Starting a business can be a rollercoaster of feeling excited, terrified, and overwhelmed. While it’s easy to understand the benefits of outsourcing to a specialist, not many startups have the cash to splash. I know I didn’t.
So we dig in and skill up, doing many things ourselves. We’re the sales person, accounts manager, and bookkeeper. We’re the website developer, marketing coordinator, and copywriter. It can be a great learning experience but the startup phase is also the time when we need to get clients in through the door, so we can’t really afford to get it wrong for too long.
This is my start-up’s guide to writing website copy that puts you ahead of the game.
Keep it conversational
It’s hard to build a connection with a potential client when you’re not there. That’s one of the big challenges of online marketing: building a connection that takes the relationship to the next step.
It’s important that your website copywriting is a conversation, albeit a conversation you’re not actually there for. To do that, your tone and writing style needs to be conversational. That means writing the way you talk (only better).
If you’re worried about diminishing your professional image with informal language, don’t.
Imagine you’re talking to a client in your office. If you wouldn’t use a lot of slang then you shouldn’t in your website copywriting but you should keep it friendly, and relaxed.
Use more You words than We words
There are few things worse than listening to someone bang on about themselves. On and on with the me me me. Your website copywriting does need to communicate what you do but when you write in a way that involves your reader, you make it about them.
That means talking about what your client gets out of what you do. Using more instances of you than we will also help make your copywriting more conversational.
So rather than saying, “We offer after-hours appointments”, focus on the flip side:
“If you need to schedule appointments after hours, don’t worry. We understand and have regular appointments in the evenings and on the weekend.”
Do you see the difference?
Stay on message
There’s no point having a great speaking voice or fancy presentation slides if you’ve got nothing to say and it’s much the same for your marketing. In fact, part of the skill of effective copywriting is making sure you have a strong message.
Once you understand the unique benefit you offer your customers, it’s important to stay on message. Don’t dilute your awesomeness with lots and lots and lots of copywriting. Drowning your online readers in words is almost as bad as a poorly designed website.
I advise my clients that a great length for a page of website copywriting is 300-500words, depending on the type of page. If you need to convey more information, we need more words but we should be careful of straying over 500 words.
If you have a topic that needs a lot of explanation, looks for ways to break it into multiple pages or consider putting together a free downloadable PDF.
And before you go…
Remember, your website copywriting doesn’t have to explain every little detail about everything you do but 60% of the decision to buy is usually made before someone even contacts you.
The role of your website copywriting is to give people enough information to decide you are worth talking to!
Belinda AKA The Copy Detective
9 Responses
Great advice, thanks Belinda. How do you feel about a sole trader using the royal “we” – I find it a bit jarring when talking about myself, seems like I’m trying to create an impression of being a larger business.
Thanks Glenn!
I don’t agree with false representation. It’s not the end of the world of course but I think there are many benefits to being the person who does the work. Like, promoting the fact that your clients get all your attention and experience (rather than being handed off to someone in a team), that’s a strong selling point! And it’s much easier to keep up the right tone of voice when you’re using accurate pronouns 😉
Great, actionable information, Belinda. mariawriter is taking note.
Nice one Maria!
Excellent! Now I don’t feel so bad about being conversational in my blogs, my course videos, and … constructing it right now … my super-duper updated webpage :-> I appreciate how you write, especially because I can get in, grab some good info, and be on my way to using it. Thanks for your time and effort to keep us lookin’ good in print.
I think a conversational tone is fantastic for all kinds of marketing. When the copy reads as if someone is talking to us, it’s much more compelling because it feels more intimate… not to mention being easier to read! Keep on Kathie!
Great article. I think I should re-word everything in my website!
What I find most difficult is the editing of the copy, it is hard to cut and change sentences you thought were epic at the time of writing but on multiple readings make little sense. On a different note, I agree with the point about not explaining everything rather facilitate the already made up mind of prospects who are on the site and reading your copy.
I agree Sam. I always find editing tough and have to schedule plenty of time into my project time line to give myself fresh eyes. Interestingly enough, the more experience I get as a copywriter, the longer I spend editing. So it gets easier!