Entries Tagged 'website copywriter' ↓

We all make promises. But how many of those promises do you keep?

Take my teenager for example (please take him). When I ask him to do something the usual response is: “Yeah, I’ll do it in a minute.” An hour later, when the task still hasn’t been done and I start to get annoyed with him I get the rolling eyes followed by “I was just about to…”

How many times has you made a complaint only to be assured by the staff member that “I’ll pass your comments on to my manager”. Do they really do as they promise? Very unlikely.

You’re probably wandering what this has to with website copy. Well, within your copy you’ll make various promises to your reader. In fact the benefits of your business are promises. So they are things like:

• Being available 24/7
• Smart and polite staff
• Getting things right first time
• We can’t be beaten

But when putting together your website copywriting, if you merrily add in loads of benefits like this without thinking too hard about them, you could be doing yourself a lot of harm.

When a promise becomes a problem

It’s the small things in life that matter.

You may offer a great guarantee, free postage etc., which you can easily fulfil. But if you can’t get the simple things right, are your customers going to believe your bigger claims and promises?

If you say your service is available 24/7 and when a customer phones they get placed in a queue constantly being told by a disembodied voice “your call is important to us” even though it doesn’t get picked up for 15 minutes, you could lose customers.

I tried to get in touch with a well known UK business recently. I didn’t want to send an email because I needed a quick answer so I decided to call them. Oh boy, what a palaver. The phone rang and immediately found myself in an automated system. After about 5 minutes going through umpteen menus, I finally got to speak to a real person. In all fairness they dealt with my query promptly, but it took some perseverance on my part. The thing that really annoyed me was they gave the impression that they didn’t want to speak to me because the first thing I heard as I entered the automated system was:

“You can find answers to your questions on our website…”

If I could find the answer to my question on the website I wouldn’t need to ring!

This was supposed to be a company that welcomed queries and were ready to help in any way they could – as it turned out, that relied on the customer’s ability to navigate their way through a (seemingly) never ending list of menus in order to speak with a real person.

Customer service is for life not just for Christmas

People are always talking about how good service is a thing of  the past.

These days when you’re in a shop, the staff are more interested in discussing what happened to Tracey and Dave the night before than serving customers. And, worse than ignoring you, they serve you while still discussing the latest gossip breaking off momentarily to take your money.

Customer service is vital which is why you must be able to carry out all  the promises you make on your website.

Many companies still fail to see their website as being  their business. It isn’t a separate entity, and it’s quite often the first impression customers will gain of your business. If you say you answer all calls within 5 rings, do it. If you say you reply to emails within 2 hours, make sure you do – it sounds so simple but you’d be amazed at how many companies get it spectacularly wrong.

Promises like this are made just to look good. But if you can’t fulfil simple pledges like those, how are you going to convince customers you can fulfil your bigger promises?

So when you are writing content for your website think very carefully about what you promise. Ask yourself if you can really live up to what you’re claiming. You have to be able to fulfil every claim – if you can’t you’re leaving yourself open to a barrage of complaints.

Image is everything. Make sure yours is a good one.

If you tried to give your customers every piece of information about your business and processes within the body of your website, you’d end up with something confusing, long and incredibly tedious.

That is why the humble FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page exists.

It is a simple way to communicate simple pieces of information to your reader quickly. Most websites include one these days because:

• They provide an extra level of support for your customers
• They save you time by posting answers to questions you are constantly asked therefore reducing email and phone calls
• They show you care about your customers by providing them with as much assistance as possible

Of course, for it to be a truly effective page you must ensure you include questions that people want to know the answers to. Look back through your email correspondence with customers and pull out all the questions that crop up time and again.

That’s all well and good, but how do you make sure you write a good FAQ page?

Well these 6 pointers will get you started in the right direction.

6 ways to write a winning FAQ page

1. Forget the fuss

The first thing to remember is that your FAQ page is there simply to provide information. It is not one of your main sales pages. So, although its content should still be clear and informative, it is the content that matters so forget images and other distractions. Make sure it is well written and easy to follow and that there’s no ambiguity.

