7 B2B Copywriting tips inside (Exit Five Newsletter #121)

Hello and welcome to the Exit Five Weekly Newsletter - read by 20,000 B2B marketing professionals around the world. Exit Five is a membership site designed to help you build a successful career in B2B marketing. Join 4,000 other members at exitfive.com.

🔎Where to find marketing freelancers you can trust

True marketing nightmare: I once hired a videographer who ghosted my boss in Berlin, lied about being in the hospital, and still tried to charge full price.

Needless to say, I’ve got trust issues with freelancers – but our small team at Exit Five always needs help with things like graphic design, copywriting, SEO, and videography.

So when we can’t turn to someone in our network, we’ve been working with Fiverr Pro to tap into a pool of freelancers who can do exactly what we need.

And we know we can rely on them, because with Fiverr Pro, you get:

• A thorough vetting process that ensures trusted, high-quality talent
• White-glove services from talent sourcing to project execution 
• A 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back

Here’s a full list of all the marketing services Fiverr Pro can help you with – and an exclusive deal: the first 50 Exit Five community members to sign up for Pro will get 15% off their first order of $200 or more, using code Exit15.

✍️ 7 Tips for Better B2B Copy

If I could only choose one skill to use for the rest of my marketing career, it'd definitely be copywriting.

Good copy helps you:

• Stand out and cut through the noise
• Build trust and authority
• Connect on a deeper level with your audience

Someone at the top of my list to learn from is Will Hoekenga (Dave & Dan even say he's the best copywriter they've ever worked with).

Here's seven tips from Will's recent interview with Dave on writing better copy:

Know your customer first

If you’re stuck writing, it’s because you haven’t done enough research. When you understand their pain points and goals, the words and ideas will come. Even better – using their own words as the basis of your copy.

How to do it: dig into customer interviews, sales calls, and internal data.

Don't hide the good stuff

Great copy isn’t just about emotions and benefits. Your audience is asking, “Does it do what I need?” Be clear about features, but frame them around why they matter. If they can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll move on.

How to do it: create a grid that matches features to benefits (e.g. the famous Apple slogan “1000 songs in your pocket” vs “1GB of storage”) and use that in your writing.

Structure matters more than you think

Prioritize what matters most to the customer—don’t bury key benefits under fluff. Make sure your design and copy work together to highlight what’s most important and most likely to matter to your audience.

How to do it: spend a few minutes studying visual hierarchy principles – trust me, even basic knowledge here will help your graphics and web pages look 10x better.

Use the "CUB Test" for positioning

Apply the CUB (Confusing, Unbelievable, Boring) test to your copy. It’s a direct response technique that helps ensure your messaging is clear and compelling.

How to do it: Ask yourself these three questions:

1. Is the positioning too confusing for the customer?
2. Are the claims believable?
3. Is it boring or generic?

Focus on specific pain points, not generic promises

Instead of just claiming that your product is "easy to use" or "increases efficiency," dig into specifics. Using phrases like "trade in workarounds for a system that just works" connects directly to customer frustrations, making the copy much more relatable – which makes it more powerful.

How to do it: listen to customer interviews or conduct your own and specifically look for how customers describe their pain points. Write from there.

Embrace the messy first draft

Don’t aim for perfection right away. Get the bad version out first—it’s the only way to get to the good stuff. The first draft is just the starting point for iteration, not the finish line.

How to do it: Set a timer for 5 minutes and just brain dump without deleting anything. You’ll have something to work off of – and it’ll probably be better than you think.

Don't rely solely on copy to communicate

Copy doesn’t always need to do all the heavy lifting. Sometimes, a well-placed visual can convey what would take several lines of text. Copy sets the structure, but design enhances the message.

How to do it: set up a quick sync or record a loom video of the copy project you’re working on and its goal and send it over to your design partner (if you have one). The best results come from constant collaboration, not a hand-off.

I’ll add my own personal tip as an 8th bonus:

Read everything you write out loud.

Yes, you’ll feel a little weird doing it – but it’s by far the best way to identify clunky sentences, things that feel wrong, and improve your copy.

P.S. As always, let me know if you’re interested in the full interview with Will and I’ll send it over to you.

Any copy tips you’d add? Would love to know your secrets, too! Just reply to this email – I read (and cherish) every one :)

📺 UPCOMING EVENTS

🤠 Our next live event

The Exit Five Team is going to be in Austin in November for an offsite (planning, team building, trust falls, etc.)

Wednesday November 13th we're doing a meetup with ~100 B2B marketers in Austin.

We pulled together a group of Austin's top CMOs for a discussion, and we're doing networking speed dating style so you can meet as many Austin marketers as you can during the event...plus food, and we are giving away amazing prizes (not marketing swag, like REAL prizes).

This is just a teaser – we'll be opening up tickets tomorrow.

So keep an eye on your inbox and snag one so you can join us in Austin in a few weeks!

🏢 OPEN ROLES

Who's Hiring Right Now?

HOT JOB OF THE WEEK: Speedwork is hiring a Senior LinkedIn Ads Strategist.

As one of the only LinkedIn ads certified expert agencies in the US, they're looking for someone to own client relationships, manage ad campaigns, and play a main part in continuing the growth of the Ads Department.

Interested? Apply here.

Other open roles on the Exit Five job board this week:

• Rhapsody is hiring a Content Marketing Manager
• Peak Support is hiring a Head of Marketing ($140k-$185k)
• PDQ is hiring a Senior Customer Marketing Specialist
• Clara is hiring a Marketing Operations Specialist
• Circle is hiring a Head of Marketing
• CourseStorm is hiring a Growth Marketing Manager
• Freshpaint is hiring a Product Marketing Manager
• Close is hiring a Marketing Operations Manager. USA Only, 100% Remote. 
• Brainlabs is hiring a Global CMO/EVP of Social.
• Culture Partners is hiring a Business Illustrator and an Instructional Designer & Map Developer

See All Open Roles >>

Have an open role and want to make sure the best B2B marketing talent sees it?

Just reply to this email and we'll send over more info on how you can post it on our job board + get it in front of 20k+ marketers.

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