What is Copywriting? Beginner’s Tutorial

Copywriting Tips

Aug 1

Written By Emily

You cannot have a successful online business without copywriting. But what is copywriting? What does copywriting mean, and what do copywriters do?

Let’s take it back to basics and learn how to improve your website copywriting skills as an online business owner.

Check out these website copy examples when you need some seriously good content inspiration!

What is Copywriting?

Copywriting is just a fancy phrase for the words you write online. Whenever you write a website page header, blog post, social media post, or landing page, you’re copywriting.

When we write content for our websites, it’s called ‘copy’.

But why copy? Why not just words?

'Copy' comes from the word 'copia', which is Latin for ‘abundance’.

That was adopted in print media back in the day when an original written piece would be sent to the copy to get printed and duplicated (or made abundant).

Cool, right? Yeah not really, I’m just a giant nerd.

In this century, we use “copy” and “copywriting” to refer to anything we write online.

But it’s kind of grounding to know that its roots go all the way back to Ancient Rome.

What Does a Copywriter Do?

A copywriter is someone who writes online content for a living. Yes, if you write your own website content, you’re technically a copywriter.

But would you cut your own hair and call yourself a hairdresser? Probably not.

Copywriters hone the skill of persuasive copy with the help of copywriting tools. They help business owners write high-converting copy that generates more sales than they could get on their own.

You don’t need to be a professional copywriter to write great copy, though. It’s a skill you can practice!

Why is Website Copywriting Important?

It’s not enough to create a website and wait for the sales to roll in. If your copy isn’t engaging, persuasive, and optimised for conversions, you won’t make consistent sales.

Your website copywriting is what hooks visitors and convinces them to work with you.

You tell me, which of these options is better:

Option #1: Accounting Services for Small Businesses
Option #2: Save £20K a Year for Your Small Business with No-Jargon Accounting Services

Both headlines give you the same information, but the quality of the copy is drastically different.

With just a few tweaks, that headline becomes infinitely more impactful.

Now, think about that impact across your entire website.

Your copywriting will make or break your business. Fortunately for you, I’m here to be your copy-fairy godmother, so your copy is going to make your business.

Want some specific copy tips for service providers? Check out this guide on copywriting for beginners now.

How to Structure Website Copy

Before we get into the wording of your website copy, let’s nail the structure with some easy website copywriting principles.

Use Titles to Break up the Content

Each page needs an H1 (and only one). Google uses the H1 to determine the page's topic, and it doesn’t like indexing pages with multiple H1 titles.

After your H1, break up your copy with H2, H3, and H4 titles.

This helps give the page structure. Google uses the other titles throughout the page to categorise the content, so optimise them with keywords for an SEO boost.

Pages without any titles end up with massive chunks of body text that clients will skip over.

Break up the content and make it easier to digest with regular titles.

sale

BONUS TIP

An easy way to get familiar with title structure is with the Google Detailed Chrome extension:

Download the free Detailed extension here
Go to Google and type in a keyword relevant to your services
Click on the top organic link
Click the detailed extension icon under your search bar
Click “headings” next to “overview” in the pop-up

You’ll get a full list of all the titles used on that page. This is great insight into what kind of title structures rank well on Google – use them as inspiration for your own website copywriting.

Use Short Paragraphs

We’re taught to write in full paragraphs in English class, but you can throw all those rules out the window for your website.

Stick to short 1-3 sentence paragraphs to make your website copywriting scannable.

About 60% of people visit your website on mobile, so even short paragraphs look like giant chunks of text on a smaller screen.

None of us have the attention span to read every word on a website, so big paragraphs will get totally skipped over.

Section Your Content

Instead of one long website page, break it up into sections that are easier to digest.

On my website, I use coloured backgrounds to break up content and make it much easier for readers to digest.

Each section has a different point or new information to keep the page interesting and flowing. Check out any of my service pages for a visual example!

Head to this next guide to learn how to write an About Page that clients love.

Highlight to Contrast

Use bold, italic, contrasting colours, and larger fonts to highlight headings and important information on different pages.

Your website copywriting should have a clear hierarchy. The eye should go to titles first, then sub-headings, then highlighted text.

