How to write your website copy: Top 10 tips

How to write your website copy: Top 10 tips

Got a great looking website? Excellent, you’re business is off to the right start. However, as we’re sure you’re aware, no matter how wonderful the aesthetics, if the content isn’t up to scratch then success shall not be forthcoming.

Whilst colours, layout and design are crucial in developing a good first impression and grabbing the attention of potential customers, it is the content and copy on the page that turns potential into profits.

A business, particularly in the competitive internet age, will never succeed if the copy is not worth the lovingly-created pages it is typed on.

So, enough of the scare-mongering, here are 10 invaluable tips to keeping your copy fresh, inviting and, ultimately, money-making.

1)  Practice makes perfect

The ability to write ad copy and headlines is a delicate skill that needs to be learned and honed. You need to consider your specific audience, then discover what it is that motivates them to use certain services.

The correct placement of key phrases is also crucial to the success of your copy, as is keeping it relevant and on brief. An element of teasing is good in turns of creating curiosity but people will soon leave in their droves in the presence of waffle.

2)  Take care of business

Whenever you’re creating content, your business strategy should always be at the forefront of your thinking. What is it that makes you stand out? What area of the market do you want to make your own? Why and how are you different/better than your competitors?

3)  Compare the market

It never hurts to take a look at what your competitors are doing. In fact, spotting trends can help ensure you are on the right track or even highlight a gap in the market you can exploit or an opportunity to do something unique that elevates you above the rest.

Whether you choose to fall in line or go against the grain, all decisions are informed by the overlord that is the business strategy.

4)  Relate

Having taken the time to research your target demographic, you should have a clear picture of their wants, needs, feelings and behaviours. Use your copy space to link these emotions to the features of your products and strengths of your company.

Identifying with your core base goes a long way to securing customer loyalty.

5)  Make the headlines

Often, the hardest part of content writing is the headline. It needs to be both an attention-grabber and an effective hook. In this regard it’s often worth taking a look at the strategies adopted by direct marketers in the ‘subject’ line in emails.

The better the headline, the bigger the pull.

6)  A picture paints a thousand words

The right picture, demonstrating the quality and appeal of your product, can hugely enhance the power of your prose.

7)  Keep it simple

Outlandish promises and statements are likely to be given short-shrift, especially if they are then not lived up to. Your main points ought to be in bullets for greater readability and it encourages the writer to keep it on the straight and narrow.

8)  Research

Reading up on classic marketing techniques can open you up to a portfolio of knowledge and possibilities. Naming the target audience in your headlines is one such classic trick.

9)  Test it

Services such as Google Adwords help establish how effective your headlines etc are proving to be. If it’s not working, change it.

10)  Call the experts

If you don’t have the in-house capability to produce the great copy on which your site, and therefore business depends, then immediately contact someone who can.