In this guide, you will get to know the concept of Performance Writing. More than just copywriting, Performance Writing represents a new constellation of skills that will prove to be essential for success in the post-AI marketing reality. 

What Is Performance Writing?

Performance Writing is a new category of writing that is chiefly concerned with achieving specific business outcomes. Whether it is creating brand awareness, generating leads, improving sales, boosting website traffic or engaging customers, performance writing employs the gamut of writing techniques to achieve these goals. 

Why Does This Matter Now?

We are living through a tectonic technological shift with the advent of AI. And in certain fields, the race is already kicking off to see who will leverage this tech to change the way the world works (while profiting handsomely). If you’re reading this, you already know that marketing is one of those fields. 

Teams are struggling to discern the difference between AI solutions. They lack the experience to know when and where to best deploy generative AI to scale performance, reduce costs, and achieve stronger returns on investment. 

With competition this tight, and the technological horizon so new, Performance Writing and Performance Writers will play an increasingly critical role in driving business outcomes through the creation of effective written content. Their combination of creativity, data analysis, audience understanding and strategic thinking helps to produce content that achieves measurable results and generates significant business impact.

Those organizations that quickly shift to a Performance Writing mindset will find AI working for them and their goals, rather than the other way around. And they’ll be the ones who set the bar for what marketing teams can actually achieve with this revolutionary technology. 

Who Is a Performance Writer?

Performance Writers are professionals who work across a wide range of marketing roles. They could be marketing leaders, product marketers, content marketers who focus on creating web content and communications, social media marketers who craft engaging posts, or Demand Gen, Growth, Marketing Ops or Performance managers who run online ad campaigns and nurturing. 

Regardless of their specific role, Performance Writers must have the ability to use data insights to guide their writing process, from conceptualizing, planning and writing to editing, publishing, and assessing performance.

Performance Writers are always:

• Up-to-date with new technologies and industry best practices. 
• Continuously learning and developing their writing skills 
• Creative problem solvers, who see the forest and the trees all at once
• Analytical thinkers who use data to inform and refine their messaging

An in-depth understanding of audiences and messaging is crucial to Performance Writing. Performance Writers must understand the psychology of their audience, what motivates them, and what messaging will resonate with them. To do this, they must be skilled in market research, customer persona development and analyzing marketing trends.

Lastly, Performance Writers must be familiar with performance metrics and the importance of tracking and measuring the impact of their writing. They must know which metrics are relevant for the goals they are aiming to achieve and continually evaluate the success of their writing efforts. By doing so, performance writers can identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to improve the effectiveness of their writing.

"Anyword has vastly improved my sense of what high-performing copy looks like, and the components I can use to improve my copywriting."

– Ramy Khalaf, Senior Creative Strategist, Power Digital Marketing

In my next post, we’ll take a closer look at how to connect your brand and audiences to your marketing performance and goals. 

Until then, stay tuned… and Write on!

Click here to go back to the first post in the Performance Writing 101 series.