20 ways clever copywriting can future-proof your business

When business slows down, when leads dry up and when overwhelm can settle in quicker than you can cancel yet another business membership, it’s time to take a step back and focus on your strengths. It’s time to future-proof your business with clever copywriting within strategic brand touchpoints!

You have a unique set of skills that your clients love you for. You have a zone of genius that creates a niche that’s exclusively yours.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. You just need to work on smart new ways to delight your audience and convince them to stick around.

So rather than working in your business, change perspective and work on your business. Inspect those processes, think of new ways of working that could open up business opportunities long-term.

A great start is to take a closer look at the various brand touchpoints within your business. Your online presence is your one and only chance to convince, intrigue and nurture those oh-so-important relationships.

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Set up your welcome email sequence

If you capture emails on your website, then it’s crucial to not ghost your audience as soon as they’ve handed over their prized email address. Set up an email automation that tells your story and warms your new audience to your brand. A few targeted emails that take new subscribers on a journey will help you build the know, like and trust factor so that they’ll be ready to buy from you when they’re ready. Personally, I’m using Flodesk and am loving it for email automations such as my welcome sequence. And you can get 50% off your first year with Flodesk right here.

Plan your newsletter content ahead of time

Map out your newsletters with valuable content and write your upcoming emails in advance. This will not only give you a clear vision of what content you’ll have to create, it will also help you re-purpose content across social media, your blog and ultimately keep you front of mind for your audience.

Create a free, strategic lead magnet that adds REAL value

Ask your audience on social media how you can add value for their pain points. Are there common topics within your field that puzzle your customers? Can you set them up with tips and tricks that let them help themselves until they’re in a position to come to you for expert help?

One that’s been working really well for me of late is an Over-the-Shoulder Tutorial where I take my audience behind the scenes on a real client project from audience research through to winning website copy. You can suss it out right here.

Write a dedicated landing page to capture new leads

Have you got a dedicated landing page that does your lead magnet justice? Does your high-quality, strategic freebie offer incredible value, but stays on your digital shelf because it gets lost within the clutter on your website? Most website hosting services such as Squarespace or Showit (my favourite) have quick and easy templates that you can customise to show off your freebie and grow your email list while you’re at it. Make sure you address the ‘so what’ in your copy to make it relevant and tempting for your audience.

Want some pointers for easy-to-customise website templates?

Check out Big Cat Creative for Squarespace, Tonic Site Shop (get 15% off templates with code CANDOVIP) and Emma Troy Design for Showit (get $100 off templates with code VIPCANDO).

Create that online course

This certainly is a time-consuming project, but now’s a perfect time to get started. Break it down into bite-sized chunks rather than looking at it like a brick that’s about to hit you. Start with the course outline, the problems your clients face most often and how you can solve those. Find that point of difference that makes your course the one to pick by spending time on researching the landscape and asking your clients directly what they want, how they want to absorb the content and what could prevent them from buying. Building your course based on data straight from the source is the only way to make it relevant and tempting when you launch it.

Offer an off-the-shelf version of your services to make your expertise more affordable

Do you have a variation of your services that is accessible on a budget? When people can’t afford to spend big on their business, do you have a product that sets them up with the next best option? That’s where digital products and DIY templates are a tempting proposition. Review your services and explore avenues that let you share your expertise in a one-to-many rather than one-on-one approach. This is your opportunity to convince future clients with your skills so that they hire you for one-on-one jobs later on.

Write an e-book

In challenging times we tend to remove ourselves from media and select what we consume so that we aren’t sucked into the general overwhelm. E-books are a great way to offer a resource at a low price point that your audience can enjoy in their own time. They download it and digest it in a spare moment or two. Your e-book can be educational, personal or inspirational. The only limit is your imagination!

Sharpen your product descriptions

It’s so important to have your product descriptions spot on. They need to take your audience on a journey. They need to help them imagine how your products are going to solve their problems. Paint a picture, have fun and DON’T make the product features the centrepiece. The benefits need to be front of mind and lead by example. Learn more about writing product descriptions right here on the CAN DO! Blog.

Write your abandoned cart emails

Picture a mum who’s trying to cook dinner and run a business with 2 munchkins at home. She was just about to buy your product when the youngest fell off the sofa – yet again. Phone goes down, cart left unactioned with the potential customer never to be seen again. That’s until your abandoned cart email sequence gently reminds them that they forgot something. This seemingly small email sequence can make ALL the difference to your conversion rate. So set one up if you never got around to it!

