First impressions are rare. In the case of fashion copywriting, there are only a few seconds to make the points, get readers to act and create a conversion.
Your visitors will not come back for an explanation, nor will they try to contact you to clarify what you meant.
Do you create copy for your fashion website only to discover that people are confused about what you sell?
Whether you sell a product or service, the way you present it to the potential customer will increase or decrease your conversion rates.
If you want to avoid making the same mistakes that I used to, continue to read this post.
You will understand some of the people’s most popular copywriting mistakes when creating a sales page.
You may also find the following list helpful in reviewing your latest landing or product page.
14 Copywriting Mistakes To Avoid
You do not know your audience.
There are situations when you ask a business owner, who is your product for, and they answer, “Everyone!”.
Of course, “Everyone” can buy your product or service, but your goal is to discover the people most keen to become your best customers.
Your sales copy should start niche no matter what you sell.
For example, if you write a product description for a dress, all women can buy the dress, but what is the highest potential audience of women? So when they visit your product page, what women will say, “This is the dress that I need”?
When you write for everyone, you write for no one.
Before you create your copy, ensure you know who you wrote for and what JTBD ( Job To Be Done ) needs your customer by buying what you sell.
Not having a CTA ( Call to action )
If the product copy lacks action, what is the point of writing the copy?
As a copywriter, you must ensure that your readers, who are your potential customers, act.
Copywriting consists of writing to sell something.
No matter how you write your copy – your copy needs to generate a domino effect, increasing sales for you or your clients.
Your call for action has to be brief and direct.
You have to tell the reader exactly what to do. Nothing too dull or dry, nothing too long.
While the copy is impressive and immaculate, the whole thing is wasted by poor calls to action or, even worse, missing calls to action.
Always ask yourself, “what do I have to do to motivate my clients to take action on my copy?”
Lack of proofreading
Copywriters should proofread their work to make the final copy product.
Even though it can be difficult for a writer to proofread their works, not doing it might leave many mistakes overlooked and easily spotted by readers.
Why do we need to proofread if we know our writing style?
Mistakes happen, and you might notice quickly “the easy-to-fix ones”.
What happens if you do not find any faults in your writing? That is great, but what about asking some friends to read it?
If you feel that friends will not do a good job, join copywriting communities and promise to return the favour when someone needs proofreading.
Mistakes are unprofessional; worse, they reduce the conversion rate and should never be included in the final product if possible.
Weak Headlines
A poorly written article might differ according to the type of copy you write.
Headlines in Facebook ads, Google ads, or your website might differ.
Remember that different tactics produce higher conversion rates on varying platforms.
Always write the most concise and precise headline possible based on where you write it.
Your offer can stop a reader’s interest if there are no catchy titles.
If you want to test how good your headlines are, check this tool from Sharethrough
Using passive instead of active voice
Recognizing passive voices can give you a headache because, sometimes, it is difficult to read and requires more focus.
Active voices provide direct, actionable energy and clarity. Passive speech… isn’t.
In passive voice, the topic of the sentence can be interpreted through the verb.
For example:
Active voices: “Professionals enjoy Wordlab’s simplicity.”.
Passive voices: “Wordlab is admired for its simplicity”.
Another Active Voice: There is now another partner for you.
Passive voice: A new relationship is now possible.
Which of the four example sound more natural?
The Grammarly app is excellent for hearing passive vocals and is also accessible by plugging into browsers.
You use long sentences instead of short, concise sentences.
Copywriting is nothing different from anything else. However, it requires simplicity, and you should present your point as concisely as possible.
Why? The longer the sentence you write, the less distracting the person, and they cannot understand what you’re saying.
With the constant influx of information, people need precisely how to find the information they want.
Check the Hemingway app if you struggle to make content clear and straightforward.
Jargon abuse
If you are targeting a specific audience of business professionals, you can use jargon when you write, but even experts in some industries might not understand some words. So is it worth the risk?
Avoid jargon in the copywriting industry, as it can be confusing.
You want to educate the reader and get them to enjoy your point of view.
Good copy should make the experience entertaining and convert the reader from a viewer to an action-taker.
Missing numbers or statistics
Your reader wants to see how what you sell will make their life better.
Instead of writing, “This course is an amazing deal for you”, say something like, “This course helped 99 people to create a profitable eCommerce shop in just 90 days.”
Why do you think statistics are required?
Your readers will wonder when they read your sales page: “Okay, this fashion course will increase my knowledge, but why do I need all this information?”
Numbers and statistics are on their own, social proof that what you sell is gold.
Too Sales-y
Numbers can be significant to a copywriter.
You must convince your audience that they need your help rather than simply “stealing” their money.
All businesses need money, and customers know it.
You have to explain to the client what is a solution to the problem, but do this gently and compassionately rather than try to make your product the only solution they need.
Make sure your sales words are honest.
Lack of credibility
If you are not a company like McDonalds or Starbucks, credibility is essential for smaller companies.
Particularly for niche markets, it is crucial to demonstrate your expertise.
Build trust and provide evidence that you can prove credibility.
For example, testimonials are great because you get confirmation from the people who trust your fashion brand.
Letting SEO get in the way of good writing
Search engine optimization is excellent for organic traffic, but combined with sales content may result in poor conversions.
Using keyword-based phrases can be unnatural and artificial.
Do not stuff keywords in a sales copy only because you think there is a chance of ranking on Google or Bing.
Make your writing feel natural, like speaking to a friend or family.
Focus on benefits, not features
We understand why you can easily get distracted by everything in your product.
You spent hours and hours building something, and you are so happy about what you created that you forget what the goal was in the first place.
People need to be aware of your work, but in a way where they can determine the impact, you have on them.
If you focus only on features, it will feel that you do not understand what your product or service does and only how it does it.
It won’t win you, clients, by describing all the shiny features of your product or service.
Do not focus on features during copywriting. Instead, focus on benefits.
Wrong emotional language
Copywriters must make an emotional connection with readers to communicate effectively.
If it is the wrong tone, the audience may immediately feel disconnected.
Adapt your language for your particular audience.
Grammar and spelling mistakes
All decent writers are proficient with the basics; grammatical skills are important.
Everyone makes mistakes, even if it means writing and completing the deadline.
The best way to fix errors is to use the right tool to do the task yourself.
Use Grammarly or Google Docs to make spellchecking easier.
These tools check your text and can recommend grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Don’t believe these tools will catch everything, so make sure that you proofread.
Failing to test a long copy
Conventional wisdom suggests long promotional texts are useless unless someone reads them. Smart, right?
If a person writes 2,000 words in one sitting, will it be good enough?
Crazy Egg hired conversion experts to analyze and optimize pages for conversion.
The result is that the longer version surpassed the control by 30%.
There is no perfect copy. You can always increase your conversion rates only if you A/B test.
A small change in the call to action, for example, can lead to a considerable increase in revenue.
What is the number one copywriting mistake?
Unfortunately, I did not find any official study regarding this, but I would say there are three top copywriting mistakes that people make when they write their copy:
- Write for everyone instead of a niche
- Flood the copy with features instead of benefits
- Make grammar and spelling errors.
Wrap Up
Copywriting mistakes always happen, but you must be aware and try fixing them.
The secret to writing good copy is to write “bad” copy and improve it.
If your customers find your sales page entertaining, there will be a higher chance of buying into your brand.
I hope this blog post will help you avoid the most common copywriting mistakes and allow you to write better copy for your landing or product page.
If you found this article informative, make sure to share it with other people.