All the flash in the world won't help your sales if your web copy doesn't deliver your message in the most effective way possible.
Most people confuse off-line or marketing ad copy with web copy.
Are they the same?
The answer is a staggering… NO!
The average person is exposed to anywhere between 1,500 and 5,000+ advertising messages per day from TV, billboards, radio, the Internet, practically everywhere we turn. I don’t know about you but the last thing I want to see when I land on a website is yet another ad.
Your website should provide the visitor with the information that they are looking for. Above all it should be free of hype.
But how effective is a sales pitch without hype, you may be asking?
Remember that people usually search the Internet for information. I can’t remember the last time I logged on saying, “I can’t wait to see an ad or to buy something!”
Do you?
Now there is a lot to consider when writing the words that will bring your message to the world. Your web copy is more important than the visual presentation of your web site. Don’t believe me? When was the last time you bought something from a web site because of their flashy logo or outstanding graphics?
It’s the web copy that you’re reading on the site that is leading, drawing you in, injecting emotion, providing a solution to your problem, providing benefits and testimonials, and making the offer compelling enough for you to take action.
So how do you create effective web site copy?
Here are a few things to keep in mind when web site copywriting:
1. Don’t make your web site look like an ad – Your web copy should have an editorial feel to it not sound like a marketing ad.
2. Stop you prospects dead in their tracks – Try using headlines that ask questions instead of product names for your page headings.
3. Inject emotion throughout your web copy – Prospects buy based on emotions.
4. List the benefits of your product or service – Get a piece of paper and split it into two columns. On the left list a feature of the product, on the right list its’ benefit. Continue until all features and associated benefits have been listed. Now take the benefits from the right side and work the top 3-5 into your web copy.
5. Testimonials – List customer testimonials on your page. Try to work one into the top 1/3 of your web copy for increased effectiveness.
