Tips For Writing Web Copy That Converts

If you’ve got a website, chances are you know what you want it to accomplish. That’s the easy part! The difficult part is figuring out how the content on your site going to help you achieve the goals you’ve set for it, the most important of which is to create new business.
The first step is to write content that focuses on converting your new visitor to a new customer. Start by following these suggestions:
Know your audience
There’s a reason why this is the first tip. If you’ve done your homework on your target demographics and psychographics, this step should be a breeze. Once your research is complete, it should be fairly simple to determine the vernacular, voice and tone of the content you are creating. If it’s not, you need to spend some time getting to know who they are. Note, just because you think “everyone” should use your product doesn’t mean you should be writing content for everyone. You have to directly target an audience if you want to connect to them personally. It helps to establish a very specific personality. For example: “Jenny” is a 30-something female with a penchant for street fashion, a good bargain and a high tech shopping experience. Find your “Jenny,” get inside her head, and speak her language.
Ditch the formalities
I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of anything more mundane than having to wade through a ton of third-person administrative gobbledygook to find the information I’m looking for on a website. It can be infuriating. Not only that, corporate speak doesn’t cultivate a personal connection with your customer. So here’s the deal – talk to your visitor, human to human. Welcome them to your website by introducing yourself right away. Don’t introduce them to your mission statement. Imagine meeting someone at a party who tells you they won student of the month seven times in four years at their elementary school, they are the world’s fastest paper shredder and are really great at Quickbooks. You may want to hire them as your accountant, but not necessarily as your friend. (*Yawn*) The information on your homepage should be relevant to its context. Remember what your customer is there for, which brings us to the next point.
Speak directly to your visitor
Don’t hide behind big words and fluffy copy. Say what you mean. Address your audience head on with content that looks them in the eyes. Use “we”. Use “you”. Speak directly to your reader by knowing who they are (see above) and determine why they have landed on your site BEFORE you even think about what copy is going on the page. Be obvious with your language. Let your visitor know you are aware of what they want, even if they don’t know what that is yet! Speaking directly to your visitor with your content is a surefire way to make certain they are not confused. If you feel like you need to be elusive with your message maybe it’s time to evaluate your business. Confusion leads to frustration and frustration leads to higher bounce rates. Explain to people what you are all about. Outline your process so they know what to expect.
Go visual
If you think you can explain something better in an info-graphic, by all means, do it. Scantronix.net does this beautifully. For as abstract and complicated as document management can sound, the company makes the process around their service approachable and simple. Imagine how this information would appear otherwise. This image makes their document management process look easy, thorough, and best of all, reliable. Right away, you understand what they do and are probably relieved that the service is so simple.
Focus on benefits but don’t be elusive
If you ask me, I think this depends on what you’re selling. But in general, focusing on benefits takes the same kind of balanced approach as marrying keywords and quality content. You have to make sure you aren’t sacrificing clarity for function, and vice versa.Focusing on the benefits you bring to your customers can differentiate you from your competitors, as long as they are tangible. (If I see one more company that lists one of its main benefits as “providing solutions” to its customers I think I’ll have an aneurysm. I don’t want this to happen.) Make sure the benefits you list are specific, not elusive. Once again, put yourself in the mind of the customer. Did they come to you site looking for “solutions” or sprinkler heads? Give them what they’re looking for or they will leave. Promise.
Write copy that calls for action
Once you’ve determined the purpose of your web page, you have to determine what you want your visitor to do after they arrive. Don’t just tell them about your product or service, show your potential customer what it will do for them. Then help them take the next step. Herschell Gordon Smith, a man heralded the world over for his copywriting skills (and horror movies), urges writers to lead the way by doing less explaining and more influencing. “The purpose for what we do is to cause the viewer, reader or listener to perform a positive act as the direct result of the exposure to the message we excrete,” he says. Determine that action before you write a single word. Getting them there can be as simple as providing a shopping cart link after you’ve wowed them with your benefits-driven selling.