It’s highly likely you’re reading this right now from your smartphone. Or at least, from some sort of device. It’s no news that businesses need to be thinking with a ‘mobile-first’ mindset, seeing as we spend the majority of our time checking our emails and social media on our addictive little handsets. Which is why it’s vital you perfect copywriting for mobile, sooner rather than later.
From keeping your copy short and sweet to breaking up your text and using strong call-to-actions, here are five simple but effective copywriting for mobile tips. Your customers will thank you for it.
Keep it short and snappy.
The most important rule to keep in mind when it comes to copywriting for mobile is to keep it short and sharp. Think about your own surfing habits when using your smartphone. You’re usually on the go, so you want content that is easy to read and digest. Long form posts will put the reader off and they’ll end up skipping through it. Find ways to say what you want to say in a smaller space. Like all things copy-related, less is more.
Get to the point.
There’s no denying the way we consume technology these days has made our attention spans shorter. So, as a business, you need to make it clear what message you’re trying to convey from the get go. Writing a blog post? Make your topic clear in the headline and subheader. Writing killer email copy? Same rule. Copywriting for mobile has only heightened this need to get to point. Your customers live busy lives, once you’ve got their attention – you don’t want to lose it.
Create catchy taglines.
When it comes to copywriting for mobile, it’s all about grabbing the attention of your customers – and potential customers – as quickly as possible. Whether it’s through snappy subject lines or social media posts, your copy needs to draw them in. Catchy taglines provide the perfect way to get your customers’ attention, so make sure yours are as impactful as possible. Whether they’re wise and witty or just pure persuasive, a quality tagline acts as the bait, while your engaging content is the fish. Struggling? Hire a copywriter to do the hard work for you.
Use bullet points.
When considering copywriting for mobile, readability needs to be top of mind. Spacing and visuals will both help with this, as will bullet points or numbering. Remember to break your copy up with HTML headings (H1, H2, H3 etc.). The top heading on your page will be H1, so beyond that your HTML headers will be breaking your page or blog post up depending on the context of your content. I tend not go any lower than H3, but will occasionally use an H4 if relevant. This will break up your text so it’s easier to read on mobile, and will also help with SEO.
Use strong call-to-actions.
Last but never least, it’s vital that you’re using strong call-to-actions in your mobile copywriting (or any copywriting, for that matter). Whether it’s through text links or CTA buttons, the ultimate goal of copywriting is to prompt the reader to take action. Whether that’s sign up, learn more or shop now, ensure you’re using call-to-actions effectively. That said, there’s such thing as too many CTAs, so be careful not to overuse them. You don’t want to overwhelm your customer and turn a potential higher click-through to a higher bounce rate.
Think mobile, guys.