Writing for your Reader: Crafting Copy that Converts

There’s probably more new content posted online every single day than you could read in a lifetime. 

That means you have some seriously stiff competition for your collector’s attention.

How do you capture that attention and convert it into sales? Well, you’re as much of a consumer as you are a seller, so you know how it feels to be convinced to make a purchase, right? That’s what it’s all about: being empathetic and being economical with your words.

Here are the only four tips, tricks, and tools you’ll ever need to craft copy that sells.

1. Define your customer

This might seem like an obvious point, but identifying your ideal customer and understanding who they are and what they want is the foundation of powerful sales copy. 

Tip: you know your collector base, create detailed personas of them that allow you to hone in on the specific needs of your target market. When you write every sentence with that ideal collector in mind, no word is wasted. 

2. Short + simple = better

We get it, you’re passionate about what you do, but evangelizing at length risks losing your audience. Website visitors tend to skim content to see if it meets their needs. If they don’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll bounce. 

You don’t need to tell your readers everything all at once. Instead, prioritize content hierarchy: ranking information in order of importance. Simply: tell them the most important bit first. After you’ve assured them they’re in the right place, you can expand and explain – just keep it short and simple. 

3. Make your story sing

Just as great stories shouldn’t just describe a series of events, your sales copy shouldn’t merely describe the artwork you’re selling, it needs to create a narrative – give it context, make it memorable.

Keeping the story relevant is key. Too much copy and you lose your readers interest, too little and you’ve not captured their imagination. It’s a fine balance indeed, but once you strike gold your copy will shine.

Try adding the most striking information about the context, provenance, history, and the artist themselves. Keep it relevant, keep it readable, and make sure it taps into the interests of the target reader – emphasizing features that might particularly appeal to the collector's eye. 

4. Learn to write properly

Sales copy might be for explicitly commercial purposes, but it still needs to obey the rules of all good writing. That, of course, means correct grammar and spelling (tools like Grammarly are a great help) – demonstrate a poor grasp of either and your audience will lose confidence in you. Finally, don’t forget to rewrite – great copy is rarely perfect the first time round.

But (crucially), know when to stop.