Copywriting Services

Copy that compels your clients to take action

Finding an expert copywriting service is tough. You’ve got a sea of different copywriters and agencies vying for your attention, but they’re not all up to the task.

Here’s why that matters and what you should expect from expert copywriting services.

Where can you find copywriting services?

Freelance copywriters

Freelancers vary substantially in quality, which isn’t something you can necessarily spot until you’ve already invested time and effort onboarding them.

Then comes the fees, which can be sky-high. 

Even if you find that perfect freelancer, all of your copywriting, arguably the biggest cog in your marketing machine, now relies on just one person. To say it’s risky is an understatement. 

In-house employees

The hope is that in-house employees can provide a more reliable path to great copy. After all, they’re with you for the long haul (fingers crossed). 

But turning an in-house employee into a stellar copywriter takes commitment and training, not to mention an investment in all of the other things an in-house employee expects: benefits, annual leave and sick leave. 

Have you really got the time, money and resources for all of that?

Content mills

They’re cheap. And that’s about the only thing you can rely on. To say the copy is generic is being generous. SEO isn’t even a consideration. 

Content mills deal in quantity, not quality, and that just isn’t going to help your bottom line. 

Copywriting agencies

A professional copywriting agency (hint: that’s us) can provide you with a reliable team of experts who you can switch on and off as you need them, and who can deliver consistently high-quality copy that’s always on brand.

So what does this look like in practice? And why does securing copywriting services from a switched-on copywriting agency really matter? 

Here’s what you need to know.  

What is copywriting? And why does it matter?

First of all, let’s get back to the very basics. Copywriting is the process of stringing together words that encourage your reader to take action. It sounds simple enough, right? 

Well, that’s before you factor in human psychology. Every word of your copy needs to tap into a complex mess of emotions in order to persuade.

The reason behind this is best explained by renowned American advertising innovator Henry Luck Gossage (the real-life Don Draper, for those Mad Men fans out there).

“Nobody reads advertising. People read what interests them, and sometimes it’s an ad”. 

Piquing interest happens when you trigger emotions, such as curiosity, fear, surprise or relief. 

To do this, you need copy that grabs your customers’ attention, makes them feel, makes them think and then makes them take action. Plus, you need to do all of this in under a minute – 54 seconds is the average time a visitor spends on a website. 

Just think about that for a moment. 

Landing on a website is an active choice, but even then, you’ve only got a matter of seconds to convince your reader with your copy. 

Now consider social media ads that interrupt someone’s feed or launch emails that arrive in their inbox, both at moments not of their choosing. You’ve got even less time to grab their attention, but that’s what great copywriting services are designed to do. 

Succeeding at this is a specialist skill, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all trick. 

Copy comes in different shapes and sizes, with each format bringing its own idiosyncrasies that expert copywriting services know how to handle. 

What are the different types of copywriting?

Any and all words, spoken or written, which try to convince a customer to do something use copywriting. This covers a lot. So let’s focus on six titans of copywriting – all of which are offered as services here at Beesting Digital, by the way.

1) Website copywriting 

From your homepage to your product pages, the copy on every page of your website needs to whisk your visitors closer to your desired action – buy, sign up, register, get in touch. 

Every page counts because it usually takes more than one to build up enough trust for your visitors to finally take that action. 

Throw in the fact that the average website bounce rate (the percentage of visitors who leave your site without clicking through to another page on there) is a staggering 47%, and you’ve got one hell of a challenge. 

Whizzing through your copy – and whizz they will as most people scan websites instead of savouring every word – your visitors need to become so utterly convinced that they can’t help converting. 

That’s what a website copywriting service can deliver. 

2) Landing page copywriting

This is about achieving one single-minded goal. A landing page, such as those used for your Pay-Per-Click ads, exclusively pushes one thing that you do or sell. 

With no navigation, other services or products to peruse or competing links, a landing page puts you in the best position to grab your reader’s complete attention. 

But this puts a lot of pressure on your landing page copywriter. 

