Contrary to what many believe, website copywriting is not just about selling a product or a service. It's about communicating a message that caters to the deepest desires of customers. Website copywriting is about using words to capture the attention of readers and ultimately to persuade them to take some action.
Here are 12 steps to help web copywriters produce an effective work.
Know the product. It's downright impossible for a copywriter to write something he has no knowledge of. If a copywriter does a write-up on something he hasn't used, he is only fooling himself and other people. Website copywriting becomes easy for a copywriter who takes time to know the benefits and features of the product he will write about.
Know the customers. A web copywriter should know his customers before writing his first word. He should know the age, status, and sex or income range of his clients so he can choose the right language and page length for the copy. Once the website is done, it is absolutely necessary to test it. Find a small group of people that fit your customer profile, and then let them check out the site.
Begin with the Headline. Very few will read the entire page of a website, so the headline should immediately grab the attention of readers and should give them an idea of the succeeding paragraphs. Web copywriters should make sure that the headline must clearly and succinctly convey the benefit of the product or service.
Keep Everything Short. Do not impress readers by using extensive vocabulary. But don't sacrifice the quality of the copy though. Readers respond more to short words with strong impact, and to terse action-filled sentences and paragraphs. Make the copy restful on the eyes of readers by having lots of white spaces between thoughts.
Use words carefully. Avoid using words such as if, but, would, could, etc. Instead, choose power words like breakthrough, exclusive, free, complete or proven.
Emphasize Benefits. Readers are just not interested in the history of a company, nor in its mission statement. In website copywriting, the benefits of the product are given more importance than anything else. It only takes ten seconds to capture the attention of readers. That's why in that span of time, a reader should already know what he will get from the product.
Give Testimonials. Using the endorsements of real people is always an effective way to increase sales, but they have to be done in an unconventional way. Website copywriting is ingeniously incorporating testimonials with the message. Visitors usually just scan the homepage of a website, so creating extra pages for the testimonials might not be such a good idea.
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Paula Cambridge
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