7 Secrets of an alternative health copywriter exposed

Zia Sherrell Gravatar image

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Candid advice on all things health copywriting and marketing.
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Need help from an expert alternative health copywriter?

The secret to digital marketing success is copywriting. Just ask any alternative health copywriter worth their salt. 

Your copy defines your company, and it’s the first impression someone has of your brand. Your copy can make or break your business.

So, when it comes to boosting your online success, it’s essential to use the correct combination of copywriting tactics to keep you on the right track.

Now, of course, exquisite copywriting isn’t the only piece of the puzzle. Your website, search engine optimization, and social media also need to be on point to make sure you reach the biggest possible audience. But no matter what digital marketing strategies you use, content is still king/queen/overlord.

You need to craft valuable content consistently if success is the name of your game. With that in mind, today, I’ll let you into seven of my top alternative health copywriter tips to make sure your efforts are up to scratch. But first, let’s review precisely what copywriting is.

What is copywriting?

In essence, copywriting is the art of persuading someone to take a particular course of action. It’s about presenting your products and services so that people naturally want to buy from you rather than your competitors.

You can utilize copywriting skills for social media posts, product descriptions, blog posts, and all sorts of marketing material. Your goal is to clarify the benefits of working with you rather than of your competition.

Copywriting should be relevant and targeted. You need to understand your audience and speak to them in a language they’re comfortable with and in words that resonate with them. It should speak directly to their soul and create an emotional response that opens their wallets!

Using the correct strategy, you can develop and refine your copy to build brand recognition and encourage your prospects to become clients. The result is increased sales and a flourishing business that has sticking power. Pretty nifty, eh?

As you can see, copywriting is fundamental to your digital marketing success. So, without further ado, here are my tips for copywriting that ensure your copy hits the mark.

Er, isn’t that content writing?

I know! It’s confusing, isn’t it! But essentially, content writing educates or entertains, while copywriting is designed to persuade.

Think of copywriting as words that make money through marketing. Content and copywriting are closely linked, though. Most writers consider a blog post as content writing, but more often than not, there’s a call to action at the bottom. And yes, content is queen. Even though you’re publishing content to build trust, authority, and recognition, content marketing also aims to sell in a roundabout way.

image of a newspaper headline under a magnifying glass

1. Write catchy headlines

Headlines are the cornerstone of all content. It’s your headline that makes people want to click on an article, visit your website, or engage with you on social media.

So, it makes sense that headlines need to be catchy and grab attention. Your headlines need to be irresistible enough to entice someone to click through for more information and lure them into reading further before deciding whether this is something for them.

The perfect headline should follow the four U’s:

  • Useful
  • Urgent
  • Unique
  • Ultra-specific

In other words, your headline should demonstrate value and be beneficial to your audience. You can convey urgency through language like just in time, at last, finally, or quickly, that prompts the reader to act sooner than later.

People love novelty, which is why you need to use something unique in your headline if you can Think about offering an element of surprise or an unusual word. Anything you can do to create an impressive headline helps it to stand out in the oversaturated online space, although I’ll admit it’s not always the easiest.

Ultra-specific means you’re giving your audience the specificity of exactly what they’re going to read. How many tips is your virtuoso alternative health copywriter you today? Seven — that’s pretty specific.

Remember that generic headlines just don’t cut the mustard anymore.

2. Harness the power of storytelling

I firmly believe that great copywriting is a story. That’s not to say that your content needs to be fiction, but it should have a narrative flow.

A powerful story creates context and meaning for your audience. It helps them relate and connect with you because they see themselves within what you’re saying. And if they can relate to an experience or situation, the likelihood of purchasing from you increases dramatically!

Doctor steeple fingering over a cannabis leaf

You don’t need a riveting dystopian novel-length article here, though. Even a short, simple tale will do the trick. Blog posts work particularly well when told as stories, and case studies are essentially customer success stories.

Bear in mind that clients don’t buy your stuff, they buy the transformation it offers, and their emotions often guide them in this purchase. A good yarn helps embed the solution within a hopefully riveting narrative that your prospects feel rather than just read.

3. Include facts and stats

Did you know that approximately 75.8% of statistics are made up? Statistics give a significant boost to content because they go straight to the point. People love statistics. If you can find some interesting information on how many people have done something, bought something, or have something, you’re winning.

If you have a stat that backs up your points, you can confidently include it in your content. Credible information lends your work validity and authority and establishes you as an expert in your field.

BUT, it must be from a credible source. Don’t use information from a source you can’t verify, or if it lacks credibility, because this will undermine you and your brand.

