23: 5 crucial copywriting trends for 2023
Happy New Year!
Because it’s the first episode of 2023, I thought it would be a great time to talk about the copywriting trends for the year ahead. These trends will undoubtedly have an impact on your business, how you market, how you launch, and what to expect for sales.
So in this episode of ill communication, I’m sharing the top five crucial copywriting trends for this year. It’s my intention that you can leverage these trends right now as you’re making your 2023 business plans.
The days of clickbait, bro marketing, and cheesy sales tactics are winding down. Consumers are becoming way more savvy and way more choosy about whom they invest with, so it’s important to keep this in mind as you plan your year.
There’s a lot of buzz around things like AI-generated copy, marketing strategies, content writing, and so much more. So in this episode I’m sharing what you need to know.
Topics We Cover in This Episode:
AI-generated copy
Personality driven brands
Old-school content writing
Email marketing
Honest and ethical marketing
And there you have it! The five upcoming copywriting trends for 2023. These trends will help you get a head start on 2023. I’m curious, do you agree? Disagree? Let me know!
I would love to know what content you would like to hear more of on this podcast. Will you take a few minutes to fill out the Lister Feedback Survey? You can fill it out anonymously or you can leave your name and email for a chance to win a free copy audit and a Joy of Copy Recipe Card Deck valued at $1100!
-
Welcome to Ill Communication. Copywriting Tips and Sales Strategies for Small Business. I'm your host, Kim Keel. I'm a copy coach, sales strategist and direct response copywriter. It's my mission to help women leaders and changemakers amplify their voices through copy. It's why I'm dishing out all the juicy tips, writing prompts and sales formulas to help you generate more leads, book more calls, and get more high value clients on repeat. Sounds pretty good. It's time to ditch the overwhelm you might be feeling and find confidence in your copywriting so you can get your message out there and attract more soul mate clients. Let's get started. Hello, my friend. Happy New Year. Welcome to episode 23 of Ill Communication. And because it's the first episode of 2023, I thought it would be a great time to talk about the five crucial copywriting trends for the year ahead. These trends will undoubtedly have an impact on your business, how you market, how you launch, what to expect for sales. And so my intention is you can leverage these trends right now as you're making your 2023 business plans. So without any further ado, let's just get straight into it. Crucial copywriting. Trend number one is probably not going to be much of a surprise. It's a AI generated copy. Now, first, let's back it up. Let's define what I copywriting is a I copywriting is the use of artificial intelligence or machine learning to write copy for your website ads, emails, blogs, or even podcast episodes.
And before you freak out too much about having to learn something new, you have probably already been using robot generated copy in your business like this. Anytime you type something and predictive text pops up to complete the word or the sentence, that's a I. If you've ever used a headline or a title generator, that's a I. If you use apps like Hemingway, Grammarly or pro writing aid to improve your copy, to rewrite awkward sentences or to flag grammar errors, that's all powered by AI. I generated Copy isn't new. There are dozens and dozens of A.I. copywriting robots available and you've probably seen ads pop up for Jasper Jarvis or copy AI. And until recently, a lot of copywriters and marketers scoffed at AI generated copy and content because honestly, it wasn't great. It wasn't a great mimic for a real human voice. It would be confusing. It wouldn't sound like a real human being and it would be just kind of lackluster. But at the end of November 2022, a new chat bot named Chat GPT was released by a research laboratory called Open A.I. and it's generated a huge buzz online, and especially in copywriting circles because it appears to be better than most of the earlier chat bots, a generating really solid copy. Now, to be fully transparent, I personally haven't experimented with chat GPT yet and I say yet because based on what I'm reading and the thought leaders I follow chat, GPT has the potential to create a really solid first draft of your copy.
And for small business owners this could be a real game changer. Imagine spending a little bit of time working with a chat bot that spits out an adequate draft of an email or a website page, which you could then go through to correct and edit and make sure it sounds like you. And for copywriters, I think AI and machine learning will only serve to raise the bar because unfortunately mediocre copywriters will be easily replaced by A.I. and excellent expert copywriting will really help you stand out and sell out against AI. Copy copywriters or any other human will still be required to review the copy that's generated by a computer. And while I haven't dabbled in it yet, I will definitely share my experience when I do. So stay tuned. I'm actually really looking forward to experimenting with AI to create some crappy first drafts for me, which I can then review and optimize through the lens of persuasion, empathy, voice and personality. Which leads me to trend number two. In 2023, brands will need a solid voice and personality to stand out and sell online. Now, this really isn't a new trend per se, because we've certainly seen personality driven brands explode in the online marketplace.
But for a while it seemed like there was a total glut of what I call the Girlboss brand. You know, Hey, girl, let's be badass, babes. Which is fine if that's really how you talk. But I think for the vast majority of those brands, they don't talk like that at all. All of which is to say successful brands and businesses need well-defined voices and personalities that come through in your copy on your website and your ads, on your social media and in your email. Take a look at very successful brands like PW Perry, which carved a huge niche in the air freshener category with their prim and proper voice in messaging or canned water brand Liquid Death Who's breaking into the bottled water category with a powerfully fun. On an rebellious voice. But you don't need to be a major consumer brand to make this work for you. For example, if you're an HR leadership consultant in a sea of HR leadership consultants, you can easily stand out in the marketplace by infusing your unique personality and voice into your messaging and marketing. And as you grow your business and begin outsourcing your copy to your team or your contractors, you'll want to be able to explain how to write in your voice. Several of my clients have very distinct voices and strong personalities and brands. They can write in their own voice, but it's sometimes pretty hard for them to tell other people how to write in their voice.
