Unless you started your business because you have a passion for writing, chances are putting pen to paper (or, more likely, fingers to keyboard) hasn’t played a big role during your entrepreneurial journey.
But let’s be real, all that changed when you were tasked with selling your ideal customer on your product or service online. All of a sudden, you found yourself spending more time and energy trying to find the right words (a.k.a. copy) to connect with your customers, with little growth to show for it. Frustrating…right?
The good news? You can find 7 tips below to help improve your website copy and grow your business (even if words aren’t your bread and butter).
1. Keep it personal
If you’ve ever felt a quote, movie or product speak directly to you, it’s because it was intentionally written with YOU in mind. Your website copy should be no different. Instead of trying to talk to a group of your customers, tailor your words to speak to your ideal customer one on one.
2. Lead with benefits over features
While it’s understandable you want to highlight your company’s accomplishments and aspects of what makes your service so great, it’s NOT what your customers care about. The truth is your customers are far more interested in how your service makes their lives better vs. your company’s vision or all the cool improvements you’ve made along the way.
3. Be more human
Your writing should be like a conversation with a friend over coffee, not a dry textbook or stuffy legal document you can’t wait to put down. So, don’t be hesitant to use slang that resonates with your audience, contractions like you’ll or you’re and even an occasional sentence that starts with “And”.
4. Make it easy to scan
Over 50% of users move to another site if they don’t find what they’re looking for. Translation? Your website copy should be easy to scan. And nothing makes your website copy easier to digest than a combination of:
- Straightforward headlines
- Succinct paragraphs
- Bullet points
- Block quotes
- Clear call-to-actions
5. Cut the fluff
If there’s anything on your website that doesn’t add value, has filler words or is repetitive, it’s gotta go. This change alone can make your message that much clearer and more impactful.
6. Use words that sell
Did you know “you, free, because, instantly, and new” are one of the 5 most persuasive words in the English language? And for good reason…using the word YOU instantly makes your message customer-centric. Meanwhile “because” is powerful because it explains your why. Without knowing the why, your customers will continue to resist change and do what they’ve always done unless of course, you give them a good reason to do something different.
7. Optimize your copy
Just like great copy is the key to getting your audience interested in what you have to offer, optimizing your copy with the same keywords your customers use to search is the key in having your content seen and read. Not sure which keywords to add to your copy? Give Google’s Adwords Keyword Planner a try.
Now before you go re-building Rome in a day, remember that your website copy doesn’t have to move mountains. It just has to resonate and compel your customers to buy into your idea, services, or products.
