8 Common Copywriting Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)
If I stepped into my kitchen right now and tried to whip up a Beef Wellington, it would not go well. Could I make something halfway edible? Maaaaybe. But I’m not a trained chef. Nor an amateur chef, to be honest. My husband is the cook in this family. I just eat gratefully and do the dishes. If you’re a small business owner or marketer, you’ve probably had to step into the role of a copywriter. But crafting effective copy is a skill that requires training and practice, just like running a successful hotel, event venue, restaurant, or making Beef Wellington. And if you’re not a copywriter by trade, you…
A Restaurant’s Top Marketing Tool: The Menu
Take just a moment to think about the pillars of your restaurant’s marketing strategy. Your first thought was probably social media. Maybe your website. Perhaps you do some paid ads, either online or in old-fashioned print. But I’d be willing to bet that your menu was not at the top of that list. It may not be on the list at all. Your menu is a tool to help your current guests navigate your food options. But that’s only half of it. It also has to sell people on your restaurant before they even come in the door. According to OpenTable, 93% of people look at menus online before deciding…
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How to Write Menu Descriptions that People Want to Read
Get Inspired: Hospitality Copywriting Examples to Feed Your Muse
Good copy does a lot of things. It establishes a brand voice. It connects with the brand’s ideal customer. It clearly explains the product, service, or offer to that customer. And it does all that in a way that makes the prospect want to buy it. One of the best ways to get a feel for good copy is to immerse yourself in it! So I’ve chosen a few examples of hotel, event venue, and restaurant copywriting to serve as inspiration. Each of these independent companies is based in the Austin area, since that’s where I live. My guess is that one may have an internal marketing team that wrote…
What Is Voice of Customer Data and How Can It Improve Your Copy?
Anything with the word “data” in it sounds intimidating if you’re not a spreadsheet junkie, but it’s not that scary! In fact, we could remove the word “data” entirely from the term, and it would still mean the same basic thing. The voice of the customer (VOC) is basically how a customer would describe you, your products, and services. But it’s their voice, right? So instead of you and your marketing team sussing out what you think customers think, using VOC channels lets them tell you. Directly. In their own words. Why is that valuable in copy? Copywriting is how you convince a potential customer that your service or offering either solves their problem…
How to Write Menu Descriptions that People Want to Read
Did you know that the average diner will spend less than 2 minutes reading your restaurant menu? Some people will only peruse the entrees, and some will beeline straight for their favorite protein. And some cheapos will just skim prices, looking for the lowest number they can find. (I feel you, fellow cheapos.) So you don’t have a lot of time to sell your best dishes. With limited real estate and even more limited attention spans, you need to make your menu descriptions helpful and enticing. So here are some menu writing tips that will put the winner in your dinner. Draw an accurate picture Word choice is important, and space…
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A Restaurant’s Top Marketing Tool: The Menu
5 Reasons Copywriting is the Special Sauce You Need
Listen, I understand that it seems a little self-serving for a copywriter to explain why copywriting is so important. That would be like a turkey explaining why ham is a superior Thanksgiving protein. But the value of copywriting is an established fact, just like ham’s dominance over turkey. Since there is often some confusion about what exactly this type of writing entails, I thought I’d share an overview of copywriting — what it is, and why it’s important for businesses of all sizes. What is copywriting? The simplest definition? Copywriting is the words on the page (aka the “copy”) that get the audience to take an action. This includes the…
Restaurant Website Content Ideas to Boost Your Search Engine Ranking
In a perfect world, when your customers search for “Best Thai food in town”, your wonderful Thai restaurant would pop up as the first Google result. But you and I live in the real world. And we know that’s probably not going to happen. That’s because of sites like Yelp, Foursquare, and TripAdvisor. These sites are so huge, so regularly updated, and get so many visitors that your little Thai restaurant can’t compete with them in SEO (search engine optimization). So when people search for “best Thai food in town”, they’re going to get a bunch of results like this: The top results are all review sites. But you…
