Everyone wants to have an impressive website that exudes professionalism and appeals to visitors, but without compelling copy the exterior of your business will lack the necessary substance to engage customers and drive sales.
Strong copy is an effective sales tool for several reasons. From an optimization standpoint, search engines love fresh content that is written in a manner that targets your specific products or services & having effective copy will place you higher in search engine results. Once at your page, your copy will cause readers to determine if your business is credible or if they should take their business elsewhere.
Engaging material will keep readers on your page longer, giving them time to engage in calls to action and ultimately make it through the conversion funnel. Having expert copy will minimize confusion and quickly inform readers of what a business is and why they should care. Sounds good, right?
Here are some baseline tips to writing persuasive copy:
1) Hook:
A potential customer/client/partner has given you their attention. Now is not the time to make them dig for your purpose. Some professional copy writers are proponents of the 50/50 rule: of the ENTIRE time spent writing content HALF of it should be spent on the title alone. While this amount of time investment may seem arduous, studies suggest that while 8/10 people will read a headline, only 2/10 will actually read the article. A good headline or hook in a piece of copy will be useful for the reader and create a sense of urgency in a manner that is both unique and specific. Make the reader feel something right away.
2) Hold interest throughout the copy:
Be clear in your word choice and sentence structure. Poor writing will distract and obfuscate instead of informing and engaging. Vary sentence structure; keep long sentences informative and short sentences poignant. Knowing your customers will be important here; are they young? Old? Highly informed? Industry professionals? New to a process? If you are trying to appeal to a wide array of individuals, speak in layman’s terms. If your demographic is very narrow, don’t be afraid to show sophisticated understanding of an industry.
3) Formatting:
While this may not always be the case, know that most people tend to skim rather than analyze content. If you have points that you feel must be communicated, separate them from the rest of your text. Use info graphics, bullet points and clear spacing when needed.
4) Call to Action:
This is a must have in all pieces of effective copy- web based or not. Whatever it is that you ultimately want from a reader must be stated clearly after the piece of copy, and ideally somewhere on every page of a site. “Sign up here!” “Call for free consultation,” “Check out here;” whatever it is, make sure it is done consistently.
5) Benefit to Reader:
Lastly, copy should be focused up on the interests of the reader. Effective copy always appeals to the needs of the buyer, not the seller. While it is fine to highlight items that are strong points for your business, they also need to be the items that customers care most about as well.
When done correctly, the pairing of strong web design and effective copy writing can be one of the most pivotal aspects of your sales approach. Don’t let a good idea or product get marginalized by poor presentation.
