It’s kind of daunting to start with a blank page (or a blank website for that matter). You have a lot to say about your business, and a lot of things that you want potential and existing customers to know.
Professional copywriters consider a number of things when writing copy for a website. Here are the four most important things we think about. Use these questions to guide you in developing lively and effective copy for your website.
What’s the one thing you want site visitors to know?
This could take a lot of different forms, but it’s usually a blend of your value proposition (what you’re offering) and your differentiator (why someone should buy that thing from you instead of your competitors).
You’ll explain many things on different sections of your website, but this single message should run throughout. Remembering and referring back to this central idea will help you decide what you’ll say and how you’ll say it. Some version or taste of it should appear on every page so that the user is always aware of how you can help them and why they’ll be glad they chose you.
What’s the goal of your website?
A website can do a lot of things (educate people about products, house company news, list current promotions, etc.), but you should ultimately have an end goal for your site’s users. Do you want them to request a quote? Call you? Sign up for emails? Come in to the store?
Keep this end goal in mind, think of the steps along the way and then offer users suggestions that lead them toward that goal. This could mean sprinkling in links to the “Contact Us” page, or including calls to action that encourage the reader to “come on in and check out our products in person!” Regardless, the things you write should help bring about your end goal.
What information matters to the user?
You might want your company’s home page to recount every bit of your colorful history, but that information might not be what your site visitors are looking for first and foremost.
They’re likely more interested in what products and/or services you offer, where you’re located and when you’re open. There’s no right answer as to what information belongs on what page – or even what information should be included at all – but considering who your user is and what their goals and questions might be should heavily guide your decisions.
It can be hard for business owners or even employees to step back from their own intense knowledge and interests to sense objectively what will and won’t interest readers. This is one area where outside help has the advantage 😉
Who is your brand and what kind of experience does it offer?
Reading content on your website shouldn’t just help users learn concrete facts like what you offer or when you’re open – it should also give a sense of your brand’s personality and indicate what kind of experience customers will have working with you.
Does your daycare offer a fun and stimulating experience for kids? That energy should be apparent in the words you choose and the structure of your sentences.
Do you provide reliable and practical legal advice? The tone of your site copy should reflect that.
Finding answers to the questions above will provide you with a strong foundation for creating effective and distinctive content for your website.
Professional writers rely on these questions and consider a number of other factors as well to help establish legitimacy for your company, achieve search optimization, encourage user action, instigate excitement and drive brand affinity. Click here to get a free quote for copywriting services that will unleash the profit-driving power of your website.