Top 5 B2B copywriting tips
27th May 2022 / All, How To, Resources
Writing about your business is hard. You know everything there is to know about the products and services you provide, and yet communicating that to your customers can seem like an impossible task. You may feel that a lot of your efforts are going unheard (or more likely, unread).
B2B audiences are tough nuts to crack, but there are some effective ways to grab their attention. Here are some great B2B copywriting tips from us to help you plan more effective, results-driven content for your audiences.
Top 5 B2B copywriting tips:
- Identify your purpose.
Rule number one of B2B writing is that it must always serve a purpose. Many forms of business communications are about driving sales, but that should be done in a lot of different ways – bringing your audience with you on a journey. Are you trying to influence people? Are you trying to make them think a certain way? Are you trying to persuade them to try out something new? Ultimately, why are you writing this content? Identifying your purpose is the first step to creating focused content that drives action from your audience. It will inform the type of content you need to produce (i.e. blog post, whitepaper) as well as your key messages, so always decide your purpose before anything else.
If you’re struggling with this, our blog post: How to Write a B2B copywriting Brief offers a breakdown of how to identify your purpose, audience, and key messages.
- Understand your audience
A B2B audience can be a complex thing, so spend some time on this. You’ll want to get to know their painpoints and challenges, as these are where you can tailor your communications to demonstrate your value and relevance.
Also, dig into their motivations. For example, are they looking for simpler ways to do business? Can you save them time and resources? Alternatively, do they have a specific problem that you’re able to solve?
Finally, consider the level of knowledge and expertise of your target audience. Are you communicating with the marketing team or with the makers of the products? This will impact the sort of language you use. There’s more on this below.
Create a clear and comprehensive map of your audience before you begin writing your piece and always refer everything back to your purpose.
- Pinpoint your key messages
This is where you add a little life into your comms, and where your distinctive brand comes into play. Consider what key messages lie at the heart of what you do/ offer, and refer back to your purpose and audience. Ask yourself what you’re trying to achieve and how that reflects the challenges, wants and needs of your audience.
The number of messages you include will depend upon the length of your piece, but you should aim for approximately three. Any more and you risk overcomplicating your message, but too few and it won’t shine through.
- Get a little distance
When writing about your own business, it can be hard to be objective. Put your information across in the most simple and understandable way possible. If you’re writing about an especially complex topic, there’s probably a lot of information you’ll need to get across, but try not to get bogged down in the details. Take a step back and assess what’s really important. Anything that’s not absolutely essential for the customer to know at this point, leave it out for now.
Don’t forget to talk directly to your audience, and focus on their needs rather than your own. Remember that your audience doesn’t want to know how everything works. They only want to know how it’s going to save them time and money, for example. Put your customer first and remember to appeal to their wants and needs.
If this is a big issue for you, consider hiring a B2B copywriter to do the job. Copywriters are masters at sorting through complex information and putting broad concepts into simpler terms. For more on this, read: Why use a B2B copywriter.
- Language rules
When it comes time to actually write your piece, there are some basic rules to abide by that will help you capture attention and keep it.
- Don’t use too much jargon. Industry-specific words and phrases have a tendency to overcomplicate business communications. We want our comms to be effortless and engaging, and if your reader is having to wade through acronyms and complex language to try and understand your message, they’re not having the right experience.
- Use an active voice, not a passive voice. This is true of every piece of writing, but particularly in B2B communications, the language that you use is incredibly important in terms of building authority. Businesses have a tendency to distance themselves in their comms by using a passive voice. For instance, they may say things like ‘the product was developed by XX’ instead of ‘XX developed the product.’ It’s a small thing, but it really affects your audience’s perception of you, and being an active participant in the story shows that you are engaged and present.
- Consider whether you want to use first or third person. Both are acceptable in different contexts, but be clear on the reason behind the choice. For example, if you’re writing a blog post, you’ll tend to use the first person to show you’ve got expertise in the area. If you’re presenting a research report on the other hand, it can make the content seem more authoritative and impartial if you write in the third person. Most decisions like this will feel like second nature, but it’s important to understand the different ways you can build authority for your brand through the language you choose to use.
We hope you found these B2B copywriting tips useful. Thanks to Steve Howson in our B2B copywriting team for sharing these.
Find out more
At Nellie PR, we love to work with businesses to help them develop and share their business story and get much-needed recognition. Book a free consultation call with us today to find out how we can help you grow your business.
If you’d like a hand with your content creation, we also offer B2B copywriting services and have a great team of B2B copywriters. With a specialism in B2B copywriting for technology, data, UK manufacturing and financial services companies, we understand what it takes to create successful written content for B2B audiences. Read our testimonials page to hear what others have to say about us or contact us today.
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If you found these B2B copywriting tips useful and would like to find out more about how we could help you and your business, please drop us a line at hello@nelliepr.co.uk.
