What Makes Web Copy Powerful?

Website copywriting isn’t as easy at seems.

Your writing has to perform a number of functions simultaneously:

• It has to attract traffic
• It has to be interesting
• It has to capture your readers’ attention
• It has to persuade
• It has to convince
• It has to make your reader buy

As I said, it has to perform a number of tasks which is why you must create powerful website copy that is capable of satisfying all of these needs.

If you merely start writing about your business, awards you have won or your premises you’re not going to capture your reader.

The women’s Rugby World Cup is happening at the moment and the following video illustrates my point. We’ve all seen the All Blacks perform their menacing Haka before every game. Their gesturing, shouting, tongue sticking-out and other shenanegans would certainly make you think twice before approaching any of them.

But I recently saw the Black Fern’s version (that’s New Zealand’s female rugby team) – it’s not quite so scary:

Don’t get me wrong, I still wouldn’t like to face them on a rugby pitch. The closest I get is watching my son on a Sunday morning play for Ipswich – and that’s close enough. But to me it’s more akin to mums at a disco trying to recapture their youth by trying to remember dance steps to the hits of the 80s. Their movements seem to be too gentle to strike fear into the hearts of their opponents.

It’s the same with your web copy. You are competing with a huge number of other businesses on the web so you have got to create copy that will make you stand out from the crowd. And that means just one thing – write about your reader.

Tell them what they want to hear

As people browse websites, they are looking for one simple piece if information – what you’re going to do for them. They aren’t interesting in anything about your company. They are totally self-centred.

So make sure you tell  them what they want to hear. If you do, and you address them directly and state the benefits immediately your website will stand out from the crowd.

Why?

Because I see far more sites with bad copy that revolves totally around the company than good sites that address the reader directly and show them precisely how they will benefit.

The easy way to good copy is to find yourself a good freelance copywriter. As they are not directly involved with your company they will be able to look at your products and services from a customer’s point of view. Even if you are the best writer in the world, if you try to write your own copy you will find it very difficult to distance yourself from your company and be completely objective.

Why do you need to know this?

Quite simply because you want your website to:

a) Attract visitors

b) Get people to buy

And the only way you are going to do that is by creating copy  that is focused on the reader, tells them what your product or service will do for them (the benefits), and then tells them what to do through a strong call to action.