What is it really costing you to have amateur copy on your website?
What you need to know about what’s happening on the web today
You spent the time and money to do it right—or so you thought. You invested in professional services for web design, programming and search engine optimization. Your site looks sharp and your rankings aren’t half bad. But the end results, your sales, are less than you’d hoped for; in fact, they’re less than you’d planned on.
Does this ring a bell?
You probably know what I’m going to say next: the only thing that’s missing is the most important thing: professional copy writing.
What readers want
When readers land on your site, they want information that will solve their problems. Research has shown that readers go for the text first—not the pictures, not the polls, not the related links. They’re busy and they go straight for the text. They want information that will lead them to the product or service they need, and they want it now.
Research has also shown that readers move fast. So, if the web copy doesn’t connect with them in just a few seconds, they’re gone. This is why it’s important for the text on your site to be easy to scan.
Readers also want particular kinds of information. Take at look at my article “Is Your Web Site All Bark and No Bite” here for more information about that.
The biggest mistake
Ninety-five percent of web sites don’t work because they use copy written by an inexperienced, untrained writer. It’s a common mistake and an expensive one. This unprofessional copy reads fine, but it doesn’t “work”. This situation doesn’t just mean lost sales and lost time; it can also mean lost branding and lost chances.
When words are the only point of contact between your business and your market, every word and every second matter.
Every word, phrase, image and idea must have a good reason for being there. If the words on your web site are not grabbing your readers, business is walking out the door without you ever knowing about it. To put it another way: if your web site is getting traffic, but not sales, your copy is not working. For more thoughts on this, see “Unleashing the Power of Words” here.
Web copy that sells
Web copy that sells is what turns your traffic into customers. It’s what makes your readers whip out their credit card and buy.
Words are the currency of life and copy is the currency of the web.
Expert web copy works on two levels. It is written to be customer-centric and keyword-rich. That is, it optimizes results for readers and for search engines. Professionally written web copy should be in all of the critical elements of your online presence, such as:
- web pages
- landing pages
- description blocks
- email marketing
- ecommerce
- order devices
- domain naming
- white papers
- polls and surveys
- ebooks
Today, well-conceived and well-written copy is the most cost-effective investment you will make in your business. Effective copy will work circles around great graphics. Nothing will produce more results than professional copy. Nothing.
The right copy writer for you
There are lots of web copy writers out there; the trick is finding the right one. Many practitioners call writing “the hardest work there is”. Advertising and marketing professionals know that copy writing is a complex alchemy of many disciplines and skills. To get an idea of copy in action, take a look at my article, “Finding the Gold that’s Hiding in Plain Sight” here.
I invite you to read what some of my clients say about my work and the results it has generated for them. You'll find their comments on the About page.
Unlike many practitioners today, I do not produce copy filled with hype and hyperbole. Also, I do not outsource. You can be assured that, if I take your project, I write every word—an advantage not available anywhere else.
Get in touch with me for a no-hassle, no-obligation discussion about your project.
Jan Holloway
Web Specialist
Copy Writing | Consulting
P.O. Box 3716
Jackson, Wyoming 83001