Review your marketing collateral

Markets and tradeshows are going to return eventually. That’s certain! Now’s the time to plan ahead and update your brochures, flyers and wholesale catalogues. Revamp the copy, audit whether everything is still current and how you can improve them or add a point of difference.

Plan your social media content ahead of time with value add

Build a content plan around common problems your clients are facing. Planning ahead lets you be proactive and consistent while taking the pressure off when things get busy. Use tools such as Planoly that let you schedule content ahead of time so it’s ready to go. Think about re-purposing old blog posts that are still current. Explore your FAQs as a source for social media posts and build relationships so that there’s an audience you can interact with.

Revamp your about me page

Does your about page do your inner genius any justice? It should be more about how your brand benefits your audience than your uni degrees. How does yours stack up? It’s time to map out your why and make it the centre of everything on your about page. People buy from people, not from businesses. They want to get to know you and like what they see. Get them to embrace your purpose so they’re happy to come along for the ride.

Create an FAQ page

Rather than drowning in a tidal wave of customer questions, invest time in writing a dedicated FAQ page that lives on your website and can take the weight off your shoulders. It makes processes transparent and shows that you’re proactive and aware of common questions. And that’s what any professionally run business should be!

Create evergreen blog post content so you show up on Google

Blog posts are powerful tools to improve your Google ranking, establish yourself as a leader within your field and show off your expertise. They also set you up with unlimited material to use in newsletters and across social media. Focusing on evergreen topics that don’t date or need minimal tweaking and cover popular search queries on Google will work in your favour for months, possibly years to come. Do your SEO research, write for humans first and provide no-fluff-super-valuable content for blogging success.

Guest blog for those backlinks

Consider sharing your genius on relevant platforms or on aligned business buddies’ websites. This gives you access to new audiences that potentially have never heard of you before and also gives you a backlink to your website, which signals to Google that you’re the real deal. Pitch relevant ideas to blogs and you might be the next blogging superstar sooner than you think.

Give your team member profiles some love

If you manage a team, take a close look at their staff profiles on your website. Do they reflect how much value they add to your business? Consider spicing them up with fun facts to make them more relatable and show your team that you genuinely care about them. It doesn’t take much to show your respect.

Audit your website SEO

Do you know whether your website is set up with SEO in mind? If you built it, did you ever bother plugging in all the right info to make your site show up on Google? If you outsourced your website, did SEO come as part of the package? There are great high-quality resources out there that can teach you to be your own SEO genius and send customers your way organically. One of those destinations is SEO queen Kate Toon, who offers many free and low-priced resources to get you started.

Set up email templates

Do you respond to inquiries with emails you write from scratch every single time? Save yourself time and set up common email templates that you can tweak slightly as needed. This will save you countless hours when things get busy and minimise typos and tone variations when you rush things.

If you want to get a step further, you can even invest in a system like Dubsado to automate your customer onboarding and off-boarding. I’m loving my Dubsado automations! You can score 20% off your first month or year with Dubsado right here with code candovip.

Pitch to media outlets or podcasts

Have you considered sharing your story with news outlets or on podcasts? You’d be surprised how effective pitches can be if done right. Discover your unique angle and package it correctly in a targeted pitch to your local paper, business publications within your niche or even other business buddies that can spread the word for you.

Check out just how effective pitching has been for my podcast guesting journey.

Work on your elevator pitch

This one is so crucial, but so often is the last thing business owners get to. An elevator pitch tells your story and basically sums up what you do, who you do it for and why you do it. Once you nail this powerful blurb you’ll never walk into a networking event again stumbling over your intro. You’ll show up confidently and can own your genius. It should also live in a prominent spot on your home page for all to see.

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This is only the start of your strategic copywriting journey.

Every tweak you make and every minute you invest in quality brand touchpoints will set your business up to thrive. As daunting as it can be. Always start with your audience, your WHY and then show your customers how you make their lives better. They are certain to fall head over heels for you.

And that’s something the Audience Success Formula can help you with.

I’m referring to the customer-centric business toolkit that turns your perfect-fit audience into your most powerful marketing and copywriting strategy. Get all the swipe files, survey templates and resources to support time-poor founders like you as your business evolves.