2. Simplicity is key

Providing an FAQ page and then making it difficult to find answers is rather counter-productive. Make it easy for your user by categorising your Q and As. Cluster all questions relating to similar topics together. That way it will make your customers life much easier because they’ll be able to find the information they need quickly.

3. Information overload

The number of questions and answers you have will depend on your business. Some of you may only have half a dozen or so. But for those who are likely to have ten or more questions, gather all the questions together at the top of your page and link each one to their answer. That way your reader can scan down the list of questions, find the one relevant to them, click on the link and be taken to the answer. This will make it much easier to use than if you merely list all Q and As together so they have to scroll down your mammoth list until they find the one they want.

Just bear in  mind though, if you do list your questions and link them to the answers, make sure you provide a ‘return to top’ link at the end of each answer so they can easily return to the top of the page.

4. Start with the easy stuff

Another good way to make sure your list of questions is useful is by placing the simplist and most often asked questions at the top of the list. The more complex questions should then come further down the list.

5. You’re not writing a novel

However tempted you are to write something literary and indepth, keep your answers short and to the point. Now’s not the time to show off your writing skills (in fact, that is something you should never do when writing any type of marketing materials. Your writing should be secondary – it is your marketing message that should be noticed), keep your answers simple, short and to the point.

6. Be available

One thing that really bugs me are websites without any contact details. It is so frustrating especially when the FAQ page doesn’t answer my particular problem. Like many people, if I find a site that makes it virtually impossible to get in touch with the company I’ll hit the back browser and find someone else. My instant reaction is what are they trying to hide? If you are a genuine company why isn’t your address, phone number, email address clearly marked on your website? Make sure you provide a link to your contact page from the FAQ page in case someone has a question that’s not listed.

So as you can see your FAQ page really is important and shouldn’t be thrown together as an after thought. It is your extended online customer service portal providing information that your customers need. By making it easy to find, easy to follow and easy to read, you are adding another layer of customer service. Plus, just think of how many emails and phone calls you won’t have to field because your customers can find the answers to their questions for themselves.

Remember to also keep it updated. It is unlikely you’ll predict every question you’ll ever be asked, so as new questions arise add them to your page. Over time you’ll accumulate a valuable bank of information for your customers.

Do you have a website? If so, how is it performing?

I’m not talking about its load time or looks but rather how many of your visitors go on to become customers – i.e. we are talking about its conversion rate.

As a copywriter I frequently come across websites that look pretty, have a lot of content, even rank well and yet the owners are at a loss as to why it doesn’t convert its visitors into sales. Even scarier is when people state:

Client: “My website’s working really well – I get about 500 unique visitors every day”

Copywriter: “Great, so what’s your conversion rate?”

Client: “My what?”

There is a simple way to boost your conversion rate, although this post is entitled the Number 1 secret to websites that convert; it’s not really a secret, it should be common sense.

How to make your website convert

First off I want to look at the behaviour of people searching the internet.

If they are looking for a specific product or service they will enter their search term into Google and then open a new tab for each website that takes their fancy. The idea behind this is that they can compare what each company is offering.  They’ll want to know what’s in it for them if they buy from your company.

Have you guessed the number 1 secret to website that convert yet?

That’s right – you have to identify your unique value proposition. But not only identify it, make sure it is the first thing your potential customer sees.

Your UVP is going to be the main benefit you offer. Something that is going to set you apart from your competitors,

It could be a free bonus item, price reduction, guarantee – something that is of real value to your reader.

That is the secret behind the biggest converting websites.

If you hide your UVP within your text, do you really think the reader is going to take the time to read the entire content of your site to find it?

No, they won’t. The one thing people have very little of these days is time. So make their job easier by announcing your UVP immediately and clearly. And make sure it is on all your pages – after all, there is a chance they’ll land on a page other than your Home Page. A simple banner across the top of all your pages announcing your UVP will do the trick.

Make it big, make it bold, make it seen.

