In the world of sales and marketing, the language you use to accompany your goods is as important as the images or videos that go with it. Not only does it supplement the item with much-needed information, but is a vital way of attracting consumers, allowing them to gauge the quality of your items.
In this digital age, where you literally have the entirety of the world’s knowledge at your fingertips – as well as an abundance of online competition – there’s no excuse for dry copy. A simple flick through Word’s synonym options and thesaurus will help you to elevate your words into fresh, tantalising copy that almost dances off the page!
So, first of all, what is sales copy? Well, it’s the text that acts as a method of persuading consumers to purchase an item – which is why dull and dry just won’t cut it. To be successful here, you need your copy to be so mind-blowingly convincing that the consumer pushes all doubts and questions aside to purchase the item on offer; in short, the function of sales copy is to convince customers that this is an item they simply cannot live without.
If language and marketing aren’t your strength, we’ve collated a selection of tips to help you improve the copy you produce to ensure that you maximise the sale price of your auctioned goods.
Stick to one key focus
Copy that tries to do too many things at once is confusing and off-putting. To lure your customer in, you need to concentrate on one key aspect of the item if possible, or why this item is essential for them to purchase.
Outline your ultimate goal
The question you should ask yourself every time you start writing copy is to: what are you trying to achieve? Do you want to highlight the uniqueness of items, the durability, or various uses? Whichever it is, you need to make it clear and stick to that throughout your writing.
Who’s the target audience?
Knowing to who you are selling your items is a crucial aspect of writing successful copy. The language you use, the tone, and the structure all depend on the target consumer’s age, occupation, and financial status. Once you are aware of this, you can then research other copy aimed at this group and identify the key vocabulary you need to incorporate for maximum profit and success.
Include compelling language
Boring language – including generic words such as ‘nice’ and ‘beautiful’ – are a waste of words. They fail to inform the consumer fully about the item they are considering and make it seem as though it isn’t highly regarded. In short, they can tell that you haven’t put any effort in and, if that’s the case, why should they bother purchasing one of your items?
Make it readable and relatable
Whilst incorporating compelling vocabulary is important, try not to waffle on too much with an abundance of multi-syllable words that most readers will wade through like treacle. If they can’t follow it easily enough, they are going to abandon the item and move on, simple as that, so ensure that your copy is both readable and relatable for your target audience.
Tell a story
Good writing is all about transporting the reader on a journey, helping them to envision the multiple ways that this item can benefit them. Telling a story through your copy is engaging for consumers and helps them to become invested in the item in question.
The biggest tip we can offer you to help with copy to maximise your sales price is not to underestimate its importance in the mind of consumers - take your time with your descriptions and put yourself in your potential buyer’s shoes.
Take a look at our current live auctions to get some inspiration.