Simple Web Copywriting Tips To Improve Impact And Conversions

As of January of this year, there are 1,197,982,359 websites live on the web. “Going digital” was a differentiating factor for a lot of businesses a while ago. Now that almost every single competitor of yours is also present on the web, simply being present isn’t going to cut it. Sure, you can outspend your competitors in paid ads. But can you outspend all of them? You can also create a state-of-the-art, technologically gifted website. But are you sure you can create the most incredible website in your industry? You can also use a backlink checker and build more links to your website. But will your website generate clicks in the SERPs?

In other words, unless your business is introducing the world to a pathbreaking, never-before-done idea, chances are that standing out from the crowd will be a challenge. One of the most effective ways to carve a unique place for your brand in your industry is to forge a unique brand personality. Now, a brand personality is made up of a number of things including design elements and actions that a brand takes. However, on the web, on a website, the one thing that contributes to forging a brand’s personality is the copy.

Main Web Copywriting Tips – The Responsibility Of Copy

The incredible thing is that that’s not all your copy is responsible for. Your copy is responsible for delighting your prospects and customers. It is responsible for engaging your audience on third party social media platforms. It is responsible for nurturing prospects into becoming advocates. Most importantly, your copy is responsible for selling whatever you are selling.

While it is true that copy is one of the many contributions that go into achieving all the above-mentioned goals, it is also true that copy plays the most pivotal role in deciding the success of any of the above-mentioned goals. Just like websites, the web is also filled to the brim with copywriters. While not all of them are exceptional, it isn’t difficult to find an accomplished copywriter by doing a bit of research. However, that’s when the challenges start becoming apparent. The most common challenge is that brilliant copywriters are simply expensive. Brands backed by the right kind of money and led by the right kind of leadership (that understand the value of copywriting) may be able to afford them. Bootstrapped startups, on the other hand, will struggle to find good copywriters within their budgets.

Even if some do find a copywriter willing to work at their price point, there is the question of their style of writing matching your desired tone and voice for your brand. Let’s say you decided to find a company that provides infographic services, and they have a copywriter included within their package. However, that copywriter will be used to working with a certain type of brands. Does your brand fit into that category?

Even the best copywriters have their own style that doesn’t gel with every brand personality out there. Some writers are more versatile than others. And when you are getting someone to write the copies of one of your many ad campaigns, a little bit of compromise is understandable. However, when it comes to writing copies for your website pages or sales emails, you need a person that says exactly what you want to say and says it exactly how you want to say it. There’s just one person that can always, always deliver that kind of work- you.

As a modern business owner/marketing manager, you have to wear many hats and having basic skills of copywriting can go a long way to contributing to your success. To that end, here are a few web copywriting tips that will help you forge a unique personality for your brand and even sell when you need to:

Know Your “Why” And Explain It Too

Letting your audience know what you do is obviously important. Telling them how you do it is also important (for legitimacy’s sake). However, that’s where the messaging of a lot of brands stop. Most don’t tell their audience why they’re doing what they are doing. Your copy is like an interviewee in front of your audience. They have already seen the resume. They also want to know why this is your passion and why they shouldn’t hire (or buy from) the next company that sells a similar product/service.

The answer, the differentiator, usually lies in your company’s vision. Why are you doing what you are doing? What impact do you want to create? If your company “succeeds”, how will it have changed the world? How would it have made a difference in the lives of your audience? Why does making that difference matter to you? The answer to these questions may take you into the less analytical and more emotional side of running a business. Don’t be afraid and treat those waters. Remember, people buy emotions.

Web Copywriting Tips – Be Brutal When You Edit

“If I Had More Time, I Would Have Written a Shorter Letter” (Blaise Pascal).

When you are a new writer, most of your first drafts will be bad, and it’s okay because this won’t change when you are an experienced writer. The part that makes the difference is how you edit your own copy. We’ve all heard the writing advice “try to say more with less”. Well, it actually applies to the editing process.

Whatever you write, take a break, and get back to editing it with absolute honesty. Get rid of everything that isn’t necessary. Once you think you have trimmed down all the fluff, start another round of editing.

Motivate With Pain

If you have been working in marketing for a while, you may already be aware of the fact that people are willing to go further to avoid pain than to enjoy a benefit or seek pleasure. That’s why, your copy should always, ALWAYS focus on your audience’s pain points. Besides motivating your audience to take action to avoid pain, talking about their pain also makes your copy relatable. In the world of viral memes, relatability is worth more than gold. If you can produce a line that 1000 people can relate with, even if they don’t buy from you, there’s a good chance that they will engage with you.

Talking about your audience’s pain points also helps you forge a customer-centric brand identity, something that is gaining more and more value as consumers become more informed and research-savvy. Finally, talking about your customer’s pain points allows them to imagine their transformed state after they have availed of your service or purchased your product. Knowing about their pain and how your offering addresses that pain allows them to imagine their “success” with your product or service. If you are able to do even one of those things effectively, the sale conversation will become incrementally easier.

Leave Something To The Imagination

This piece of advice is a bit controversial. Some would tell you that being exhaustive when it comes to information is a best practice, and it might just be. However, let’s say you are selling a product equipped with hundreds of features. Are you going to talk about all of them in all your copies? When writing copies, it pays to remember the context and the audience that will read the copy. Maybe all the features are not relevant all the time. Moreover, if you tell them everything in the beginning, would they still read till the end? (Hint: the answer is ‘no’)

Pressurise Yourself

Don’t take that literally! This section is not so much a tip but an exercise that lets me churn out great ideas quickly. Here’s how it works: begin by setting a timer of 10 minutes. During this time, your objective is to come up with as many ideas as you can. At the end of 10 minutes, analyse your ideas and find the best one. Then, start expanding on that idea.

Top Web Copywriting Tips – Conclusion

Your brand cannot wait to forge its place until you find the budget to hire a worthy copywriter. Don’t sweat it, become the copywriter and use all the efficient web copywriting tips. Not only would this be a solution for your copy needs in the short term, but it will also give your future copywriter a precise direction when he starts working for you.