Writing content for your business can be challenging. You want to communicate your value proposition, educate your audience, and persuade them to take action. But how do you do that without boring them, confusing them, or losing their attention?
The answer is pointed copywriting.
Pointed copywriting is a writing technique that focuses on delivering clear, concise, and impactful messages to your target audience. It cuts through the noise and gets straight to the point, making it an essential skill for any marketer or content creator.
In this article, you will learn what pointed copywriting is, why it matters, and how to apply it to your own content.
What is Pointed Copywriting?
Pointed copywriting is a term coined by Brittany Berger, the founder of Pointed Copywriting, a boutique agency that specializes in B2B SaaS content marketing. According to their website, pointed copywriting is:
Content that’s so on-brand, you’ll swear it was written in-house. Numbers you can track. Content you can use. Quality messaging that doesn’t come from a content mill.
In other words, pointed copywriting is about creating content that reflects your brand personality, resonates with your audience, and drives results.
Pointed copywriting is not a specific type of content, but rather a way of writing any type of content. Whether it’s a blog post, a landing page, an email, or a social media post, you can use pointed copywriting to make it more effective and engaging.
Why Does Pointed Copywriting Matter?
Pointed copywriting matters because it helps you stand out from the crowd, connect with your audience, and achieve your goals.
Here are some of the benefits of pointed copywriting:
- It helps you stand out from the crowd. The internet is saturated with content, and most of it is generic, boring, or irrelevant. Pointed copywriting helps you differentiate yourself from your competitors and attract attention from your ideal customers.
- It helps you connect with your audience. Pointed copywriting is not about writing for everyone, but writing for someone. It’s about understanding your audience’s needs, wants, pain points, and aspirations, and addressing them in a way that makes them feel seen, heard, and understood.
- It helps you achieve your goals. Pointed copywriting is not about writing for the sake of writing, but writing for a purpose. It’s about having a clear strategy for each piece of content and aligning it with your business objectives. Whether it’s traffic, leads, sales, or retention, pointed copywriting helps you move your audience along the customer journey.
How to Apply Pointed Copywriting to Your Content
Pointed copywriting is not a magic formula or a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s a mindset and a skill that requires practice and experimentation.
However, there are some general principles and best practices that can help you get started with pointed copywriting.
Here are some of them:
- Know your audience. Before you write anything, you need to know who you are writing for. Who are they? What are they looking for? What are their challenges? What are their goals? How can you help them? The more you know about your audience, the more relevant and persuasive your content will be.
- Know your message. After you know your audience, you need to know what you want to say to them. What is the main idea or takeaway of your content? What is the value proposition or benefit of your product or service? What is the call to action or next step you want them to take? The more focused and clear your message is, the more impactful your content will be.
- Know your tone. Once you know your message, you need to know how to say it. What is the tone or voice of your brand? How do you want to sound like? Friendly? Professional? Funny? Authoritative? The more consistent and authentic your tone is, the more memorable and trustworthy your content will be.
- Write with clarity. When you write your content, you need to make sure it is easy to read and understand. Use simple words and sentences. Avoid jargon and fluff. Break up long paragraphs and use headings and subheadings. Use bullet points and lists when appropriate. The clearer and more concise your content is, the more likely your audience will read it and act on it.
- Write with impact. Finally, when you write your content, you need to make sure it is engaging and compelling. Use stories and examples to illustrate your points. Use emotions and humour to connect with your audience. Use data and facts to support your claims. Use power words and urgency to create excitement and action. The more impactful your content is, the more effective it will be.
Some other copywriting techniques that you can use to improve your copy are:
Use storytelling.
Storytelling is a powerful way to capture your audience’s attention, emotions, and imagination. It can help you create a connection with your reader, illustrate your points, and make your copy more memorable.
You can use stories from your own experience, your customers’ testimonials, or even fictional scenarios to make your copy more engaging.
For example, you can start your copy with a story that hooks your reader and then relate it to your product or service.
Use social proof.
Social proof is the evidence that other people trust and value your product or service. It can help you build credibility, authority, and trust with your audience.
You can use social proof in your copy by showing testimonials, reviews, ratings, endorsements, case studies, statistics, awards, or any other form of positive feedback from your customers or experts.
For example, you can use social proof to show how many people have benefited from your product or service, how satisfied they are, or how much they recommend it.
Use scarcity and urgency.
Scarcity and urgency are psychological triggers that make your audience feel that they need to act fast or they will miss out on something valuable. They can help you create a sense of excitement, anticipation, and fear of missing out (FOMO) in your reader.
You can use scarcity and urgency in your copy by showing limited availability, limited time, limited quantity, or limited offer of your product or service.
For example, you can use scarcity and urgency to show how many spots are left for your webinar, how long your discount will last, or how many bonuses you are giving away.
Use questions.
Questions are a great way to engage your audience, spark their curiosity, and make them think. They can help you create a dialogue with your reader, address their pain points, and lead them to the desired action.
You can use questions in your copy by asking open-ended questions that invite your reader to imagine the benefits of your product or service, rhetorical questions that emphasize your points or challenge their objections, or direct questions that prompt them to take action.
For example, you can use questions to ask your readers what they want to achieve, why they haven’t achieved it yet, or how they can achieve it with your product or service.
Conclusion
Pointed copywriting is a writing technique that can help you create content that is clear, concise, and impactful. It can help you stand out from the crowd, connect with your audience, and achieve your goals.
To apply pointed copywriting to your content, you need to know your audience, know your message, know your tone, write with clarity, and write with impact.
Pointed copywriting is not a quick fix or a silver bullet. It takes time and effort to master. But if you do, you will see the difference in your content quality and performance.
