The reason I like the internet marketing experts at Marketing Experiments is that they test and try hypotheses to find out what works best to attract visitors and get them to act. They offer real life examples of ways to get more from your copy.
So here are some copywriting tips they offered at their last online seminar along with my comments on each. I hope this helps the next time you need to write copy for your web pages. Or, you might be thinking of hiring a web writer so you’ll know what should go thru his or her mind as they create your copy. Enjoy…
My Notes on Marketing Experiments’ 5 Discoveries to Strengthen Copy
1) You have only 7 seconds to arrest the attention of your prospect.
I would say that 7 seconds is the most you have unless your home page (or whatever landing page you’ve published for your PPC campaign) gets your visitor’s attention.
Make sure your headline states clearly the value of your web page. Too often I see cute, sort of tagline-like headlines and my first reaction is, “What does that mean? Am I in the right place?”
If we only have a few seconds, people will tend to stay if they think there’s something in it for them. Give them that value in the headline.
2) Never present solutions before building a problem.
Often your website visitors haven’t clearly articulated in their own minds exactly what their reason is for searching online. Say they want a better deal on their home mortgage. Your bank may offer a low rate plus a good deal on closing costs. And, the payback time may be perfect for your target audience.
But does the person who’s looking for a deal really know to think about all that? Maybe not and you don’t want to chance it. So, talk first on your web page of the problems people face when they get stuck in a mortgage when there are better deals out there.
Talk about the problem of hidden costs in switching from one lender to another. Additional closing costs, points and new appraisals. Then offer your solution, maybe reduced or no closing costs etc.
3) Clarity trumps persuasion.
Clarity is one of the most profitable ways that you can get more from your copy. If you’re not clear as to your message and what you want your reader to do, there really is no message at all. Your reader gets nothing so they do nothing. Or they misinterpret the message and go off half-cocked toward something away from your sales goals.
And talk about clarity, how about the name Marketing Experiments. That’s exactly what they do, perform marketing experiments. Beautiful, nice and clear.
4) Be ruthlessly unsentimental about your own copy.
This can be hard for all of us who write copy. I may spend a good amount of time on three or four hundred words and then realize I’m on the wrong track. Darn!
Here are two ways to profit from a wrong track or copy that you find doesn’t work. One is to realize that the time you spent on the copy that doesn’t work has some value because it got you closer to the copy that produces the gold. Failure gets you closer to success.
And two, you can often reword and move the rejected copy around to create workable paragraphs. Look for the best hook in your copy and move it up. Then support it with proof. Often writers make the mistake of building suspense and placing the best copy last. Unfortunately, your reader will have left long before reaching it.
5) Asks (Calls to Action) must align with expectations.
If I’m emailing prospects on the benefits of subscribing to my weekly blog posts, I’ll tell them all about the benefits of my inside tips and ideas to make their internet marketing more profitable.
But my call to action is just to subscribe, “Subscribe Today”. Not, “Let’s Get Started” or “Buy Now.”
Often we fail to temper our urge to ask for the sale of a product when in our sales piece we are selling something else. This throws off the thought process of our prospects. They’re thinking, “I’m interested in subscribing, now you ask me to get started on a website optimization program? No, I think I’ll click away.”
So there’s a summary of Marketing Experiments’ last webinar. I suggest that anyone interested in content and online marketing sign up for one of these sessions. They’re not just for professionals in internet marketing. They’re for you if you want to improve your marketing online and get more from your copy.
Until next time,
Nick
Nick Burns is an SEO web writer specializing in persuasive copywriting and content marketing. He provides clients a winning content strategy plus the special web writing to make it work. You can contact Nick here.
