Education

5 Simple DIY Copywriting Techniques

There is often a great mystique shrouding the notion of copywriting. As with many professions, an expert will be able to provide an exceptional standard of service; you can still do much yourself.
When budgets are tight, particularly in the current climate where of global recession, you may find that you need to do more and more yourself when it comes to maintaining your website. There are many who wouldn’t know where to start when it comes to design, I’m certainly one of them, and don’t have the first idea about editing HTML or Meta; but most have a basic writing skill.
Whilst you may not have picked up a pen in anger since school, now could well be the time to change all that. Your website’s copy is one of the most important aspects; quality and comprehensiveness are both vital in the development and upkeep of your on-page text. But how do you start, what should you be looking to do for your site?
1) Get the basics right – How many times have you written an excellently worded report or article that has been ruined by a flagrant spelling mistake? It happens, and when it does, it can undermine all of your hard work.
There’s nothing worse than a page full of typos and grammatical errors. You don’t always need to write the best quality copy, often as long as it flows well and is free from fundamental mistakes, visitors will be none-the-wiser. Readability is key, just be sure to take care and proof your copy thoroughly to avoid any unprofessional mistakes.
2) Don’t go keyword crazy – As any online marketing professional will tell you, keywords are a vital part of SEO (the key factor for getting your site ranked on search engines). However, don’t become blinded by them.
You need to define keywords beforehand; these are essentially the terms that you’ll be targeting for each individual page. However, you should try to write as naturally as possible and just fit them in where it will add something rather than ruining the flow. Don’t use them too often either, keyword stuffing is a major faux pas so 5% density should be your absolute maximum on each page.
3) Keep your audience in mind – it sounds simple, and really it is. Any business has a target audience; you just need to be sure that the copy that you’re writing is going to suit yours.
If your site is aimed at teenagers, don’t overcomplicate language and use archaic terms they won’t understand. For technical business sites, the opposite is true; your audience will be looking for expertise and in order to show this you might want to go into more depth and use language that suits.
4) Clear presentation – Just breaking up your copy with regular paragraphs and even some short, sharp sub-headings can really help to guide people through. Massive chunks of text can be hugely off-putting so don’t get too carried away.
5) Strength in depth – You really want to ensure that each page has just the right amount of copy. Ordinarily the most you should really be aiming at is around 300 words, the minimum 150.
Different sections of your website will have their own individual needs; however, if you’re continually falling below 100 words, there is a good chance that your site will be missing out on valuable content. Don’t forget that copy not only helps to inform your customers of your products and services, but also helps improve your authority on search engines. Don’t go overboard, but just make sure you’ve got all the essential information down before moving on.
So as you can probably see, DIY copywriting isn’t all that hard. Of course if you have the budget and not the time, there are plenty of agencies and individuals able to take over your copy requirements; however, you should not be put off of doing this yourself. After all it is your site and you are the one with the expert knowledge.

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