It’s 20 years since we were both on campus attending creative writing and PR 101 classes, proudly wearing our American university-branded sweatshirts (long before H&M made them fashionable).

And while those wild days on campus are long gone, a lot has happened since then. Including the copious amounts of words we've not only written, but edited.

Just like the feeling you get when you have a thorough closet or kitchen cupboard clear out (Vinted is our current obsession), when it comes to copy, there’s nothing we like more than a good edit. 

While our eagle eyes are used to quickly spotting opportunities for improvement, there are some copy mistakes we see all the time that you can identify (and avoid) without the decades of experience.

Here are 5 copy mistakes and how you can avoid them:  

MISTAKE # 1: It’s ALL about ME. 

As a business owner, it’s easy to fall into the trap of writing about yourself, your experience and how you can help all of the time. While these messages are really important to share, it's even more important to share them so your audience is the main focus. It can be the difference between people deciding to buy from you or moving on, not realising what you offer is actually for them. 

How to avoid: Using the word ‘YOU’ rather than words like ‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘us’ makes your audience the focus of your message. Flip your words around so your audience (not you) are front and centre.   

MISTAKE #2: It’s so COMPLICATED! 

While overcomplicating almost anything is a natural human trait, simple is best when it comes to words. They don’t need to be clever, your sentences don’t need to be overloaded with adjectives and yes, in many cases, done really is better than the elusive ‘perfect’. 

How to avoid: Check what you’re saying is clear and easy to understand (the more obvious it is to you, the better). Long-winded, complicated copy that doesn’t make it clear what you do and who you do it for (and the transformation) is a surefire way to lose your audience. 

MISTAKE #3: THAT’s unnecessary. 

Too many words hides the message. Ensuring your copy is simple, clear and easy to read gives it a better chance of doing what you want it to do e.g. making a sale.   

How to avoid: Simplify your copy by removing unnecessary (and often distracting) words. Words like ‘that’ and ‘just’ - most of the time you don’t need them and it can take your copy from passive to present, which instantly makes it more impactful. 

Also, go get Grammarly, it's a free online writing app which will suggest improvements to your words.

MISTAKE #4: What’s the POINT? 

Your audience is busy. They’ve got umpteen others vying for their attention so you’ve got to get to the point! Make it obvious you’ve got what they want. Otherwise, they’ll have already scrolled on by and the opportunity will be lost.

And if they’re curious enough to uncover more, leaving them hanging not knowing what to do next will see their attention move to someone or something else with no sale in sight. Yikes! 

How to avoid: HOOK them in with something attention-grabbing (make them curious). Use a STORY (it can be short) to demonstrate you know (and have) what they want. Show them what to do next with a clear CALL TO ACTION. Make it easy for them!

MISTAKE #5: Starting with a blank page (EVERY. SINGLE. TIME)

Despite pouring loads of time and effort into creating great content, business owners so often end up writing from a blank page. Why do that when all the goodness, strong key messages and paragraphs speaking to your dream client’s desires are all there on your website or in your Google Drive ready to be repurposed? 

Blank pages can feel hard and they waste a LOT of time. AND, when you keep writing something new, the great messaging you’ve already created gets lost.

How to avoid: Start with your long-form content (your About page, Sales page, blog post) and repurpose it to create newsletters and social media posts. But don't do it only once, sprinkle your strong key messages through everything you write. Need to create a new email? Great! Go back to your Google Drive, pull out some of the great copy you've already written and reuse some of the great messages you've already created. 

MISTAKE #6: Where's the REPETITION?

Humans need to be told some many, MANY times before a message sinks in. It's not surprising when you consider how many messages you're bombarded with on a daily even hourly basis! Your audience needs to be repeatedly told how you can help and how they can say yes. REPETITION IS KEY.  

How to avoid: Don’t be afraid to repeat your message. Keep your messaging consistent and keep reiterating what you want them to know and do. By the time you’re bored of saying the same thing again and again, your audience may finally see/hear it. Phew!

 Take 10 minutes to review your website or your latest email newsletter or social post and see if you can spruce it up a little using these tips.

And if you need any help, you know where we are. There's no need to struggle. After all, life's short, let's make it magical.  

With love,

Laura + Becca

PS If you want some help to make these mistakes a thing of your writing past… 

Get our expert editing skills on your words every month in Copy Edit Club 

In this value-packed monthly membership, we’ll take a look at your copy and get it working harder for you for just £77 (think about it, over the course of a year you could get 12 pieces of copy edited for less than £1000!).