Are These 6 Common Copywriting Mistakes Costing You Sales?

Even in a day and age when we rely on instant messaging and text to communicate, proper language use has become more casual. Abbreviations, acronyms, purposeful misspellings, memes, emojis, and GIFs have all become socially-acceptable communication methods.  Regardless of popular belief, there are scenarios when those communication methods are appropriate, and when they are not. In fact, short-form or casual writing can cost an e-commerce business sales. In this article, we will point out the most common copywriting mistakes to be on the lookout for. 

1. Grammatical Errors And Typos

Take a minute and put yourself in your customers’ shoes. If you were browsing your Facebook newsfeed and you see a post or ad appears that is riddled with typos, misspellings, and obvious grammatical errors, what are your first thoughts about that company? These errors are closely tied to credibility.  First impressions are key. So, before publishing ads or content on social media, email, or your website, give your content good proof. If writing isn’t your strong suit, then consider hiring a qualified and experienced writer or have a team member proof your work before hitting “publish” to avoid embarrassing errors.

2. Lack Of Empathy

One characteristic of high-quality copywriting is empathy. Good writers know who their audiences are, their pain points and challenges, and understand how to write content that addresses those challenges.  A lack of empathy in your copywriting can come across as rude or overly-salesy.  The key is to really understand who your audience is, what makes them tick, and address their problems and challenges through the art of writing.

3. Missing The Hook

Similar to the point above, many businesses write copy but often miss the opportunity to punch the point. Are you trying to grab your audience’s attention to promote a product, service, or make a sale? The best way to do this is to ensure your call to action is as clear as possible. Be direct in your ad copy in exactly what you want the reader to do. 

4. Focusing On The Negative — Not The Positive

It is proven that readers and customers enjoy reading copy or content that has “life” or a personality. After all, reading content should be an enjoyable experience. No one likes to read content that is negative or written by a “Debbie Downer”. For example, when addressing customers’ challenges and pain points, be empathetic to them, but then don’t forget to turn the negative points into positives. 

5. Poor Format And Structure

Because technology is more available and accessible than ever today, our attention spans have decreased dramatically. As a result, your ad copy or longer-form content should be easy to read, digestible, and scannable. Writing one giant block of text, or using long paragraphs will deter readers from reading or reacting to your content. When writing content, consider the platform. Most ad platforms have character limits, which will reduce content that is too wordy. All in all, your ad copy and content should be short, punchy, and to the point.

6. Misunderstanding Your Audience

This is one of the biggest mistakes—and perhaps the most important—with copywriting. Successful copywriting is written in a way that appeals to the audience’s persona. For example, if your e-commerce business sells perfume, makeup, or handmade soap, then a large portion of your target audience is likely women between the ages of 20 and 50. This is a fairly broad audience, however, using an AI-powered advertising platform, such as AdScale can help you pinpoint exactly who is buying your products. With this data, you can write better copy that appeals and “speaks” to your particular audience. This will immediately lead to more conversions and sales.

Clean Up Your Copywriting To Boost Sales

All in all, the quality of your copywriting is more important than you might think. By cleaning up your ad copy, email content, blog and website content, and so on, you will boost your credibility, attract target audiences, and also increase sales.