Furthermore, Google takes your citations to authoritative sites and uses them as a proxy for better information, which improves your search rank. Another advantage of citing your sources with a link is that it encourages other websites to reference your work and offers a backlink, which aids your search position. Boom, SEO power!

image showing a colorful lineg graph of multiple stats

4. Keep it relevant and personal

Your copywriting must be relevant and personalized. This is where knowing your audience comes into play. Think about them, their interests, problems, and priorities. Think user intent when crafting your copy. What are they looking for? What do they need?

You must compete for a customer’s attention in a crowded online space, so you need to give them a reason to click on your link. You need to grab them with something interesting, something relevant, something intriguing.

And NEVER forget the copy is about them, not you, so cut out the ‘I’ and favour the ‘you.’ So instead of ‘I can do X, Y, and Z,’ think ‘You’ll benefit from X, Y, and Z.’

image of 25 individual square photos of female heads

By injecting your personality into your content, you engage with your audience on another level because they feel like they know who you are and how you think.

We’re all familiar with the digital landscape; we know what to expect when searching for something. This experience is shaped by millions of brands, big and small, who have written content before us.

Your voice is your ticket into that game of copywriting because it sets you apart from everyone else.

A little bit of self-reflection goes a long way in creating targeted copy that resonates with an audience across gender, age, location, etc. You need to establish yourself as the expert in your field and build that relationship by speaking to your prospects with consideration about who they are.

5. Choose your words carefully

Another copywriting tip shared by the greats is to avoid adjectives or adverbs whenever possible. These modifiers don’t add much meaning to your text. Instead, they dilute the message you’re trying to convey by obstructing it with unnecessary words.

Think about it. So, instead of saying ‘They ran fast,’ you could say ‘They sprinted.’ If you’re running, you’re probably going fast. Er, well, not in my case, but you get the idea! The adverb adds nothing to the sentence, and it could detract from your meaning.

If you need to keep an adjective or adverb in your copy, ask yourself if there’s a better word to add more depth and clarity without sacrificing brevity.

Trying to make EVERYTHING sound good can makes everything sound bad; use direct words that mean exactly what they say and cut out anything extra because it’s best for both comprehension and conversions.

Another tip in writing copy is using modals like ‘could,’ ‘would,’ and ‘should’ with power words like ‘genius,’ ‘discover,’ and ‘hack,’ to add intention to your content and suggests that something must be done. Do the thing!

Power words are simply words with solid and positive connotations that make people feel a certain way. They’re used in copy for their specific effects on readers, which is why you need to use them carefully.

A power word + modal combo can differentiate between a mediocre piece of writing and a good one.

Oh, and use active voice to help engage your readers and get them into the story. Reserve the passive voice for science papers.

image of notepad with "words have power" written on it

6. Proofread your copy

I’ll say it again. Your copy represents you and your brand. It could be someone’s first impression of you, so it had better be a good one! A jumbled mess of words doesn’t portray you in the best light, and it shows a lack of attention to detail and disrespect for your readers’ time.

Check, check, and check again. Please proofread your copy. Please! A typo here and there doesn’t look good and releasing a blog post to the world with a glaring mistake could potentially damage your biz.

As any decent alternative health copywriter will tell you, it’s crucial when writing for the health industry. The information we distribute can change people’s lives. When you’re sharing details on medication dosing, health conditions, diseases, nutrition, and recovery, your copy must be accurate and factual because your words are powerful.

Check everything makes sense, the facts are correct, and the copy is error-free. I find it helpful to read it aloud or have someone else read it through. And remember, Grammarly is your friend.

image of some tippex white out being applied to a typed document

7. Make copywriting a pillar of your digital marketing strategy

You need to use copywriting consistently as the foundation for your marketing strategy. Your website, social media profiles, and blog are all channels you can use to build trust with an audience. But if these channels don’t speak the same language, they won’t act as a team that communicates effectively.

image of cubes with marketing words written on them in a stack. a hand is selecting a cube that says digital marketing

Content marketing and solid copywriting help brands get in front of their prospects wherever they are in the buyer’s journey. So, use copywriting across different platforms to drive engagement at each stage of your client’s path to purchase.

Once you’ve done the groundwork on your digital marketing plan, provocative copywriting and establishing yourself as an authority in your field with consistent content creation will help people know, like, and trust you.

If in doubt, hire an alternative health copywriter

There you have it! Now your fave alternative health copywriter has furnished you with some top copywriting tips, the power to change your digital marketing game is in your hands. But, if copywriting doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, drop me a message, as it’s certainly mine!

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