Does your website need a copywriter?

The hallmark of a great website? It helps the audience. How do you write your own website without sounding like, “me, me, me?” It can be tricky. You want to tell your audience about what you do/offer but there is a knack.  

Too many websites focus on their award-winning teams, industry accolades, etc. and cannot resist the urge to brag about their fabulous products and services. Yes, these things are important but your visitor wants to know whether or not you can assist them. They have a specific need which brought them to your website. If you do not demonstrate how you can help them with this issue, they will soon be off to find someone else who can (in around 15 seconds).

Your website is your modern-day shop front. Is it written in a way that piques interest and helps the audience? If not, no one is going click, get in touch or buy from you. A lot of people are a "copywriter.” After all, we can all write and it’s not that hard, right? But, if your website is responsible for your customer interaction and company reputation, is it not worth getting a professional to write it perfectly for you? I certainly wouldn’t get inside a car with someone who doesn’t know how to drive or have an electrical fault addressed by anyone but a qualified electrician. Put simply, if you don’t feel the investment in your website is worthwhile you can quit reading now and no hard feelings. But, if you do feel it is worthwhile, please enjoy my top 10 tips for exceptional web copy:

1. Identify your target audience – sounds simple this one, but if you are trying to appeal to everyone in order to capture as many sales as possible, it is likely that you appeal to no one.
2. Have a separate strategy for the content on each HTML page, this will help to avoid cannibalisation and duplicate content – which affects both your visibility and the customer experience
3. Talk about them, not you. As per my musings above, help them, speak to them, write about their issues and needs.
4. Speak in positive, appealing language. “There will be no issues with your project,” should be, “our experienced team will seamlessly manage your project.” All I heard in the first sentence was, “issues” and “project.”
5. Get persuasive. Emotional storytelling and content marketing are vital for a stand-out website. A good story pulls at an emotional thread and captivates the audience. Your thread and story need to directly link to your audience and their problem.
6. Use hyperlinks to help your audience easily navigate your website and find what they need. It will also help with the authenticity of your site. Hyperlink to authoritative external sites and hyperlink internally on your own site. For example, hyperlink to the contact button, a product, a case study that solidifies your credentials, etc. PS, don’t go mad with the hyperlinks.
7. Don’t be ambiguous, include strong calls to action that leave the reader in no doubt about their next steps.
8. Get critical. Read your copy to a friend, a colleague or better still someone who is not inclined to tell you it’s great because they wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings. A writer needs thick skin. Don’t use 20 words where 10 will do.
9. Make sure all web copy is written in an active voice and be sure to check its readability. Passive tense does not grab the reader.
10. You may not need a full re-write, but the benefits of asking a copywriter to check your web copy and make any necessary revisions and improvements can have a dramatic impact.

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Best,
Claire.