8 Copywriting Hacks Backed By Science Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better. I started my marketing career as a junior community marketer. I should have been pretty prepared for the job. I’d spent £50,000 on my marketing degree and four years studying. Yet, just a few hours into my first day, I realized I wasn’t well-prepared. I was woefully inept. Right after lunch, my manager asked me to create one-pagers, blogs, email subject lines, and case studies. “This,” he described, “is marketing bread and butter.” And yet, I had no idea where to start. My degree claimed I could ‘do marketing,’ but I had no clue how to write persuasively, convince customers, or use words to catch the eye. Yet, all of these new tasks involved persuasive copywriting, something I knew nothing about. Fortunately, I quickly discovered behavioral science. I learned how psychology could reveal the secret to persuasive copywriting. Later, I interviewed experts like Richard Shotton, Rory Sutherland, and Jonah Berger, quizzing them on how they write better copy. Over a decade, I’ve discovered dozens of copywriting tips that work. A treasure trove of tactics that I wish I’d known all those years ago. So, just in case you’re in the same position as me, here are the eight copywriting tips I wish I’d known when I started in marketing. Copywriting Insights I Wish I Had From Day One 1. Write Concrete...

On Writing a Tagline (and Pitching It, Too) Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better. Peggy, Lou, and Dawn are characters on Mad Men, the 60s period drama about one of Madison Avenue’s most prestigious, albeit fictional, advertising agencies. Peggy is one of the firm’s copywriters, responsible for writing (and pitching) ad copy. Lou is her boss, the creative director. Dawn, a secretary, keeps everyone organized. The trio are meeting about a new account, a watch company called Accutron. "Oh," says Peggy. She’s looking at Lou. "You didn’t pick a tagline." "Sure, I did." Lou looks at his secretary. "Dawn, what did I say?" Dawn flips through her notes. "You said, 'Just In Time To Be On Time.'" "That wasn’t one of the choices—" Peggy interjects. "I think that was a digression." "How about ‘Accutron Is Accurate,’" Lou says. "That was one of the choices, I’m positive." Peggy lowers her chin. "I like 'It’s Time For A Conversation,'" she says. She’s smiling, making eye contact. She’s selling now. "I think that one’s more finished." The director looks back at her. He’s peering over his glasses now. "And I think you’re putting me in the position of saying, I don’t care what you think." When you finish writing a tagline, it’s not done. It’s not done until someone else reads it, nods, and says, "That’s the one." Indeed, every creative person is a salesperson, too....

100+ of My Favorite Halloween Puns As a Marketer I love a good pun. Okay, who am I kidding? I’m a big fan of the bad ones, too. Halloween is the perfect holiday for marketers to get creative and let that punny side shine. That’s why I’ve taken it u-PUN myself to create this PUN-believable list of puns to use in your marketing campaigns this spooky season. The Ultimate List of Halloween Puns for Marketers In each of the categories below, I’ve selected my favorite marketing halloween puns from 2023 and included some additional ideas for inspiration. Find un-BOO-lievably creative halloween puns for: Marketing Campaigns Discounts and Product Offers Just For Fun Marketing Campaigns My 2023 Favorites: Hulu, Target, Yankee Candle What I love (from left to right in the picture above): Hulu: The play on words is perfection, and not pursuing “Huluween” would’ve 100% been a missed opportunity. I love that Hulu compiles all of my Halloween favorites into one cleverly-named category for easy access. Target: With the nod to “Hide and Seek,” Target’s Halloween campaign is completely on theme. I love the creativity behind this boutique, and it’s an effective way to re-advertise all of Target’s seasonal products. Yankee Candle: It’s candle season as much as it is spooky season. I love how Yankee Candle leans into Halloween with haunting imagery to promote their frighteningly good fragrances. Halloween Puns for Marketing Campaigns Great...

Copywriting 101: 15 Traits of Excellent Copy Readers Will Remember Mad Men fans everywhere remember the pivotal first scene where we learn just how talented Don Draper is at his job. Faced with an almost-impossible copywriting task, he rose to the occasion to solve a huge problem for his client, Lucky Strike. In spite of research warning customers of the dangers of cigarettes, Draper delivered the iconic slogan -- "It's toasted" -- to differentiate the brand from its competitors. Now, we definitely aren't advocating for smoking cigarettes (or many of Draper's health choices). But fictional or not, you can't deny the memorability and catchiness of that tagline. It's easy to recognize good copywriting when you see it, but there are actually several characteristics that really separate outstanding writing from the rest of the pack. Want to know them? Read on below to find out. What is copywriting? Copywriting is one of the most critical elements of any and all forms of marketing and advertising. Copywriting consists of the words, either written or spoken, marketers use to try to get people to take an action after reading or hearing them.  Copywriting is like a call-to-action, but on a bigger scale: Copywriters are trying to get people to feel, think, or respond -- or, ideally, to Google the slogan or brand to learn more about the campaign. And where a blog post like this one has the luxury of hundreds of words with which to make a case, copywriters...

