Web Copy – 10 Tips For Success
Write Copy That Can be Quickly Scanned
Write Copy That Can be Quickly Scanned
People do not read online, as they would printed material, they tend to scan. People read web pages very differently to printed pages. The majority of people skim pages quickly, stopping only when something interesting catches their eye.
Some Ways to Write Scannable Copy:
* Use bulleted lists to summarize content
* Highlight selected keywords to help scanners move through your web copy (by using bold or italic fonts or by underlining)
* Write meaningful subheadings
* Present one idea per paragraph
* Write in short sentences
* Restrict each paragraph to 3 or 4 sentences
* Use the inverted pyramid style of writing: present the main points and conclusions first, followed by less important information and background material
* Insert boxes to feature interesting facts, case histories, and testimonials
Use Conversational Language
You should write in a conversation style, just like one person would chat to another. Imagine you are talking to that person, one-to-one, over a cup of coffee or a pint, so write in the first person by using I' rather than we' or our' which sounds more corporate and less friendly.
Use the words 'you', 'your' and 'yourself' throughout your sales copy. Your readers will feel you are communicating personally with them, one-to-one.
Use contractions (I've instead of I have) just as you do when you talk normally. It's more intimate and encourages a greater number of people to read the copy.
Recommended Font Type and Sizes
Sans-serif fonts (they do not have the little strokes on the end of letters) are the best kind of fonts for website body text because they look much better on a computer screen. Two of the best examples are Arial and Verdana, which you will find commonly used on business and e-commerce sites.
Headings should be presented using 18-24 point fonts
Sub-headings should be presented with 14-16 point fonts
Body text should be presented using 10-12 point fonts
Benefits verses Features
It is essential to understand the distinction between benefits and features. Features relate to the properties, characteristics, facts, qualities and specifications of your product or service. Benefits are what you can do, have or be, as a result of those features, and focus on how your life or business will be improved in some way when owning your product or using your service.
People buy benefits, not features. Benefits create an emotional response while features appeal to logic. Remember, people buy with emotion and then justify their purchase with logic.
Use Bulleted Lists
When writing bullets, you need to state the benefit and then follow up by describing how your reader's life will improve as a result of experiencing that benefit. Another approach is to increase the desirability of that benefit by injecting emotion, drama or intrigue. Use powerful words and be brief.
Appeal To People's Emotions
People's emotions are the primary motivating factors when buying.
Your copy, if possible, should appeal to the reader's fear of loss which is one of the greatest motivators. People usually go to greater lengths to keep from losing what they have, than to gain something of similar value.
It is also advisable to use the word when instead of if whenever you are describing what people will receive from you when they buy. This is all part of assuming that the sale has been made.
Testimonials
Testimonials add credibility because they have been written, or recorded, by real people who have actually used the product or service. You want to include a variety of testimonials from people of different occupations, sexes, ages, and locations, so that your readers can identify with at least one of the testimonials, written by someone just like them.
The most effective testimonials are specific and quantifiable.
Example:
"I achieved a 127% growth in net profit in the first twelve months after using the simple marketing system taught in this training course".
Length of Copy
Web copy should be as long as it takes to make a sale. Generally speaking, the higher the price of what you are selling, the longer your web copy should be. High priced items like comprehensive training programmes will probably require multiple pages of copy to convince prospects to buy.
Low cost items should not require lengthy copy, and one or two pages should suffice.
John Caples, master advertiser, once said about the length of copy:
"It can't be too long, only too boring".
Bonuses and Free Gifts
It can be beneficial to offer a free bonus or gift when selling a product or service online, provided this free bonus or gift compliments or enhances that product or service in some way. It is reasonable to assume that, from the buyer's perspective, receiving attractive incentives creates a greater desire to purchase the product or service on offer. A free gift or bonus can encourage impulse buying, particularly if you state the monetary value of that free gift or bonus.
Money-Back Guarantee
A money-back guarantee is a crucial element in any website sale, just as it is in direct mail marketing or mail order. When people are shopping online, they need safeguards, and they need strong guarantees to induce them to get out their credit/debit cards and buy.
It has been proved without doubt that significantly more people will take you up on a compelling offer than will ask for a refund. By removing all the risk from the customer and taking on that risk yourself, you should generate more customers, and happier customers, ready to recommend your business to others, and buy again from you in the future.
The Close
Many websites contain good copy, effectively presenting the benefits of owning the excellent product or service on offer, but they drop the ball when it comes to asking for the order, or closing the sale.
On a website, it is absolutely crucial that for your offer to be successful, you have to be clear and explicit when you ask for the order.
Simply asking for the order does not close the sale. Click here to order' or similar phrases, do not constitute a close. Web visitors generally click on the order button only after you have taken the necessary steps to close the sale, and you can only do this by providing all the product information and benefits possible to their satisfaction.
Closing the sale, online, starts on the home page, or on the product page, often as early as the first screen with the headline, sub-headline, opening paragraph and benefits listed in a series of bullets. Successfully getting the sale often takes several trial closes leading up to the final close at the end.
People's buying decision times vary and this needs to be addressed in your sales copy. Some people are ready to buy early, having been convinced by the main benefits described on the first screen. They have experienced an instant emotional reaction, leading to an immediate purchase decision. Other people aren't ready to buy until they've read every word on the website.
Your best strategy is to include links that take the reader to the order page, at various points in your sales copy. This is best done by including text links within your copy, that when clicked on, take the reader direct to your order page.
This information has been taken from my new ebook just published on creating a money making website.
Web Copy 10 Tips For Success
By: Adrian Webb
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