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From curbside pickup to full-on online ordering and shipping, e-commerce might be the next thing you need to learn to manage for your small business. While we’re not going to get into the specifics of building an e-commerce solution for your website (a method of taking payments), we will help you figure out how to write your social media posts to encourage people to visit your website. Understanding the basics of writing content that converts will help you get ahead of your competition.
Here are seven tips to help you improve your content writing skills and write content that converts:
Tap into emotions
Creating content that taps into customers’ emotions will help you boost sales conversions. Discuss topics that resonate with your audience on a deep, emotional level.
Make your customers smile, make them feel happy and excited. Or make them feel sad, angry, or embarrassed (although, let’s be careful with this). You can use either positive or negative emotions to drive sales. Your main task is to ensure your content makes them feel SOMETHING.
Let’s say you sell stylish dresses made of recycled plastics. You can draw customers’ in by discussing the famous Italian designer who designs your clothing. Further, talk about the flattering compliments they’ll receive while wearing your dress. This will tap into their need for affirmation and belonging, and encourage them to buy the dress.
You could also trigger negative emotions by discussing how plastics harm the environment. This tactic will encourage eco-conscious consumers to “make a difference”. They’ll want to buy your dress to contribute to plastic waste reduction and save the environment.
Tell a story
Human brains are wired for stories and stories help e-commerce businesses drive sales. When customers read a good story they immerse themselves in that story – they feel like they are a part of it. This “immersion” happens on biological and chemical levels.
How can you leverage storytelling in your content marketing strategy? You can
- write the origin story of your brand and share it with your customers. This will build trust and improve loyalty.
- share the story of a happy customer to show your product is worth buying.
- present stories of your business partners encouraging trust by association.
- ask your employees to tell their stories and share their experiences to highlight brand authenticity.
- use elements of storytelling in your blog posts, product descriptions, and social media.
When we say “story”, we mean any kind of memory, value, or something that resonates with a reader. If you know who your target audience is and what kind of values it holds, it will be easy for you to leverage storytelling in your content strategy. For a good primer on storytelling, pick up a copy of Story Brand by Donald Miller. (Aff)
Focus on content quality
Owners of small e-commerce tend to make one big mistake – they focus on content quantity rather than its quality. They create and share lots of articles and social media posts but rarely accomplish their marketing goals. It helps to start with a social media strategy that outlines your goals.
Gabriel McDaniel, a writer, and editor for GetGoodGrade says, “If you want to make your eCommerce project a success, you should put your time and effort into the production of high-quality content that adds value to your target audience. It’s the only right way to draw attention to your brand and increase reach and engagement.” In other words, if you write one well-researched how-to guide instead of five not-that-informative blog posts, you will be more likely to increase your sales.
Use CTAs like a pro
Great content works best when there’s a call to action. If you provide your customers with comprehensive information about your product but don’t encourage them to take the next step – buy your product – all your content marketing efforts could be wasted.
All content you create, including social media posts, articles, and newsletters, can include a call to action, but every single post doesn’t need to have one. Here are a few examples of CTAs you can use:
- Order online for curbside pickup
- Order by Thursday for free weekend delivery
- Buy it before it’s sold out
- Shop now to get a discount
- Discover more products you may like
- Drop a hint
- Buy it again
- Visit our website to get the full instructions/recipe
Use FOMO
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a real thing. FOMO is the anxiety of missing out on opportunities. You can use your writing skills to evoke FOMO in your customers and make them want to order your products as soon as possible.
Imagine you sell lipstick. It takes your customers from 15 minutes to a few days to make a final purchasing decision. Women visit your website, check product reviews, compare lipstick colors and analyze whether the chosen colors will match their outfits and styles.
You can speed up the process of decision-making by evoking FOMO. You can announce on your website that “the demand for color X is very high, and there are just five lipsticks left in stock”. It will make women believe that if they don’t buy your product right now, they will lose an opportunity to buy it later. This marketing trick will make your customers make impulsive purchases and help you generate higher revenue within a short period of time.
A local restaurant could use this to countdown the number of take-home meal kits they’re offering, or reservations for a special night.
Personalize your message
When you write a product description or blog post, imagine you are creating content for one ideal customer. It will help you create more personalized content that converts website visitors into customers. Doing this starts with defining your buyer persona and creating content that appeals to this persona.
Let’s say you sell interactive toys for pets, such as bounce balls and laser pointers that can be used remotely. Who is your buyer? It’s a 27-year-old woman named Melanie who works in the office from 9 to 5, drives an electric car, has two cats, and spends more than four hours on screens for entertainment daily.
Your task is to create content that will convince Melanie your interactive toys are exactly what she needs to entertain her pets. You should adjust your writing style and language to create content that will perfectly appeal to your buyer persona. It will allow you to personalize your brand message and increase sales.
Stop chasing trends
Content marketing trends are continuously changing and it’s challenging for small businesses to keep up with them. So it’s wise to create evergreen content that reflects the authenticity and uniqueness of your e-commerce brand rather than industry trends.
If you create content in the way other businesses currently do, your products will get lost in the crowded marketplace. To stand out from the competition, you need to stay true to your values.
There is always room to improve. Every day is a new beginning and just because you’ve always done your social media or content planning one way doesn’t mean you can’t make little improvements going forward. Try incorporating some of these writing tactics to attract even more customers and grow the e-commerce side of your business.
