What’s the first thing you do when you learn about a new product or service from a friend or an Ad? You go to their website to learn more. The same is true for when someone learns about your service or product as well. But you knew that already, right? Of course, you did!
I’m also sure you know that your website needs to capture your audience’s attention within 5 seconds or less or you’ve lost the sale. Some experts say that that number could be as low as 3 seconds! Woah! No pressure there!
So, how do you do that? How do you write ALL the copy on your website in such a way that each and every page is clear, engaging, and compelling?
It’s simple. You need to make a plan.
Then, you need to follow each and every step of that plan without taking any shortcuts.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to start from scratch when making that plan. I’ve got your back!
As your friendly neighborhood copywriter, I’ve created a simple, 3-Step Plan for you based on the BEST advice from website developers and copywriters like me.
Step 1: Prewriting - The 4 Knows
First up, is research and brainstorming. You may think that you know your product or service and audience well, but chances are that you only have a general idea. Before you begin writing ANY copy for your website, you’ll need to gather specific information about your company, your product/service, your audience, and what you want your website to do.
Not only will gathering this information make writing easier later, but it will make the copy on each page much more purposeful and powerful. Do not skip this step!
1. Know Yourself
Who You Are
Backstory
Tone & Voice
What You Do
Why You Do It (Product or Service)
How It Makes Life Better
How It Can Be Obtained
2. Know Your Audience
3. Know The User Benefits
4. Know The Goals For Each Page
Step 2: Create a User Path
Now that you have all of the relevant information and goals for each page, you can plan the user pathways through the copy. This plan is the outline that guides the reader through the page by grabbing their attention with a bold headline* and pulling them along with subheads and action points.
*Pro Tip 1: Use the "Problem- Agitate-Solution" formula for your Landing Page headline and subheads to entice readers to dig deeper for more information.
Once you have your pathway outlined, you can begin writing out each section. Here’s where the magic happens!
Use your brand voice to speak directly to your audience, build their confidence in what you do, and give them clear instructions on how to get it or reach you.
1. Speak To Your Audience
Be Clear & Descriptive
Be Conversational
Be Authentic in Tone & Voice
2. Build Confidence
3. Give a Clear Call To Action *
* Pro Tip 2: If you are selling a big-ticket item, give your audience 3 smaller options to ease them into purchasing your BIG item.
STEP 3: REVIEW - Grunt Test & Grammar Check
Congrats! You’ve reached the final steps of writing copy for your website! You have typed until your fingers hurt, sweated until you were dehydrated, maybe cursed a few times, but now you are done! Woohoo!
Wait, sorry. You’re not quite done yet.
Now comes the time to review your work, remove the unnecessary copy, fix your grammar mistakes, and polish it up before launching it into the world.
I have two more Pro Tips to make that job easier.
Pro Tip 1: Make sure the landing page passes the Donald Miller "Grunt Test." Your readers should be able to look at your page for 5 seconds and answer these 3 questions.
What Do You Do?
How Will It Make Life Better?
How Can Someone Get It?
Pro Tip 2: Run your copy through more than one spelling and grammar checker, such as Grammarly or Quillbot. Spring for at least one paid version! The paid versions have additional features such as checking for style, syntax, context, flow, and vocabulary.
Ok, now you can publish! Congrats!!
See, just 3 easy steps to writing amazing content for your website! OK, I know those 3 easy steps aren’t really that easy. Writing for websites is complicated and takes time. That's why most businesses hire copywriters to do that job.
Luckily for you, if you are feeling overwhelmed by writing for your website, you know a copywriter who can help! {Hint, it's me!}
I offer copywriting services for websites starting from scratch, AND I offer copy-editing services for websites already in progress or published.
It’s never too late to have great copy for your business!
Welcome to my blog. Here I share tips for small businesses, copywriting tips, thoughts on marketing strategies, and fun ideas for growing your business.
I offer copywriting services for websites, digital marketing, print media, content marketing, and editing.
I'd love to hear how I can help build your
business better with words!
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