In the words of Forbes Magazine contributor Brenda Stoltz, “when it comes to reeling in users and converting them, it’s all about the copy.” This holds particularly true for your company website: the official public face that you present online and a central hub for your business activity.
But how can you build your website around written copy that captures attention, inspires trust, and delivers results? Here are just a few tips to put you on the right track.
Know Your Audience
Brenda Stoltz places target audience identification at the top of her list of the “10 Copywriting Tips To Boost Your Website’s Conversions.” Like all forms of communication, effective online consumer outreach must begin with a firm understanding of exactly whom you are communicating with. Different companies will inevitably use different criteria to determine their ideal potential consumer, but you may want to start by thinking about the specific characteristics of your target audience in terms of age, location, socioeconomic status, professional/educational background, and marital status.
Communicate in Your Company’s Voice
After you precisely define your target audience, you must find a way to talk directly to them in a language that they will appreciate clearly understand. Should your tone be more conversational and friendly or more formal and technical? Is humor appropriate for your audience? Think about your company’s brand image and give it a voice. Imagine you are having a conversation with a prospective client about the topics that interest them the most. How knowledgeable is your audience about the issues your website presents? Choose your words and phrasing carefully to meet your target audience’s comprehension level.
Draw Inspiration from Competitors
If you’re looking for a bit of guidance as you approach the written content for your website, take a close look at what your closest competitors are doing. A highly successful company that operates in the same industry and/or market can serve as an exceptional role model as you develop and launch your own official website. Just beware of plagiarism. Copying the written copy of another website is a bad idea for many reasons. If Google detects word-for-word plagiarism in your content, it will destroy your SEO efforts and land you near the bottom of relevant consumer online searches for the products and/or services that you provide. “Cutting and pasting” the written content of others is also unethical and leads to content that is off-brand, irrelevant, and, of course, unoriginal. While looking for competitor websites to emulate, you can also keep an eye out for what NOT to do.
Vary Your Content Style
Think of your written content as an indispensable if not foundational part of your website’s graphic design. Main ideas and important messages must be emphasized, while less central and more detailed information must be de-emphasized. Likewise, your copy should make strategic use of titles and subtitles, standalone sentences and paragraphs, bullet points, and numbered lists to place emphasis wisely. In short, your web design team will be able to create a more interesting design with a mix of different written content styles and types.
For More Information
At the end of the day, if you’re struggling to write the content for your website, your web design agency can help by setting you up with professional copywriting services. Content that is specific to your business is usually best if written by someone at the company, but copywriters can help fill in the blanks. If you want to learn more about copywriting for your website or website design in general, contact CleverLight Media today!
