You may have the most beautiful website design in the whole world, but if you fail to implement good web copywriting—that is, if the content on your website basically sucks—you may not get readers to take the “desired action” after reading the content on your site. When creating content for the web, it is important to understand that the Internet community is a jungle filled with information hunters. Websites that have been designed to convert readers and visitors should have “words crafted to convince;” period.
Believe it or not, web copywriting is an art and there is no software on the face of the planet that can come up with words that can touch the human soul the way an experienced and gifted writer can.
What is the Rule of Thumb In Web Copywriting?
Be clear and concise. A large number of Internet users simply scan sites for the information that they are searching for, so you need to create content that is clear and concise. You want readers to easily locate the gist of every paragraph as fast as possible. Fancy words and highly complex sentences are practically useless on the web. Seriously, why would you want to use a fancy word like “obtuse” when you can simply use “stupid” instead? No one has the time or patience to reach for a dictionary when they read your content. Another important copywriting rule to follow is to make your content easy to read.
How Do I Learn the Art of Drawing Readers In?
It is certainly no secret that great web copywriting is a vital online marketing tool for drawing, retaining and turning visitors to loyal customers. But, how do you create content that draws people in? Once you know the secret of drawing readers in with words, you will be way ahead of the competition.
Here are some surefire ways to draw readers in:
Keep the Copy Short.
Remember, the attention span of an average online user is short, so for Pete’s sake do not babble. Place the “juicy meat” of all your points right at the beginning of your web copy, instead of burying them at the nosebleed section of your webpage. If you interest your target readers up front, they will read the details and stay on your page for much longer, thereby increasing the possibility of buying your product or service or taking desired action that will benefit you in the long run.
Get In Style.
Having a unique writing style will not only make your site standout, it will also do a great job of drawing readers in. For a lot of websites, an informal but lively voice is the best way to go; it will help achieve easy readability and simplicity. The online community typically prefers websites that have content written in an informal and conversational style.
Know Your Audience.
Who are your target readers? When you know who your target audiences are, then and only then, will you be able to create content that will speak to them.
Build an Emotional Connection.
An effective web copywriter strives to connect with readers by making them smile, cry or laugh out loud. The content should strive to make readers feel any emotion besides indifference. Look for a way to connect with your readers the way the competition isn’t. Think about it, why was the Oprah Winfrey show loved so much, by so many people, for over two decades? Her show has a way of connecting with viewers in the most powerful way.
Do Not Fake It!
Readers can sense when you are not writing from the heart or trying hard to be what you (or your brand) are not. You need to be true to your voice. It is important to understand that people hate fakes.
Wait A Minute, What About SEO?
The 1990s is history and search engine algorithms have become more advanced. Quality web copywriting no longer involves keyword stuffing, but search engine optimization (SEO) is just as vital as ever. Keywords are important to your webpage, but should be included in the title and body of your content in the most natural way. Many copywriters use applications like Google’s Keyword Planner in order to add a little bit of scientific dimension to their God-given intuition.
Hyperlinking: How Exactly Does That Work?
Hyperlinking is very important when it comes to creating content for a webpage. A hyperlink is the most convenient way to provide more information and attribution to readers. For instance, if you mention a proven fact in your content, but you do not wish to go into the details, all you need to do is to just link to another article that clearly explains that proven fact. The process of hyperlinking is very simple, you can either write something like “for more details see this research,” or link on the word “research”. Or you can highlight a particular word, which will provide readers with a clue as to what information that link will provide them. See what Matt Cutts said on links in content marketing.
Just ensure that the link is set to open in a new window or tab, this way, the readers will find it easier to get back to your website. Or else, readers could get carried away by the new information they are getting from the other site and even forget that they began their search on your webpage.
Direct Readers With a Call to Action
When it comes to effective web copywriting, your “Call to Action” is the main item you want readers to click on. If you write great content and fail to give readers a directive on what to do next, then congratulations! You have just won the award for “Dumbest Mistake to Make with Your Web Copy.” According to an interesting article on Moz, a lot of webmasters make horrible mistakes when it comes to content marketing—do not be one of them.
Remember to use words that will gently cajole the reader to take action. Stay away from words that commands or bore the reader to tears. Also, ensure that you have loads of fun as well.
Web copywriting is not rocket science, but it’s not as easy as it sounds either. There are no hard and fast rules, but there are things you have to avoid. Sounds confusing? At first, it must be. However, there are ways to circumvent this confusion and turn it into something good. Here are some secrets to great web copywriting.