25 Copywriting Portfolio Examples That Will Secure Your Next Gig If you're reading this blog, you've likely decided to start or revamp your copywriting portfolio. With so many portfolios out there, it's hard to figure out how to make yours stand out from the crowd. What colors should you use? What kind of writing samples will show off your skills? Fortunately, I've put together a collection of copywriting portfolio examples that are sure to inspire you and guide you in the right direction. Each copywriting portfolio example I've included is unique in terms of color, layout, and personality — highlighting the various ways you can approach putting a portfolio together and how it's okay to get creative with yours. How to Create a Copywriting Portfolio When creating your copywriting portfolio, avoid cramming in too many of your writing samples. You'll want to show off your diverse portfolio —that's understandable — but too many samples can overwhelm potential clients and employers. Instead, opt for five or six writing samples that capture the different styles of writing you've done, such as technical, marketing, and business writing. Be sure to also include a balance of humorous and serious pieces, B2B and B2C writings, as well as short and long-form content. If you have little-to-no writing samples, build your portfolio by starting a website or blog to showcase your writing skills, or contribute to other websites. You can also write for nonprofits or work internships. Another method to build your portfolio is...

11 Conversion Copywriting Tips that Grew Our Revenue by 240%, According to Lately’s CEO As marketers, we write copy daily: For landing pages, social media posts, email newsletters, you name it. And this content isn't just supposed to sound pretty — it's also supposed to be powerful enough to convert visitors into sales. In fact, as of 2022, over 60% of marketers measure the success of their content through sales. That's no small feat. If you're stuck in a writing rut or unsure how to use conversion copywriting to increase sales, you're in luck. Here, I sat down with Lately's CEO, Kate Bradley Chernis, to discuss the 11 tips that enabled her and her team to grow monthly recurring revenue by 240%.   But first — what is conversion copywriting, anyway? What is conversion copywriting? Simply put, conversion copywriting is copy with the ultimate goal of converting readers into buyers. Conversion copywriting uses engaging and persuasive language to motivate readers to take a specific action. Typically, the goal with conversion copywriting is to encourage readers to purchase a product or service. However, conversion copy can be used at all stages of the buyer's journey, so conversion copywriting might be leveraged to inform buyers' of their pain points, encourage them to sign-up for newsletters or future offers, or simply increase brand awareness. Conversion copywriting ultimately falls under the broader topic of website conversion rate optimization (CRO) — or leveraging your website to effectively convert users across your homepage,...

Six Direct Response Copywriting Tips (and Examples) Connecting with potential customers is critical to boost interest in your website and drive sales conversions. But this is often easier said than done — while many site owners understand the value of compelling content, creating copy that resonates with visitors is more complicated than it appears. Here's why: Gone are the days of keyword-stuffed content designed only to drive up SEO values. When it comes to successful website marketing and sales campaigns, action is the driving force. But with the typical consumer now owning and using at least three digital devices on average, the amount of time content has to make an impact is diminishing quickly. To both boost up-front engagement and encourage immediate action, many businesses are leveraging a new approach: Direct response copywriting. In this piece, we'll dive into direct response copywriting details, offer some actionable examples and provide six tips to help boost the benefits of direct response copywriting. What is direct response copywriting? Direct response copywriting is all about right now. It's about inspiring consumers to action the moment they're done reading your copy. As a result, successful direct response content creators are highly valued (and well-paid) professionals since they're able to generate significant return on investment (ROI) for organizations. They accomplish this aim by combining a deep understanding of target markets with substantial writing skills to create copy that evokes emotional or logical responses from readers. From understanding key pain points to highlighting immediate needs or...

10 Common Copywriting Templates to Use in Marketing Ask any marketer who's responsible for copywriting about their writing process, and you'll quickly find out that there's no specific process to follow. Additionally, copywriting varies depending on your audience, purpose, and format — copywriting for an Instagram post, for instance, is entirely different than copywriting for a press release. At HubSpot, we know the struggle. Copywriting demands creativity, inspiration, and hard work — and it can be difficult to find all three, day-in and day-out. To help with writer's block, we've put together 10 copywriting templates you might use for any of your marketing efforts, including blogging, social media, email marketing, and even internal memos. Let's dive in. 10 Copywriting Templates to Use in Marketing 1. Email Marketing First, you'll need to determine what type of email you're writing to ensure you're speaking to the right audience. Coordinate with your team to see if this is a one-off marketing email like a monthly newsletter, or if you're being asked to write for a series of emails, like a nurture campaign. As you're drafting your copy, consider how your email will encourage the reader to take a desired action, like clicking a link to purchase or scheduling a call with a sales rep to learn more about your services. If you're not aiming for the reader to take a specific action and instead just want to send a general update, like a company announcement, you'll want the copy to easily...