And as more people use robots or AI to generate copy, the more important it will be to infuse that copy with a unique voice and personality. So it just doesn't sound the same as everyone else's. Now, as an aside, if you're a business owner who's having a hard time outsourcing your copy to your team or to your contractors because it doesn't sound like you or because you simply spend too much time editing it, once it comes back to you, then you might want to chat with me about getting a custom voice guide developed. The Amplify Voice Guide is a foundational resource for growing teams, and especially for brands that have a unique personality and voice. A link to my Amplify voice guides in the show notes. Now, trend number three is kind of an interesting one because it's kind of like a retro trend. I really believe that in 2023 we're going to be going back to basics with longer copy and longer content. With the changes in iOS 14 and the constant changes at Facebook and Instagram and the algorithm and what you can and cannot post. A lot of marketers are finding paid ads are becoming more expensive and less effective than they once were. And as ads and reach are declining, I see a swing back to old school content writing.
More people will invest their time and money into blogging, guest blogging, developing video content and podcasting to share and create long form content. This kind of content helps generate organic traffic, which will complement your paid ad strategy. It also helps position you as an authority and an expert in your field. It's one of the reasons why I started this podcast in 2022. I had a big gap in my business where I wasn't creating and sharing my own content. Aside from the odd social media post, committing to a podcast with a weekly schedule gives me a reason to sit down and create more intentional, longer form content. And I'm already seeing a return on my investment. Since launching the podcast, I've increased my email subscribers by a third. I've been booked on more podcasts as a guest expert and I'm growing the joy of copy club and booking more private clients as a result. Now, as you craft your marketing plan for 2023, I would invite you to experiment with some longer form content and as with anything in marketing. See how it goes and adjust from there. The next trend. Trend number four also isn't anything new, but in 2023, email marketing will continue to be an important copywriting and sales strategy for your business. Just like I mentioned earlier, the changes to iOS 14 and the constant changes on social media platforms makes marketing so difficult to predict and monetize.
Yes, you will still keep posting on social, you'll still invest in ads, but it's going to be so important for you to encourage those followers and fans to subscribe to your newsletter where you can build a more intimate relationship and deliver more value. Research shows that email is still the best channel to reach people on and to use as an important sales lever in your business. Case in point, I sent one email last year that generated 9000 and I have a very small email list well under 1000 subscribers. If you're wanting to get a little refresher on how to optimize your email marketing in 2023, head back to episodes ten and 11. The fifth copywriting trend I see in 2023 is the need for more honest, ethical and transparent marketing. The days of clickbait, bro marketing and cheesy sales tactics are winding down. Consumers are becoming way more savvy and way more choosy about whom they invest with. The brands that stand out in the marketplace are brands that stand for something that align with a social cause or a bigger mission. Consumers want to invest in brands that care not just about us as consumers, but about the world around us, too. We will see more inclusive messaging on websites and more businesses aligning with causes they care about. So if your business is working toward zero carbon or you invest in offsets to offset any of your air travel, declare that on your website and share it in your messaging.
Do you give back 1% to charity? Are you a safe space for marginalized communities like people of color or LGBTQ? Share all of this in your messaging. And with the economy being slow to recover from the last three years, along with a recession and rising interest rates, consumers need more time to make decisions about investing in their businesses or themselves. A lot of my clients had very lucrative launches in the last part of 2022, but the sales were a little slower to come in because people need a little more time to make big financial decisions. And sometimes prospects would have to participate in multiple launch events or even multiple launches before finally saying yes. All of which is to say, expect a longer window for people to convert and offer extended payment plans without adding exorbitant fees so people can feel safe to invest with you. While my friend, those are the five crucial copywriting trends. For 2023. And once again, the five trends are A.I. generated copy. Having a clear and distinct brand voice and personality, investing in long form content, investing in email marketing and honest, ethical and transparent messaging. But I'm curious, do you agree? Do you disagree? I would love to know what kind of content you'd like to hear more about on this podcast.
So would you take a few minutes to fill out a listener feedback survey to share more about what you'd like to hear on this podcast or share your thoughts about what you'd find most helpful or interesting in 2023. You can fill it out anonymously, or if you choose to leave your name and email address, you'll be entered into a draw where you could win a free copy audit and the joy of copy recipe card deck, all of which has a value of 1100 dollars. I'll drop the link to the survey in the show notes and just know how much I would appreciate if you would take a few minutes to fill that out. Well, my friend, that's it for episode 23. Thank you so much for joining me today and I'll see you next time. And that's a wrap on today's episode of Ill Communication. Hey, if you're picking up what I'm putting down, I would love if you would leave a rating and a review to let me know. And don't forget to follow the show so you never miss out on the tips, prompts and strategies I share in every episode. They're designed to make you an ill communicator, too. As always, you can check out all the links and resources from this episode on the web page. Just head over to Kim Dotcom slash podcast. I'll chat with you again next week.
Resources Mentioned
Check out the Amplify Voice Guides
Optimize your email episode 10
Optimize your email episode 11
Take the Ill communication listener survey
Additional Resources
Follow & Review
Are you following the podcast? I want to encourage you to do that today so you don’t miss any future episodes.
I would also appreciate it if you would leave me a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! I read each of them, and they help me make sure I am providing the content that you love to hear! Plus, you get to pay it forward because it will allow other listeners like you to find the podcast!