Stephen King said in his book, On Writing, “writing is seduction.” Can we look at good website writing as a seduction? Not the bad seduction, but the good kind. To win over, attract, entice.
After all, you want your website to attract visitors. To entice them and win them over to your products and services. In the end to build relationships online. To get people to know, like, and trust your brand.
But wait a minute! Advertising so compelling that your best prospects actually love it?
Before I jump into the details, let me say this. Your prospects’ interaction with online media is different than traditional advertising. It’s a two way street where the audience gets to take part.
They can easily click away. They can comment about you on your social media posts. If your blog posts are open for comments, you’ll get their input.
Astonishing, isn’t it? How the internet revolution has struck so fast. How completely it has turned traditional advertising on its head. Shouting at prospects doesn’t work like it used to. Company-centric sales messages on traditional media…radio and TV…don’t work online.
So what do you do? Is there an underground formula for good website writing? Let me show you a new way to approach your website copy to get more leads and sales.
Website Writing that Makes a Difference
Good website writing speaks to the wants, needs, and concerns of your audience. Remember, you have the same space on your web page that Walmart does. Here’s how to make it count.
Conversational Copywriting
Old-school corporate writing can be boring. Stuffy. Like this, “Acme Widgets provides the best fitted widgets for the requirements of our valued customers.” (Found this homepage lead sentence on actual website, changed name and product.)
How attached do you get to the Acme Widget Company reading that? I’ll wager a guess. Not very.
Let me explain. Much of the buying decision is emotional. Made with the heart, not the head. Studies have shown that’s even true with business to business selling.
Obviously, the purchase has to make logical sense, but lots of companies offer widgets. Why should I buy from you? How about this…I buy from you because I like you. Your website speaks my language. And you seem like the kind of people I want to do business with.
How do you achieve that connection? One way is with conversational copywriting. Use it to establish a relationship with your website visitors. The same way you would face-to-face. Like a conversation you’d have with your prospect in his office over coffee.
Note: Don’t be surprised if you’re uneasy with the first reading of your conversational copy. It’s less safe. A lot of the jargon and corporate speak is eliminated. If you’re uncomfortable with it, I understand. But I do suggest you test it out and see if you get the good results that I’m betting you will. Give it a chance, I think you’ll be pleased.
(Want to learn how to write conversational copy? There’s a fantastic online course by my teacher, Nick Usborne. I highly recommend it. Find out more here. Note: I do make a small commission if you enroll.)
Google’s Quality Guidelines
When it comes to website writing, Google focuses on quality. That means good grammar, punctuation, and no misspellings. Also use short paragraphs and bulleted lists.
And don’t repeat your keyword over and over. The days of keyword stuffing are long over. Google knows you’re doing it and frowns on it as you’ll see reflected in your page ranking.
Also, Google is open about how it rates the quality of your website pages. Google hires Page Quality raters and publishes their guidelines as a PDF. It’s easily available, you can download it here. Take a quick look through it and see how your pages hold up.
One Big Idea per Page
One product per Sales Page. One bit of knowledge per Information Page. Good website writing is so much easier with the power of one. Stir one emotion. Emphasize one good idea. Tell one captivating story. All this to direct your website visitors to one inevitable response.
You might wonder how this is possible on a homepage that features all of your services or products. Good question!
Think of your homepage in terms of one. One big benefit in your headline. One unique selling proposition (USP) in either the headline or lead. One place on the page for your categories of products and services. One set of testimonials and other proofs. One set of contacts.
The Inverted Pyramid
Your website visitors don’t usually read carefully online. They read quickly or scan. (Not always true, though. I’ll spend lots of time on a page I’m interested in.) So the inverted pyramid style of website writing gets the most important point first. Follow that with the details for those who want to know more.
This improves comprehension. It also supports readers who skim and encourages scrolling for more details.
Here’s the style in the first sentence on the homepage I wrote for my Toastmasters club:
“We promise you the ability to walk up to the podium and deliver a powerful speech with total confidence, authority, and flair…even if you have never spoken to a room full of people before!”
This sentence is followed by a page full of benefits. Then details on how to attend a meeting to see for yourself. But, really, all you have to read is the first sentence to know what Toastmasters is about.
Check out this article by the Nielsen Norman Group for more on the Inverted Pyramid style of writing.
What You Can Do Today to Improve the Writing on Your Website
Click on one of your Product/Service pages and pretend you’re selling to a person sitting right in front of you. Open up Word and write as you speak. Don’t edit, write everything you say. Get into the swing of conversational writing.
This isn’t to say that you as a business owner or marketing manager have to rewrite all your pages. You can hire me for that. But even if you save time by having me write your copy, seeing your words flow in this exercise will help you more easily accept this different style of copy. It will help convince you that it’s right for your business.
The idea is to answer your visitor’s questions. Engage them with website writing that moves them to action.
The key to good website writing is to speak with them, not at them.
Until next time,
Nick
PS. If you think you need help, let me know. Find out more about my NKB 6-Step Website Content Optimization Method here. You’ll get individual attention as I plan, write, and publish engaging, client attracting content unique to your company.
Find out more about me and my content writing services at my website. Subscribe to my email for tips, strategies, and online writing secrets. Also, if you Like my Facebook page, you’ll get content marketing ideas from experts all over the internet.
