5 Step Guide To Great Website Copy (by Alexander Hirsh)
Writing great copy for your website has never been more important. It’s critical for your lead generation and customer acquisition.
An amazing looking website must be coupled with a message which articulates what you stand for - and most importantly - how you can help.
It needn't send you into a panic! Here is my 5 Step Guide To Great Website Copy!
1) Where Are We Going?
No matter what your service is, your copy must take your audience on a journey which justifies why you are the one for the job.
We’ve Got You Covered
Your job is to help the potential customer articulate their problem in their mind, and to show you are empathetic. Don’t immediately set out your service offering... that will come later.
Once the problem has been identified, it’s time to explain why you are the solution and how you outperform the competition.
What differentiates you from the rest?
Is it your turnaround time? Your responsiveness? Your team?
It’s not about laying into your competition or naming names - but about explaining why, amongst the crowded marketplace, you are the best choice.
Questions, anyone?
When copywriting for websites, it may be appropriate to have an FAQs section. Use your experience to preempt what might be coming. If the potential customer can see you’ve anticipated their concerns it shows you are proactive and helpful.
Don’t Leave Them In The Lurch…
So you’ve been following the above copywriting tips for websites. You’ve highlighted my problem, shown you understand, explained how you can help and how you’ll be different, and dealt with my questions.
But now what?
Will I be on my merry way to your nearest competitor?
Well chances are I might just do that if I don’t know what step to take next!
Give contact details or instructions to progress. Consider having a contact form embedded onto the website for the potential customer to book in a consultation with you. It’s personal to the type of business you have but don’t lose customers by not having a call to action.
If it’s a digital product you’re offering, then a link to the landing page or sign up form, with the incentive for signing up - perhaps a free download, time-limited discount, newsletter. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘lead magnet’. Consider a larger font size or colour so it stands out.
It really is one of the website copywriting best practices to follow.
2) AIDA
The AIDA (audience, interest, desire, action) formula is a great way of keeping your copy on message and will help you follow through on that customer journey.
Think of AIDA as your website copywriting template - make it the bedrock of your web copywriting.
➔ Audience: Address your intended audience in the opening lines.
➔ Interest: Spark your audience’s enthusiasm - give them a reason to keep reading.
➔ Desire: What will the benefits of the product or service be?
➔ Action: The call to action - the ‘next step’.
3) Headlines
Take a look at the next news headline you see and how it grabs your attention...or not!
Headlines for your website copy are no different.
Think about how many web pages you visit each day - on your phone, tablet or desktop - a mix of all three even.
In 2020 we are bombarded with content.
And how much of it do we remember? That’s why you need to make your headline stand out from the competition.
Become a student of headlines.
4) Watch Your Language!
In every business niche you’ll find buzzwords and jargon.
When we spend a great deal of our lives working within a niche, we tend to import that language into our own speech and writing.
Remember - your potential customer is unlikely to share your subject knowledge and the associated language. Approach your writing from a position of someone who knows nothing about the subject matter.
If your content doesn't make sense, you’ll be out of the running!
It’s worth stepping away from your writing, returning afresh, and seeing what could be improved.
Don’t forget the basics of headings, paragraphs, and numbering.
5) Performance
Well done! You’ve created a dynamic piece of copy for your website. But there are a couple more steps to go. Don’t let your hard work go to waste by missing some key optimisation steps to give it the best possible chance of being seen once it’s out in the world.
SEO
Make sure your webpage is optimised for the search engines. For starters, make sure your URL is concise and meaningful, your title is clear, and your meta description reflects what is actually on the page - if you don’t do this yourself, one will be created for you, and it may not accurately represent what you want it to!
Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
There’s a high chance your potential customers will be reading your website copy on a mobile device so make sure the page has been formatted in a responsive way, is not skewed, nor contains missing sections. A great place to start is Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test where you can see how a page performs on a mobile.
Google Analytics
It’s critical to assess the performance of your web pages. Google Analytics is a great place to start.
Think of it as your one-stop-shop for tracking the performance of your web pages. Where is your website traffic coming from? From searches? From social media shares? Get all of this and more!
What are you waiting for? Implement these steps TODAY to give your website copy the best chance of delivering success for your business.
This guest post was written by Alexander Hirsh, a specialist copywriter and digital marketer. Follow him on Twitter at @HirshAlexander.
Tagged as: Website Copywriting
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