You need a headline that shouts out the value you’re offering clearly and concisely, pithy prose that reinforces this value and a call-to-action that is, well, all about driving action. 

3) Headlines, taglines and slogans

Short, snappy and powerful, these statements are what really stick with your customers and can instantly capture exactly why they should choose you. 

A bad headline tells your reader that you don’t understand them, you can’t help them, and they’re in the wrong place. 

A great headline does the exact opposite and, when paired with a tagline, can position you as the go-to provider in your market. 

You’ve likely absorbed a fair few taglines yourself (“Just do it”, “Snap! Crackle! Pop!”, “It does exactly what it says on the tin” Sound familiar?).

4) Direct mail copywriting

TV didn’t kill radio. Kindles didn’t kill books. And digital marketing certainly didn’t kill direct mail. 

In fact, 95% of UK consumers engage with the direct mail that lands on their doorstep. Plus, it tends to linger, keeping your brand front of mind, with consumers holding onto direct mail in their homes for just over a week on average. 

But if copywriting is all about persuading readers to take action, why should you care about a piece of paper hanging around someone’s house? 

Because one in 10 recipients of direct mail will read it and then continue that journey online. That’s where the action happens, on your landing page, product page or elsewhere on your website. 

This, of course, all depends on whether your direct mail copy really sings. 

When you’re asking someone to read more than a few lines, you need copy that really pushes those emotional buttons to keep them gripped. 

5) Email copywriting

Emails about a new product launch, your latest discount, or an abandoned cart or checkout all fall under email copywriting. 

The skill here lies not just in crafting persuasive copy in the body of your email but in creating a killer subject line (ideally around 50 characters) and gripping preview text (usually the first 100 characters of your email body). 

Without these, your readers won’t even click open. For context, open rates vary by industry but, on average, hover around 20%.

When you’ve only got a handful of words to play with, you need a professional copywriting service that can instantly evoke curiosity or urgency and keep that feeling going right through to your powerful call to action. 

And it isn’t easy to get those email click-throughs, with an average of just 2.3% across industries. Your copy has to work hard for it. 

6) Social media ads

When folks are scrolling through their social media feeds, they don’t want to be interrupted by an ad. Consequently, the first goal of copywriting for social media ads is to stop someone from scrolling right past.

Next, your social media ad copy needs to quickly but comprehensively break down all those pre-purchase barriers that pop up as soon as someone is confronted by an ad when they aren’t in shopping mode. 

Finally, your copy needs to entice readers to click on that call to action. 

Each of these steps needs to happen within a few lines of copy. Oh, and don’t forget, your ad copy can’t sound too much like an ad – readers don’t like that. 

Sound tricky? It is. But that’s where a professional copywriting agency comes in. 

At their disposal are folks who won’t even break a sweat doing all of the above – copywriters. It helps to know a little about these wordsmiths when you’re on the hunt for exceptional copywriting services. 

What is a copywriter?

A copywriter lives and breathes (and writes, of course) copy that persuades readers to take action. 

Superlative writing skills and an understanding of the nuances of the many different types of copywriting formats are a given. But what else should you be looking for in a professional copywriter? 

Here are 3 must-haves. 

Your copywriter should: 

1) Be a pro at research

Nobody understands your industry better than you do, not even your copywriter. Of course, it helps if they’re already a subject matter expert, perhaps because they used to work in your industry or hold a relevant degree. But even then, things change, and copywriters need to be up to speed. 

This is where exceptional research skills come into play. An excellent copywriter can quickly identify and digest high-quality sources of industry information and relate all of that back to your customers’ pain points and how you can resolve them. 

2) Speak your language (not just in the literal sense)

Every industry has its own vernacular. This doesn’t just mean specific jargon but also the tone of voice and style. The best copywriters craft copy that communicates with your customers in the way they’re most comfortable and familiar with. 

3) Appreciate and take action on feedback

Professional copywriters know all about the art of persuasion – it’s their bread and butter. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be open to feedback too. 

