Often, it’s very hard for business owners to look at their website with anything but the eyes of a proud parent. They see their website as a product of hard work and investments of time and money. And, it is. Unfortunately, they often see their website as extension of themselves. It isn’t.
Your website is about your product. Period. Now, this product maybe your company itself as with an about us based website, it may be information as it is with research or review site or it may be an actual product as with an e-commerce site. Even if you’re a personal coach and part of your product is your actual self it’s still a product site. Everything within your website should have one purpose, getting a visitor to act.
The right words combined with the right design will turn visitors into customers. Conversely, bad copy and bad design will turn them away.
Too often, we create a professional user-friendly design for clients who then populate their site with text they just “knocked off.” Your words are the foundation upon which your business is built. Your products, your website and your marketing strategy all depend on your words. Flash doesn’t make a sale. Your words do.
Every headline, paragraph, sentence and word should be written with one idea in mind. To lead your visitors to take action, i.e. sign-up for a newsletter, request information, call, and or place an order.
Good web copy doesn’t just happen. It has to be crafted. I’m always amazed that the same client who will spend two days debating what shade of red his logo should be will simply write off the top of his head when creating the actual copy for his site.
Well-crafted web copy is different from business correspondence. While many business owners think they know who their audience is, the truth is they are only recognizing one small portion of their audience. Too often, business owners make assumption and cognitive leaps that leave potential customers questioning. They overload their text with industry specific acronyms and technical jargon. In some instances, this may be appropriate but typically, this in depth information should be relayed via inner navigation.
Good web copy is written with the AIDA principle in mind.
- Awareness – create awareness about who you are and what product or service you are offering
- Interest – stimulate interest with direct appeals to your potential customer by identifying a problem and validating a need for a solution
- Desire - show how your product or service can benefit, be that solution
- Action – stimulate your potential customer to take action
Write your website copy as if you are talking to just one person. Identify a problem and validate that one visitor's need for a solution. Continue to write and explain why your product is the solution to their problem. Tell them exactly what your product will do for them; why it will solve their problems and how. Pack your copy with benefits and more benefits. And, understand the difference between a product feature and a product benefit. Write to persuade -- that's the bottom line.
Your website is your online salesman. Just as you hire a sales staff with care and look for team members who are informative, courteous, professional, presentable and mirror your company’s strategies and goals, you should create web copy that works with your company not against it.
To learn more about our copy writing service, contact us
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