What Does Your Website Content Say About You?
As much time as business website owners put into finding a good web
designer, it’s amazing how little time gets spent in actually creating
the website content - also known as the sales copy. This is the content
that will help the customer make a decision whether to take action - or
leave.
It’s one of the most important keys of any successful website, and
yet it’s often ignored or patched together at the last minute and
rushed off to the web designer to add to the site. Unfortunately, this
can leave a lasting impression on that company’s target audience.
Look over your website’s front page copy - as this is where most of
your visitors will ultimately end up. See if any of the following
mistakes appear in your site. You may be surprised at what you learn!
Welcome to XYZ Company Website - This was the most
common headline for sites established back in the mid 90’s, when just
having a website showed that you were “ahead of the technology curve”.
These days, customers can use the web to comparison shop and do
research - much of this research is aimed at which company to do
business with.
That said, your very first headline should be one that draws them in
and perks up their interest in what you have to offer. A good example
is the headline of this article. You were curious enough to click and
find out what your website content says about you. Having “Welcome to
Our Company” on your front page signifies that your company is “behind
the times” and gives the visitor no information to go on about why they
should buy from you.
My, I and We - It’s great that you want to tell
customers what your company does. Unfortunately, they don’t really
care. They want to know what you can do for them, instead. Rather than
focusing on what you can do for them, tailor your website content to
emphasize the benefits to the reader.
You can do this as simply as writing sentences that start with
things such as “You will learn…”, or “You will find that…” and then
ending them with a benefit to the customer, such as “how to improve
your marriage in less than a week”, or “you have a brighter, whiter
smile”.
Your readers will almost automatically imagine themselves better off
as a result of your product or service - and this kind of “written
visualization” will help them see that your offer is the logical choice
to get the desired result.
Lack of a Compelling Headline - This ties into
point #1 - but a compelling, action-oriented headline gives your
customer the impulse to read further. That doesn’t mean you should take
your headline to the extreme and dress it up with bright red text,
heaps of exclamation marks and CAPITAL LETTERS. Those are major
copywriting “turn-offs” for a professional business and they show that
you’re unenthusiastic or bored with the product.
You know your product is the best - so why not share that enthusiasm
with your reader? What is it that you enjoy or admire about the
product? What can it do for the customer? Say it up front in your
headline. That’s what urges them to keep reading more.
Lots of Tech Specs - It’s great that your product
is powered by an X250Q fusion engine and 220ZX turbines. Unless your
end user is intimately familiar with those products and specs - they’ll
simply leave…confused. And they probably won’t come back.
On the other hand, if you tell them that 1. They’ll never have to
buy gasoline again and 2. They get the kind of hauling and drive power
they need to move those heavy loads - NOW you’ve got their attention!
When you write your website content, after everything you believe is a
benefit to the consumer, ask yourself, “So what?” Eventually it will
boil down to the core reason why the customer needs it - and that’s the
gold you’re looking for!
When you keep these copywriting suggestions in mind, you not only
help make your website content stronger and more compelling for your
reader, but you also instantly improve your product or service’s
credibility in their eyes. Give these tips a try and watch your
conversions go up! All the best!
By Sherice Jacob
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