Here’s what I mean:

When your eyes scanned over that promo graphic, where did they land first?

I’d bet you read “let’s discover” first, then took in the rest of the title before landing on “adventure in nature”, and then skipped the paragraph and went straight to “we tailor unforgettable experiences…”

That’s the power of bold text. You can’t force your visitors to read every word on your website, but you can direct them to the most important information by making it stand out.

Website Copywriting Best Practices

Next, let’s go over some of my top tips for writing your website copy. We’re aiming for engaging, persuasive, and confident. But how do you achieve that?

Focus on Results

As a service provider, it’s easy to think of the features of your service as the benefits.

You spend so long crafting your offers and putting your blood, sweat, and tears into your service, so the deliverables are the selling point of your website copywriting, right?

Not so much.

People don’t care about your service's features; they care about its benefits, outcomes, and results.

It’s not just a 40-page productivity workbook – it’s how your client will finally feel accomplished at the end of each week.
It’s not just 50 high-res brand photos—it’s everything your client needs to make their website look stunningly professional.
It’s not just a weekly 1:1 coaching call – it’s how your clients can skip all the newbie mistakes and fast-track their business growth.

Make sure you read my guide on service page mistakes to avoid the most common copy pitfalls!

Make Your Page Titles Attention-Grabbing

You’ve got seconds to grab your visitor’s attention, so your headline needs to be on point.

Bland and forgettable website copywriting isn’t an option. You need to immediately let visitors know:

What your services are
Who your services are for
What differentiates you from other service providers

Yep, that’s a lot to pack into one headline.

Let’s redesign that travel example above to show you how to nail all that info in one header:

Rethink Weak Language

Clients are looking for experts who know what they’re talking about. If your website copywriting is weak or unsure, it’s going to drive them away.

But what is weak copywriting?

Filler words – maybe, just, sometimes, could, a lot
Opinion words — “in my opinion”, “i think”
Fluff – extra wording that doesn’t add to the main point

This one isn’t a hard and fast rule. Don’t just do a ctrl+F and wipe out every “maybe” you have on your website.

But when you read your content back, ask yourself, “Is the phrasing as strong as it could be?”

Before: I truly believe that you can get results with just a little time and effort.
After: You can get outstanding results by committing 3-5 hours a month.

Ask Questions

An easy way to get your clients to connect with your content is to phrase your copy in the form of questions.

Rather than: Get your first 10K email subscribers
Try: Ready to welcome 10K email subscribers to your list?

This gives your readers a chance to think, “Yes!” Which gets them primed to work with you.

Include Active Verbs + Interesting Adjectives

This is my favourite tip and an easy one to make your copy binge-worthy.

Make your copy interesting and active with adjectives and verbs.

Kickstart your investing journey with the seriously simple stock roadmap.
Unlock oodles of value inside the sought-after member’s vault.
Say goodbye to stress and hello to spine-tingling relaxation with the mindful podcast.

Whenever you’re writing your copy, ask yourself, “Is this active? Is this interesting?”

If you don’t get two big ol’ checkmarks, keep working on it!

Want to Know The Easiest Way to Improve Your Website Copywriting?

Simple: Get a website copy audit from a professional copywriter!

I’ll help you turn your website into a client magnet with a step-by-step copy strategy.

It’s the perfect place to start if you’re not making sales through your website but don’t know where to start making changes.

Take a stroll through the website copy audit page to find out what’s involved.

Copywriting FAQs

Direct response copywriting is when you write content that makes people take a specific action. Your service page is an example of direct response copywriting because you want visitors to reach out and hire you. That's the direct response you're aiming for with your copy.
Freelance copywriting is when you're paid to write high-converting copy for a brand but you're not a full-time employee. You're paid per project or on a monthly retainer, but you don't get any of the normal employee benefits.
Creative copywriting is when you come up with interesting copy concepts for marketing or social media campaigns. The wording can be funny, engaging, shocking, or impactful. But the goal is to make sales.
SEO copywriting is when you write content with the aim of showing up in Google searches. By included keywords and structuring the copy for SERPs, you help boost traffic to a specific website page.