January 02, 2020
6
Minute Read

5 Expert Tips To Write Website Copy That Gets Results

In today’s world, content is king. Here are five expert tips to write website copy that gets results.

Spacey Studios
The Design Team

In today’s world, content is king. Gone are the days of direct advertising leading to immediate sales. Consumers are empowered to make informed choices based on their access to rich and diverse content including blogs, articles, podcasts and reviews. The purpose of writing website copy is to use words that inspire action. This is a vital skill needed for the success of all businesses, yet very few people are actually trained to do it. Here are five expert tips to write website copy that gets results.

1. Start With The Headline

Headlines are the most important aspect of copywriting as they need to immediately grab your reader’s attention. High-quality headlines encourage curiosity, prompt clicks and convert potential clients into returning clients. Headlines need to be brainstormed and selected well before any other copy is written. In fact, 70% of your time should be spent crafting your headline. This will give you focus and direction when it comes to writing the body copy and will ultimately decrease the amount of time it takes to you to write while increasing the overall quality of your work. Try these simple yet effective headline formulas:

  • Ask a Question (Why Does Website Copy Matter To Consumers?)
  • Numbers and Lists (7 Expert Tips To Write Website Copy That Gets Results)
  • Quick and Easy Ways (7 Quick and Easy Ways to Improve Your Website Copy)
  • How To/Learn How To/Here’s How (Here’s How To Write Website Copy That Gets Results)
  • Attention Target Market (Attention Small Business Owners! Is Your Website Copy Costing You Customers?)

2. Know Your Audience

When consumers are faced with products and services, there is one common question that comes to their mind: ‘What’s in it for me?’ It is your job to answer this question while communicating in a way that they can understand and connect with. Tone of voice is important here as you want it to be informative but also friendly and engaging. All companies need to communicate jargon-free with their target audience and in their language. Your job is to take complex topics and ideas and simplify them so they are easy to understand.

3. Write In The Active Voice

Fear not this is not a full-blown grammar lesson! But understanding the difference between passive and active voice is important when writing website copy. Passive voice is harder to read and less direct than active voice. For example: 

Passive: A review was given by the customer. 
Active: The customer gave a review. 

It is important to note that both sentences are grammatically correct. However, by writing in an active voice we are emphasising the subject (in this case the customer) compared to when writing in the passive voice we are emphasising the object (in this case the review). You need to remember the purpose of writing your website content – to connect with the customer and writing in an active voice will quickly and directly connect with your audience.

4. Highlighting The Benefits Over The Features

One of the most common mistakes businesses make when writing their website copy is focusing on sharing just how great they are. While it’s understandable that you may want to highlight the distinctions, features and accomplishments of your business, these are not high priorities for your customers. Humans are egocentric they care how your products and services can solve their problems or make their lives easier. Simply put a feature is something your product has or does, for example, a feature of a smartphone may be facial recognition identification. Whereas a benefit is the outcome or results that consumers will experience by using that product or service. For example, facial recognition identification has a hard to break security layer making it not only convenient but safer to use. Focus on the benefits to connect and engage your customers.

5. Make It Simple & Keyword-Rich

Most website visitors are looking for quick and reliable information and you don’t want to deter them with long copy. A lot of writers think that good website copy needs to include witty jokes, alliteration, vivid description or a creative story. While that can be helpful at times more often than not, it can distract from the purpose of the text. People are time-poor and will often scan your text looking for keywords. Use subheading to instantly direct your target audience to the answers they are looking for. Most importantly, write your copy for people and then optimise it for search engines. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a coveted skill within the copywriting industry. Through keyword research, your website copy can target the diverse and niche search queries that potential customers are making. At the end of the day, the words you use in your website copy will ultimately determine your Google search rankings.