How to Write Good Web Copy

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How to Write Good Web Copy

The Inverted Pyramid

Start with your conclusion first. If readers are interested they will read the rest of the paragraph or page section. But grab their attention first.

Have a Unique Voice and Always Be Personal

Keep the writing personal and imagine you are talking to your customer. Write the way you talk. If the writing isn’t personal then neither is the message.

Get To the Heart of the Message

Use the “velocity of words” to spread the message. Velocity is about the cutting the waffle and communicating with your customer. Velocity comes through honesty, through capturing the heart of the message in natural language. In many cases, listening and using your customers’ words will give you the velocity.

Think about the Lean-forward / Sit-back text

When people are browsing the site, they may not be as lean forward as they are when they approach selecting the “Submit” button. The degree of concentration and interaction varies according to the task at hand. Picture your visitor leaning forward and sitting back, and write copy to suit their body position and degree of interaction of the site.

Give Your Copy Pace

Pace is crucial when it comes to holding your audience online.

Increase pace by short words. Short sentences.Short paragraphs help too. Get things moving. Really the extra white space makes it look like an easy, fast read.And use the word "and” at the beginning of a paragraph can speed things along as well. And for a brisk pace throughout, write how you speak. No grammar worries. Just like talking fast.

Pay Extra Attention to Short Text

Pay attention to captions. A caption or any short length of text, tends to capture the reader’s attention. It’s the low hanging fruit, the easiest and fastest text to digest. Whether on your site, in your emails or in a newsletter. It’s the short text that will likely impact your conversion rate first.

KISS

Keep it simple, When you write without paying attention, you probably use two or three times as many words. Good writing takes longer but it results in greater clarity. It’s a much easier read for your customers.

Avoid Clients Syndrome

There’s a phenomenon in advertising and in web copywriting called Client’s Disease. Every client is in love with his own product. The mistake clients make is believing that, because they loves it, everyone else will too. Lesson #1 you learn working in advertising is "Nobody wants to read your sh**. Nobody–not even your dog or your mother–has the slightest interest in your web copy, your Facebook page or your twitter profile.

The market doesn’t know what you’re selling and doesn’t care. Your potential customers are so busy dealing with the rest of their lives, they haven’t got a spare second to give to your product/work of art/business, no matter how worthy or how much you love it. Customers are task oriented.

So think personas, grab visitor attention, make them interested with relevant copy that speaks to them about their needs and what matters to them, encourage them to make a decision and take action. Read more at Steven Pressfield's blog at Writing Wednesdays blog and Jeff Sexton at GrokDotCom