The idea of building a new website or redoing an existing website is usually exciting. You have visions of a beautiful, showstopping site. It’s going to look amazing, better reflect where your business is going and instantly magnetize every browser who visits.
But first, you need to build the dang thing. And before you can build it, you need to write the copy. (Always start with the copy.)
I have to warn you: writing your own web copy is hard. It sounds easy, but then you’re staring at a blank page, having no idea where to start. Then you start, and it gets harder. It feels like you’re permanently stuck on day 2 of a 10-day cabbage soup diet. 🤢
I don’t believe in diets, so let’s dive in with 5 ways you can instantly improve your web copy.
If you’ve read enough about copywriting, then you’re not surprised to see this one here. So, why is it here? Spend a few minutes looking at some websites, and you’ll see plenty of corporate-speak, empty jargon and robo-talk.
I know many businesses worry about sounding professional and intelligent. But I think they often confuse professional and intelligent with formal and stuffy.
This has a few detrimental effects:
Look at what George Orwell had to say about this:
“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms.” ~George Orwell
Whatever your company’s voice is - even if it’s ‘professional’ - it can still be conversational. Think about how a face-to-face conversation would sound with your ideal customer. Write like that - but with plenty of editing.
How to be conversational in your copy:
You might be thinking: What do you mean use more words? You just said to use simple words to make it easy on the reader.
Yes I did.
But the key word there is easy.
We should be cutting the fat when we write. As William Strunk and E.B. White suggest:
“A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”
So, why am I saying use more words?
Because sometimes we need to use more words to make things easier on our reader. When we’re more specific, the reader doesn’t need to think as much.
Not thinking is critical to conversions. It helps to create the “slippery slide” that Joseph Sugarman talks about in The Adweek Copywriting Handbook. He says:
“As you start to slide down and build momentum, you try holding on to the sides to stop, but you can’t stop. You continue to slide down the slide despite all your efforts to prevent your descent. This is the way your copy must flow.
Every element in an advertisement must cause that slippery slide effect… the first sentence must be so easy to read and so compelling that you must read the next sentence and so on, straight through the entire copy to the end.”
And don’t for one second think that not making the reader think is some sort of condescending remark. That copywriters think readers are unable to make their own decisions. It’s actually the complete opposite. We have such high regard, empathy and respect for people that we will do ALL of the heavy lifting for them.
We don’t want to put the burden of figuring out what we’re trying to say on the reader’s shoulders. If they’re trying to figure out what we’re saying, they might not be able to. Or they get so fatigued or confused that they can’t be bothered anymore.
This creates friction. And friction is a no-no when it comes to conversions. We want that slippery slide.
How to make sure you’re using enough words:
Our brains process images faster than words, so if we’re able to create a vivid picture in someone’s mind they don’t have to think as much.
And if you’ve read the previous sections of this post, you’ll notice that too much thinking can be detrimental to conversions.
Let’s try something. Play along. When I say “Empower your health,” what picture do you see in your mind?
And, when I say “Harness your body’s potential,” what picture do you see now?
There is no picture, right? It’s kinda nebulous, kinda murky.
But, when I say “Your kids won’t have to help you up the stairs,” do you see a picture? Yes, of course you do.
The first two examples are from a website that sells a health and wellness product that’s supposed to help with the effects of aging. They don’t really tell you much about the device, do they? Those statements could be about almost anything.
What does harnessing my body’s potential really mean? It doesn’t create any type of picture for me.
The third example is much more understandable and visual. It gives a clear and very real outcome for the customer. It’s immediately recognizable. Which means less thinking for the reader!
Here’s how to create images with words:
Antonio Damasio is a neuroscientist who has written and spoken extensively on how our emotions play a critical role in our decision making.
He said:
“The problem of how to make all this wisdom understandable, transmissible, persuasive, enforceable - in a word, of how to make it stick - was faced and a solution found.
Storytelling was the solution - storytelling is something brains do, naturally and implicitly...It should be no surprise that it pervades the entire fabric of human societies and cultures.”
With copy, we want to be sticky. To be noticed and remembered. If it’s not noticed and remembered then it has no chance of converting. Storytelling is a powerful way to get through to a reader.
The critical part about storytelling that we need to keep in mind is that even if we’re telling a story about ourselves or our business, the reader’s brain will immediately put themselves in the role of hero, and will consume the story based on their own personal experiences.
Which is why copy that’s company-centric doesn’t hold attention. We need to make sure our readers can see themselves in the copy. We need to constantly answer “what’s in it for me,” with me being the reader, and not you.
You may have heard that with copywriting and marketing you’re not selling the product or the service - you’re selling the benefit or the outcome. And the benefit or outcome is usually a better, happier version of the reader’s life.
This helps us when we write our copy to make sure we’re telling a story about the prospect and what their life will look like if they become a customer.
So we’re not actually selling the thing, we’re selling the transformation from the way their life is now, to a newer, better life. And we do this through story - we, as potential customers, need to be able to navigate the plot of a product or service.Here’s how to add storytelling elements to your copy:
People will put up with a lot, but we will not put up with being made to feel stupid. We’ll also avoid - at all costs - putting ourselves in a situation where we’ll end up feeling stupid.
We want to feel safe from making a bad decision. If we feel anxiety, we won’t make a decision. That’s why it’s so important to eliminate anxiety (and friction) when we write copy.
Copy needs to reassure people that not only will they love our product or service, but that there’s no risk to them. If it’s a pair of shoes and they don’t fit, they can return it easily. If it’s skincare and it causes an allergic reaction, they’ll want to know they can get their money back.
People also want to see that other people like them have bought from you and succeeded. For instance, when you’re thinking of making a purchase, you probably look at reviews and ask your friends if they’ve bought it. You want to know if they liked it, if it worked for them, and if they’d make the same decision again.
This is why testimonials, certifications and guarantees should be included on your website. This ‘trust bling’ should be placed strategically near conversion points (buttons), so that you’re reassuring your readers every step of the way.
How to show you’re trustworthy in your web copy:
If you’ve already written your web copy, go through it again and make sure you’re including these 5 tips. And if you haven’t started yet, now you know what to include.
