The moment you decide your business needs an online presence is the moment you give yourself a to-do list that will never be completely finished. The internet isn’t static. A need to refresh, update, rebrand and reposition is ongoing. And when it’s time to start making these changes it can be tough to know what to start with.

I’ve had several enquiries and a handful of current clients in this exact position lately. They already have an established business, but change is happening. The email I get asks which copy is most important for them to update first: their website, stack of existing blogs, or their email marketing?

Deciding where to start can be hard. Especially because a change in your copy messaging can feel like it needs to happen all at once. But realistically, making that happen would mean getting all of your copy assets written behind the scenes and launching them simultaneously. For small businesses and freelancers, time and budget rarely allow for this. A better, more practical approach for our situation is to put the copy you need into a priority order that best serves the needs of your business aims and your clients.

Here’s what I suggest doing.​

Make a copywriting wishlist

Before there can be order, there needs to be chaos. Your wishlist is the chaos.

Open a fresh page in Word, Google Docs, your fancy-pants notebook, and start writing out all of the marketing copy you need updating. The obvious ones are:

• blog
• website
• social media profiles
• emails (autoresponders and newsletters).

But then depending on your business you may also need to refresh:

• copy that appears on other advertising platforms
• paid advertising copy
• course content
• video scripts
• direct mail
• flyers.

Once you’ve noted all the relevant marketing copy down, get granular if you can. List out how many website pages need updating and which ones. How many blogs there are than need a rewrite to match the change you have in mind? (You may want to look at your analytics and only work on the most viewed ones.) Do the same with your emails, which social profiles and so on. This is your wish list and at this stage we’re getting all of your ideas out of your head and onto the page.

Next, think about your main business goal

Usually, a copy refresh is driven by the business wanting to change their goals. Perhaps existing targets have been met and so now it’s time for the next phase. When prioritising copy, get clear on your main business goal. Here are a few examples of goals.

• To make more money, quickly.
• To niche and serve a very specific audience.
• To get repeat, loyal customers.
• To become a voice of authority.

To increase your traffic.

Highlight the wishlist copy that will help you achieve your main goal

With your new goal or target clear in your mind, go back to your wishlist. Put a mark against the copy that will help you achieve that goal. To show you what I mean, I’ve put the goal examples from above into a table with the copy you’d probably most want to focus on to achieve that goal.

Hopefully, you’ve now got a smaller list in front of you. One that looks a lot more manageable. Sorting these 2-5 copy areas into importance should be easier. And then once you have the core pieces done that will start you moving towards your new goal, you can then move onto the fun part. Creating shiny new things that will really push your business goal forward.

Are you working on a copy refresh?

If so, and you feel you need some help deciding what to start with, drop me a line using the form below.