If your copywriter is so sensitive about their copy that they can’t entertain the idea of constructive feedback, that’s a red flag. The most effective copywriters thrive off helpful feedback and are only too happy to use it to create even more impactful copy for you. 

There is one final thing you need to know about copywriters, specifically the distinction between copywriters and content writers. 

What is the difference between copywriting and content writing?

Both copywriters and content writers create compelling copy but with different purposes. 

Copywriters are laser-focused on getting their readers to take action, while content writers are looking to educate, inform and entertain their readers. Of course, there is some overlap.

Many copywriting agencies that provide professional copywriting services will also provide content writing. Odds are that some of their best copywriters are also some of their best content writers. But being great at one doesn’t always translate to being great at the other. 

Copywriters, in particular, have a knack for quickly tapping into strong human emotions with their copy, whether that’s fear, joy, comfort, pride, belonging, security or relief. Bear this in mind when you’re on the hunt for a copywriting service. 

Do they understand the pain points of your customers? 

Have they demonstrated an ability to tap into that pain?

Does their copy elicit the emotions that can be used to drive purchases? 

If you want to kill two birds with one stone (or some other less gruesome analogy), you need a copywriting agency that excels at both copywriting and content writing. The latter is also vital to creating a steady stream of customers, taking a slow-burn approach that delivers long-lasting results. 

So, when done well, copywriting and content writing do have things in common – they are both compelling, they both draw in customers, and they both need SEO. 

What is SEO copywriting?

What does SEO have to do with copywriting? Well, everything. 

SEO is what gets your words noticed online by people looking for what you have to offer. 

If you need copywriting services for your website or landing pages, then it needs to be SEO copywriting. Similarly, if you need content writing services for your blogs, it needs to be SEO content writing – luckily for you, that’s also within the Beesting Digital zone of genius. If you need a hand with it, give us a bell.

Killer copywriting requires more than SEO and a fantastic team of copywriters. It also needs a strategy. 

Content strategy to drive your copywriting

You may have some cracking copy on your website; engaging, action-driven stuff. But what if it isn’t targeting the right audience? 

Are the pain points you’re banging on about really the ones your audience cares about right now? 

Have you been tracking the results of your copy, such as your web traffic and page bounce rates?

With a comprehensive content strategy in place, you’ll have all of these answers and more. 

A copywriting agency that is really dedicated to helping you crush it won’t just provide copywriting services, they’ll provide a complete content strategy package. Just like we do.

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in: proper strategy is crucial to turn your copy into a customer conversion machine. 

But the industry you’re in does matter when you’re trying to find the right fit with a copywriting agency. They need to understand the specific challenges you’re up against and identify the opportunities for great copy to help you overcome them. 

Copywriting challenges and opportunities by industry 

Brilliant copywriting services can turn copy challenges into opportunities. We’d know because we’ve done it across each of these industries, for organisations big and small. 

Legal

Pulling in a steady stream of clients for your legal services comes from the hard work of impressing current clients who will recommend you, right? Well, some of the time. 

Potential clients are increasingly shopping around to find legal services, and they aren’t doing it by pounding the high street. They’re turning to Google. 

Copywriting in the legal industry is now a necessity. You can’t afford legalese putting off potential clients who may already be feeling overwhelmed by whatever legal situation they’re facing. 

You need SEO copy that transitions your readers from fear and uncertainty to relief and clarity while cutting through the legal jargon that has a tendency to confuse unless you’re an industry professional.

That’s what a legal copywriting service can do for you. 

By combining expertise and knowledge of the legal world and how it works with persuasive prose, legal copywriting can pull in leads while you focus on your casework. 

Financial services

Most financial consumers (90% of loan and mortgage consumers) begin their search for a financial service online. So your website matters.

81% don’t have a company in mind when they start and are led by what they find online. So your website matters a lot. 

A financial copywriter can ensure your web copy is all about converting those undecided searchers into paying clients. This takes a special kind of skill. Why?

