themselves with the product you’re selling, focus on the benefits - both physical and emotional
how to sell…without being icky. Because we need to make money.
focus on research and relationships and helping other humans
how to develop your brand voice, how much of yourself to include in your brand voice and how to draw boundaries with what you share
your brand voice will evolve - just like your business will evolve
how to embrace your quirkiness in your copy - and why you need to write a first draft!
service based businesses need to show they have a thoughtful work process on their website without overwhelming potential clients - focus on the benefits to the client
service based businesses and create more detailed communications pieces that are sent out after a client signs that guides them through each step of the process so they know what to expect and why - remove the risks they’re imagining in their head
some of the classic copywriting mistakes to avoid when you do your own writing - don’t suffer from a lack of copy
avoid big blocks of text, make sure you use headings, don’t focus on yourself - focus on the reader and why they’ve landed on your site and never sacrifice clarity just to be clever
SEO mattes in copywriting as much as it does in content writing - don’t ignore it.
how to find a copywriter who is right for you!
book Natalie for a FREE mini page review
Mentioned In This Episode
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