Just as every cake starts with a big mixing bowl, every good article copywriter starts with a blank sheet of paper – or more accurately, a notepad file. It’s here that I place all my ‘ingredients’ to form a big gloopy mess.
🧁Flour – context
🧁Butter – problem
🧁Sugar – opportunity
🧁Baking powder – anticipated outcome
🧁Eggs – solution overview
🧁Vanilla essence – call-to-action (CTA)
Download template: the core structure of all copy
Alone, each element is not very enticing (except, perhaps, for the sugar!). But when combined they transform into something irresistible.
However…
An article copywriter knows how to balance the ‘ingredients’
You’d never just dump all your ingredients in the bowl. Like a recipe, you need to place just the right amount of each element into your article.
🧁Too much ‘context’ and your article will leave the reader thinking “So what?“.
🧁Too much ‘problem’ and the audience will feel too bummed out to read on.
🧁Too much ‘solution overview’ and your audience will switch off – don’t forget, your reader only cares about themselves.
An article copywriter who immediately puts pen to paper, risks ending up with a hot mess that makes no sense. Therefore, you start with a recipe – creating a skeleton to plan out the structure, narrative, and core messages for your article.
Once your batter is ready, it’s time to place it into the cupcake cases. For your article, this means adding a strong, clear, and compelling CTA. Just like you pull the case off to consume the tasty treat, your CTA is the action you need your audience to take to ensure they convert and move on to the next stage of their journey.
Download template: CTAs
An article copywriter understands precision and timing
You’d never place a cake into a cold oven (I promise you, it’ll end in disaster!). No, you pre-heat the oven to 180°C before you place your cake inside and bake (if you’re doing cupcakes it’s 10-12 mins, for a larger cake you’ll need 30-40 mins).
It’s a waiting game.
The same is true of your article – although an article copywriter will ideally leave it overnight. This allows you to return to your copy with fresh eyes in the morning to edit and refine the words. Editing isn’t a quick process either; it can take just as long (if not longer) to edit an article as it does to write v1. It shouldn’t be rushed. If time will allow, sleep on it again because the end result just gets better and better.
Download template: editing checklist
An article copywriter adds the finishing touches
Finally, we get to the best bit – the toppings. If your cake doesn’t look appetising, no one will want to eat it. The same is true of your article. A boring, vague or confusing headline won’t encourage your audience to click.
But something tempting – perhaps with a sprinkling of humour, intrigue or urgency – will be sufficient to hook them in and wanting to read more.
Download template: headlines
Need some help?
If you’re looking to hire an article copywriter perhaps I’m the professional for you. After 20(ish) years’ writing articles for 180+ businesses, specialising in the world of IT and tech, I’ve got A LOT of experience writing irresistible articles. To talk about your project please email: hello@alicehollis.co.uk
Alternatively…
If you love baking (like me!), drop me a message and I’ll send you a free copy of my signature bakes.