Because less than half of UK consumers have confidence in the financial services industry. Your copy, therefore, needs to elicit feelings of security and trust while also offering clarity on what are often complex financial products. 

SaaS

The SaaS market is growing like crazy, and while the USA leads the way in having the highest number of SaaS businesses, the UK comes in second with around 2000. That’s a lot of competition. 

Even when you know you have a unique product offering, it can be hard to grab some of the market from established leaders. 

On the flip side, if you’ve been around for a while, you may find your market share being chipped away (or gouged) at by disruptors who are drawing a heap of media buzz. 

What’s gone wrong?

Well, your product is already exceptional, but perhaps your messaging isn’t. 

A SaaS copywriting service can hone your copy to get your USPs front and centre and prompt a visceral “I need that” reaction from your customers.

Manufacturing

You made it, so you get it. You understand how fantastic your product specs are and how revolutionary the technology that underpins it is. But when you’re trying to sell hundreds, thousands or even millions of units at a time, copy that gets lost rambling about features will hurt your sales pitch. 

This is especially true when that pitch starts not with a phone call or a face-to-face meeting, but with your website. 

You’re not alone in facing this challenge. Over 50% of marketers in manufacturing say overcoming the traditional marketing and sales mindset is a challenge in their organisations. 

Perhaps more alarming is that 44% of manufacturing marketers say they never or hardly ever prioritise what their target audience needs to know over their own promotional message. Yikes. 

A manufacturing copywriting service can change all that. 

They’ll get their heads around your features because that’s what they’re trained to do. Then, they’ll turn those features into benefits. The same goes with your specs; they’ll turn them into appealing assets. And this is what sells. 

Energy

Controversy is no stranger to the energy sector. Between environmental pressures and changing government policies, net zero targets and green levies, plus fraught consumers facing rising costs, getting your messaging right is a huge challenge. 

Can you really afford to deter potential customers or investors with copy that isn’t addressing your target audience’s concerns right now?

Can you honestly make do with copy that doesn’t suitably showcase your superior service or solution?

With technology racing ahead, investing in an experienced energy copywriting service will ensure your copy isn’t falling behind but is informed, incisive and up-to-date. 

Healthcare

Healthcare copywriting isn’t for the faint-hearted. 

Ad targeting is near-impossible as social platforms limit targeting based on personal attributes, including health.

There are some of the strictest marketing regulations around meted out by various professional healthcare bodies. 

And you need to balance authority with empathy as you try to persuade a potential customer who is perhaps at one of the most vulnerable points in their life. 

This is not the arena to be trying out a new kid on the block. You need a healthcare copywriter with a proven track record. 

It’s a worthwhile investment as the private healthcare industry continues to grow, with the UK showing the fastest rise in the use of private healthcare of all G7 nations. 

Real estate

Competition is high, with almost 19,500 real estate agents in the UK. But that isn’t all you’re up against. 

Customers are demanding a richer digital experience when they’re on the hunt for real estate services. So yes, this means digital floor plans, virtual tours and a streamlined user experience, but that’s all for nought if your web copy doesn’t get them to stick around in the first place. 

You need copy that makes your customers feel that you’re the one – the one who can find them the property they really want or the tenants they desperately need. 

Your copy needs to speak to sellers and buyers, renters and landlords.  

And with transactions this big, you can’t afford to put a foot (or a word) wrong. That’s why it pays to invest in a real estate copywriting service that understands all of your target audiences and how to win them over.  

The Beesting way of working

Beesting Digital offer a one-stop-shop for all of your copy, content, and strategy needs.

We’ve got a range of packages, from monthly retainers to the on-again-off-again, perfect for those with fluctuating copywriting requirements. With a team of almost 30 talented writers, we work as an extension of your content team – giving you room to scale, without compromising your in-house team’s capacity.

Ready for compelling copy to convert your customers?

Our team of incredible copywriters is waiting to deliver cracking copy for your organisation. Simply book a discovery call with us to get started.