Web Copywriting Starts With Proper Research
And no, I don’t mean just knowing about your product. I mean knowing about why people would buy your product, market trends, competition, the nitty-gritty, that kind of stuff. You need to know what will cause your customers to buy your products and what will cause them to turn away. In other words, not only do you have to know the strengths of your product, but you have to know its weaknesses as well. Don’t write your content with SEO in mind, because there are currently SEO problems in Google that even you can’t circumvent.
When you delve into research, not only will you find out what your customers want and need, you will know how to speak their language. That is something that effective web copywriting is successful at.
What is the most successful way to find out this information? Why, ask them yourself! Customer surveys are a great way to gather information, as old-fashioned as it may seem.
Begin by asking them the basics. Age, job, where they live, lifestyle, preferences, etc. These things will sound simple but they will tell you a lot about the demographics about who might be interested in your products and, more importantly, how you should write about your products. Remember, you are writing FOR them.
1) Find A Unique Selling Proposition
Your product must be unique in some way, or else why sell it? Find an angle that you know will sell and sell it that way. There are two steps you need to take here:
Define the problem: what do customers want fixed? How do they want their problems to be fixed?
Explain the uniqueness of your offer: what is in your offer that your competitor doesn’t have?
For this part, you have to have an intimate knowledge of your competitors.
(See what I meant about research?)
Let’s face it, you didn’t just re-invent the wheel, did you? Of course your product is unique, but just how unique is it? You have to find an angle that your competitors haven’t thought of yet and that is where you will strike.
The best way to incorporate your unique selling proposition into your website is through a value proposition. A value proposition explains the benefits and values that the customers can get by availing of your product. Of course, a value proposition isn’t just a chunk of text that you put on your website. There is a format to it.
First, there is a headline. This is where you talk about the end-benefit of your product. It’s a one-liner that should grab the reader’s attention. Then there’s a sub-headline. The sub-headline is a 2-3 sentence paragraph that explains what your product does and what problems it fixes.
Next, put three bullet points. These three bullet points should be the points that your customers told you about in your research. You should list the most important benefits of your product here. Keep it to only three bullet points to make it short and sweet.
Lastly, put a visual at the very end of your webpage. Web copywriting that uses images can increase customer response significantly. Content is important , but so are images. Images will attract users and it will make your site more attractive anyway.
2) Be Human
Don’t write like a robot. The best way to know if your content will be read is to write the way that your customers do. Are they upbeat, funny, enthusiastic? Or are they laid-back, relaxed? If you did your research, you should know this by now.
Avoid jargon as well. Write the way that your customers would. So avoid jargon unless you are writing for a very specific group of people. If you work in the technical field, for example, then maybe you can write highly technical articles if you are writing for technical people. However, if you are writing for laymen, write like laymen do.
Web copywriting has transitioned from simple web content writing to now integrating social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Use these tools wisely and they will serve you well.
3) Be Grammatically Correct
Nothing will turn off readers more than bad grammar. That will show them that you are not credible at all and that the information that you are presenting can’t be trusted. After all, if you are selling a high-end tech gadget and you can’t even speak proper English, how can they trust that they gadget that you are selling is indeed authentic? Know what you are writing and how you are writing it. Also, mind your punctuation as well. Don’t put too many exclamation points!!!
It will sound off as if you are screaming at your readers, and that is not something that you would like to do.
4) Stay Focused On Your Consumers
I know you’re trying to sell your product, but you’re trying to sell to customers, so focus on them instead. Focus on how it will benefit them instead of focusing on your profit. Once you add value to your product, profit will follow flawlessly. Stay focused on what you are trying to give instead of what you are trying to get. This will pay off enormously in the long run. It’s better to give than to receive, as the saying goes.
5) Don’t Be The Salesman
Refrain from being too much of a salesman. Instead, be a friend and strike a conversation. Be a consultant and take a friendly tone for your web copywriting. It will pay off. A conversational tone is always preferable to a robotic tone of voice in any situation. This goes for web copywriting as well. They don’t want to hear you sounding off statistics like it was doomsday. Instead, talk about how it will benefit them, like how a friendly consultant will talk to you about your finances and how it will help you stay focused.
Impressive, powerful web copywriting is not like cutting yourself a piece of cake and eating it. It’s more like building yourself a home with nothing but brainpower and doing it all inside a single day. Think HARD WORK. Typically, us as readers and end consumers just see the other end of the spectrum–we just read the good copywriting every day. But what makes it happen? What makes good copywriting occur on a page (or on your computer screen)?
Web copywriting is an ever-evolving field, and the copywriter needs to be constantly aware of the changing environment of the blogosphere and the Internet in general. New views, shares, and search traffic are a set of moving targets, and unless you have your finger on the pulse of the Internet, you’re going to be a less effective copywriter than you can be.