So, now you know what to do if you want to boost your conversion rate. Take a look at your website, identify your UVP and shout about it. Then watch what happens to your conversion rate.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

The way we read is being revolutionised.

With advances in technology it is now ‘cool’ to read our favourite books on a Kindle reader:

“A revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper”

No, I’m sorry but that’s just not right.

I don’t want to hold an inanimate object and read from a screen. For me reading is about connecting with something tangible. I like to hold a book, feel it’s pages, listen to the gentle sound as each page is turned, see the creases in the spine – I WANT TO TO TURN PAGES!!!

On holiday I’ll take several novels. Yes they take up space in my luggage but I don’t care. I can read them anywhere without fear of getting a flat battery.

There is something special about a book – whether it’s new or second hand – that can never be replaced by a screen.

If the text in my book is small, compact and endless, I don’t care. I’ll read it. But if writing on a screen is small, compact and endless I won’t read it.

It’s just like websites and blogs that you see which are crammed to the rafters with copy. They are so difficult to read. Writing copy for the web is very different from writing for printed media. Most people find reading from a screen difficult and if they are faced with a wall of text, they probably won’t even bother.

Make your writing look interesting

Content has to look attractive to make someone read it.

Creating space around your words is more likely to encourage someone to read them.

Rather than writing long paragraphs of text, break it up into chunks separated by white space. Insert sub headings to signal to your reader what each section is about.

Basically, if you want people to read the content on your website you have to make it look inviting. Your copy has to be interesting, relevant and search engine friendly. Getting the right amount of content on your page is vital – but good SEO Copywriting doesn’t necessarily mean writing thousands and thousands of words.

So what is the optimium amount of copy? Well the simple answer is it depends.

You’ll need enough to get your keywords in and enough to make sure you get your message across to your reader. At the end of the day it will depend on the competitiveness of the keywords you have chosen and what you actually want to say.

Getting your web content right is vital for your search engine optimisation so it pays to invest in the services of a good SEO Copywriter who understands how to write great content  that is appealing to your reader and the search engine spiders.

For me, no amount of electronic gizmos will ever replace a good old fashioned book. Reading from a screen is always going to be difficult so if you want people to read your material make sure you follow the advice in this blog post.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

Before you run away screaming – this isn’t going to be a post that bangs on about how your business is in dire need of a freelance copywriter – oh, and I just happen to know one – me!

This is all about keeping your copywriting benefits driven.

Identify your benefits

You’re probably sat there now saying…

“What’s she on about, of course I know what the benefits of my product are.”

Are you sure about that?

Let’s take George here as an example. He runs a small business that sells recycled paper goods – things like gift bags, wrapping paper, envelopes etc.

All over his website he mentions that all his products are made from recycled paper and, of course, are also recyclable themselves.

Whoop-di-do, so what?

The fact that his products are made from recycled paper (and are recyclable) isn’t a benefit. It is a feature.

This is a mistake that is made on numerous websites.

If George came up to me and launched into his pitch this is probably how the conversation would go:

George: “You should buy my product because it’s made from recyclable materials”

Me: “So what?”

But, if he changed his approach and concentrated on the benefit, it would go something like…

George: “By buying my recycled product you will also have peace of mind that you are helping the environment and therefore helping us all to work towards a better world”

Me: “Wow, you’re right. I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

(a bit cheesy but you get my drift)

By immediately stating a benefit – i.e. what his product will do for me – he has shown that he understands my needs and has fulfilled them.

Your benefit could be like Georges’, or it could save your customer money, give them kudos, include them in a select community etc. What it comes down to is what your product will do for them – how it will change their lives for the better.

Get your benefits in fast

Once you’ve identified your benefits you have to get them in your web copy.

The most important information must go first so get your benefits in early. Within the first paragraph if you can.

It is the benefit that your reader is going to be looking for but they don’t want to have to work it out for themselves.

Spell it out to them so they trip over it. If you can identify more than one, put them in a bulleted list to draw attention to them.

Don’t be a wall flower – your benefits are what will sell your product so shout about them for all you’re worth.