Entries from November 2009 ↓

Every website is different. Regardless of what industry you are involved in, you are going to have your own take on what is important, what your USP is, what your products/services are and what the aim of your website is.

But one thing that is pretty much uniform is what the most important web pages are with regards to keyword usage.

• Home page
• About us
• Products and services
• FAQs

These are the pages (you may call them by different names) that you’ll need to optimize for your main keywords.

As some of the most important pages on your website they’ll also need to convert your visitors into sales – they’ll need to speak to your customers.

This post will look at the first two pages – Home page and About us.

Home page

This is the corner stone of your website. If it’s not right you may as well give up now.  If you want this page to rank for your main keywords it must have great content. We’re not just talking about a line or two.

One format that I use, and that works well is to start with a strong headline (which includes your keyword), a block of about 150 words followed by a bullet list and then further paragraphs of about a further 150 words. This isn’t set in stone so the numbers are flexible but it gives you a rough idea.

This format also helps when it comes to scanning a page (which many visitors will do) so it is important to have your key points in bold and in  the initial sentences (and headlines).

The copy should come out fighting so hit them with the benefits first and must directly address your reader. The paragraphs following your bulleted list should be introduced by subheadings. These will act as sign posts do your reader can see at a glance what that section of text refers to. After reading this page your prospect should know what you sell and why it is the best product/service for them.

Finally you need a commanding call to action. It might seem an odd thing to say but if you want your readers to buy or contact you, you have to tell them. Don’t let them leave you home page without telling them what they should do next.

About us page

People like to know who is behind a business. If I was looking for a service provider and I’d narrowed my search down to two companies, I’d look at the About Us page.

Why? Quite simply because I want to know who the people are I’ll be dealing with. If I can connect with them in some way thorough their copy I’m more likely to go with that company.

The writing here should be warm with some emotion behind it – you don’t want to come across as cold and uncaring. This is one page where keyword density is not quite so important although it is a good page to incorporate your location keywords.

It is your opportunity to put a face to your business. After all if you have a shop you’d greet your customers, shake them by the hand and make them feel welcome and valued. Well that’s the kind of feeling your words have to evoke too.

When composing your website copywriting, it is essential that you constantly have your reader in mind.

My next post will look at the importance of the Products and Services page and the FAQs.

Blogging is still very much something you either “get” or you don’t.

For me, my blogging is all about sharing knowledge in what I do – copywriting. Most of my posts are about copywriting tips, marketing suggestions and (like this one) the usefulness of blogging. My aim has been to help my readers with the sales writing whether they run their own businesses or are starting out in the copywriting world.

You can use your blog to promote your services – but be warned insessant “plugging” will be a real turn-off. Or you can use it as a sounding board for your opinions. But whatever you use it for, be clear from the outset.

This very subject is discussed in a great blog post called The 3 Fatal Diseases That Kill Good Blogs by Nathan Hangen (published on Copyblogger). It’s well worth a read so why not grab yourself a cuppa and a take a break for a few minutes.

You might think, because direct mail letters come from a wide range of different companies and industries, they have little in common. Well, you’d be wrong.

There are certain characteristics that make up successful sales letters. Of course, your offer and list will have a lot to do with your success rate, but the following factors will contribute to an engaging and powerful letter.

Time to get personal

Your first task is to build rapport. Talk directly to your reader and empathise with them. A sales letter is not the place to shout about your company.

Your letter is intruding into someone’s life. They didn’t ask you to write to them. So you must demonstrate to them you understand their problem and you can help by building trust and credibility.

How?

Quite simply by:

• Using “you” engages them in conversation. You’re not lecturing them, you’re confiding in them – you’re building rapport.

• Telling them what’s in it for them – tell them how your product or service will benefit them; what they’re going to get out of this.

• Speak normally – now is not the time to show off your impressive vocabulary. Every day language will communicate your message far better.

• Mirror them – your readers need to see themselves when they read your letter. It should reflect their needs, desires, hopes etc.

Once upon a time…

A good letter will follow the same pattern as a fairy tale:

Once upon a time your washing was always dull, your whites never shone. But then one day your neighbour introduced you to a new wonderful detergent. Now your clothes are brilliantly clean. You are noticed by the handsome prince who sweeps you off your feet and you live happily ever after.

OK, a bit tongue in cheek, but you get the idea. Just remember, in your sales letter the hero of the story is your reader and there can’t be a happy ending until your reader takes action.

Be precise

Your sales message must be precise. If you want to build credibility, you must use facts and figures, testimonials and case studies. Simply by saying your washing powder is the best on the market isn’t going to convince anyone to buy it. But say that independent tests have proven your washing powder to remove 99.9% of all stains – now you’re talking.

Tell them what to do

If you have followed all the other steps and produced a strong letter that talks to your reader, builds rapport, empathises with them and gives evidence that your product works, but you fail to tell them what to do next – you’ve just wasted everyone’s time.

Your call to action must be strong and commanding. Tell them what they must do – call now, complete the order form and return it today etc.

Leave them in doubt as to what to do and what will happen next – i.e. goods will arrive in 28 days, one of our representatives will call you in 10 days etc.

Sally Ormond is a freelance copywriter who works with companies all over the world. Her copywriting services have helped numerous companies increase their sales and enjoy greater visibility within their market place.

Life would be so much easier if we all have a crystal ball. But we don’t, so we have to rely on good old fashioned research with a dash of copywriting cunning.

You might think that writing a piece of direct mail is easy. All you need is a description of your product, the price, a method for the customer to get in touch to order your product and Bob’s your uncle.

Well, if that’s your approach, Bob won’t even be related to you because it won’t work.

Behind the innocuous façade of a direct mail letter lurks an array of mystical mechanics. In my last post, Direct Mail – The Copywriter’s Secret Weapon, I identified 4 factors that contribute to your campaign success – the list, the offer, the format and the copy.

To take things a step further, in this post I will explore the common magic ingredients that are required for effective direct response marketing, regardless of its format.

Get your offer out there – fast

This is the most obvious aspect but, surprisingly, one that is sometimes overlooked.

Get you offer out there immediately (in your heading) and then say it again, and again, and again. Copywriting is a lot like storytelling – you create a drama by showing your readers the power of your product and how it will benefit their lives. There are 2 different ways of achieving this:

1. When your product is desirable (e.g. jewellery, holidays etc.)

Show your readers a vision in the header or opening paragraph using the benefits – looking good, showing great taste, enjoying a luxury holiday etc. This is the gold at the end of the rainbow.

Show your reader how and why the product you are offering will fulfil all their dreams and desires (and don’t forget to mention the offer again).

1. Over coming pain and fear

This will help you by providing a formula for benefits that help you overcome things you don’t want like dirty clothes, higher taxes, ill health etc.

First describe the pain (e.g. disease, dirt etc.), then introduce your offer (laundry detergent, vitamins etc.) which is the cure and then follow it up with evidence of how your offer will cure the pain.

The carrot and the stick

This is a great tool within the freelance copywriter’s arsenal. It is a means of telling your reader that good things will happen if they respond to your offer and, of course, that there may be undesirable consequences if they don’t.

So, if you were selling washing power your offer would be a brand new scientifically proven formula that gets all your laundry clean first time.

Carrot – buy the detergent and enjoy sparklingly clean clothes forever and be incredibly successful in all that you do.

Stick – use your normal detergent, wear dull clothes and spend your life aspiring to be your friend who always looks clean and smart and is incredibly successful.

So there you go, direct response mail is much more than just throwing a sales letter together. The words that you use have to convince the reader that your product or service is right for them. My next post will look at the characteristics found in successful direct mail letters.