Improve Your Web Copy

Your copy (website content) acts as your sales person -- it is the most important sales tool you have on your website. It's what makes people take action. Here are some tips to improve your copy.

Tell the story. Everyone loves stories. Nothing informs, engages, and entertains like a good story.

Your copy should be heavy on the verbs. Action words create action. Too many adjectives can create too much hype. Tip: Check out: Words That Sell by Robert Bayan. It's a fabulous resource you should always have handy when writing your content.

Know your prospects and write for them. Make sure you understand their jargon, their concerns, and what motivates them. Write in a way that will resonate with them and use phrases and buzz words that they will connect with. Tip: An excellent resource to learn more about various inner languages is at www.thewordsthatsell.com.

Make your copy believable. Don't make promises you can't keep. A great promise may get someone in the door, but if it isn't fulfilled you have to deal with an angry customer. So, keep your promises real and deliverable. Secret Tip: A great way to build trust is to reveal a flaw in your product! I know it's surprising, but we all know nothing is perfect - so show us the flaw and we believe in you.

Keep them glued to your message. If visitors remain on your site long enough to get your marketing message and act on it, then your content has done it's job. Think benefits, not features. Bought any good features lately? Didn't think so.

What people buy are benefits/experiences/solutions. People pay for the experience your product or service provides.

Does your Web site offer a benefit, or an experience? Does it explain the benefit/experience your product or service delivers? If it doesn't, then you aren't offering what people really want.

The key is emotion, not logic. Even the most rational person will buy based on emotion and not logic. Think about it -- why did you buy those cute earrings, or that 30th tube of lipstick?

For the men out there, why do you buy the big TVs and the flashy car accessories?

So, the reality is, you make purchasing decisions based on what you want and then you justify them with seemingly sensible rationalizations.

The take away here is to go with the emotional feel-good aspects of marketing and tap into people's desires.

Eliminate the hype. Take a look at the message your site is delivering. Are you saying your product/service is the best, and you have the best prices and the best customer service?

People don't believe that, because everyone says it. So what can you do? Focus your copy on them -- their needs, desires and problems. It's about them and not you.

When Web sites fail, it is because they do not communicate a realistic, believable and convincing marketing message.