1. Know Your Objective
Do you want to sell through your website? Do you want to develop a reputation for being a knowledgeable service provider? Do you want to inform and educate? When you understand what the objective of your site is, your content will reflect that objective. This applies to different section of the site. For example, if you wish to get people to download your brochures, your content should qualify visitors and incite action.
2. Make it Scannable
People scan web pages and pick out highlighted keywords, links, sub-headings and bullet points. Paragraphs should deal with one idea, and it's a good idea to use the "Tell them what you're going to say, say it, tell them what you've said" structure to pages and paragraphs. Alternatively, the "inverted pyramid" style of writing (starting with the conclusion) is a good idea for the Web. A call to action early in the content works better, as most users will not read all of the content on a page.
3. Keep it Short
In line with the above point, short copy always works best. Use (at most) half the word count that you'd use in offline writing. Edit out buffer words and phrases. Aim for economy and immediacy when writing. For a good primer on this, see "The Elements of Style" (Strunk & White) - it's a short book, and well worth a read.
4. Direct Marketing
Certain techniques from traditional direct marketing translate well to the online arena. A good headline will guarantee a higher readership. Sub-headings, bullet points (see point 1), and bold text for emphasis is also recommended. Talking personally ("I", "You") is recommended - that goes for B2B as well as B2C marketing. In addition, font is important. Research has shown that a sans-serif font (such as Arial, Verdana or Tahoma) reads better on a monitor than does serif fonts such as Times New Roman.
5. Avoid Marketing-Speak
While certain terms may be bandied about regularly in your office, they may not be understood by your target market. Don't talk about your "turnkey solution", your "valued customers", your "paradigm-shifting" consultancy, or how your service can "achieve our client's objectives". Don't start your home page with "Welcome". And don't say "We believe". Remember, you're marketing to humans here. And most of these humans are too busy to sift through blurb and filler. Get to the point.
6. Provide Real-Life Examples
I'm on your website to book a hotel. Or get a mortgage. Or buy your software. Or enquire about your services. I'm a human being. And I want to see what you're doing for other human beings! So hit me with the testimonials. Hit me with the case studies. The more specific, the better. I want to know how your hotel inspired people, how your mortgage helped make dreams come true, how your software increased revenues by 22%. This is what matters to your target market. Credibility is important on the Web, so testimonials and case studies are a really good way of strengthening your position.
7. Use the Call To Action
I've read your copy, and I'm impressed. But...what should I do? Sometimes, it helps to spell out the next step to users. What is the next step?
- For a free brochure, send an email to freebrochure@ourcompany.com.
- To speak with one of our travel consultants, call 1800-XXX-XXXX now.
- Clicking this link will take you directly to our order page.
- To read the rest of this article, click here to become a subscriber.
It's the call to action that will cause users to make a conscious decision. Do I want to email/call/click? Some will, and some won't. But excluding a call to action will mean that most of these users will leave your site, never to return. Ask for the order.
Ultimately, copywriting for the Web is not all that different from offline copywriting. Good copy need not be floral and boastful, but it does need to do the job of selling.
Hey Dave, like it! i'll start making these changes to our site.
Posted by: Johnny | 30 March 2006 at 04:34 PM