"Is Your Web Site All Bark
and No Bite?"
You spent a small fortune on design and programming.
You sprung for the latest in automated services.
You signed up for high-dollar hosting.
You blew a wad on search engine optimization.
You spent the time and money to do it right.
You're getting the traffic, but not the sales.
What gives?
What People Look For
Do you know what people look for when they land on a web site? Information.
That's right. Research shows that they go straight for the text. They're looking for information-not ads, not hype, not pictures, not slide shows, not gizmos.
And when they find relevant information, most people will read close to 300 words before deciding to read more, buy or move on.
The next thing people look for is credibility-proof-a reason to believe. If they find that, they often consume another 2000 words and then take action.
How People Buy
Do you know what makes people buy? An emotional trigger and a good reason.
It's a fact that people tend to do things they can explain. That is, they like to have a good reason for their actions. Naturally, this includes why they buy the things they do.
It's also a fact that people make decisions for emotional reasons, and then justify those decisions with logical reasons afterwards. So, the buying experience is one that's based on thinking and feeling.
A Crucial Concept
Nearly 95 percent of all web sites-and that's a huge number-miss the mark. Sometimes by a lot, sometimes by a little. Why?
Most web sites fail because business owners don't understand a crucial concept: the difference between content and copy.
Very few people understand this; fewer put it into practice. But, once you "get" this and put it to work in your sales message, you will see results.
Content and Copy
Here's what you need to know:
Content is the presentation of information.
Copy is salesmanship in print.
Content tells. Copy sells.
Content explains. Copy excites.
Content is objective and explicit.
Copy is subjective and implicit.
Content is straightforward. Copy is subtle.
Content quantifies. Copy qualifies.
Make sense?
No other aspect of your web site produces the sales that effective copy does.
SEO drives traffic, content explains and design entertains, but copy is what will make your readers whip out their credit cards and buy.
How Copy Works
Web copy that sells employs powerful devices that work below the surface. These devices harmonize the buying experience with human nature. These devices are drawn from business, psychology, linguistics and communications disciplines.
The Single Most Important Investment
Copy writing is all about unleashing the power of words.
Because text is what your information-hungry customers look for first, professional copy writing is the single most important investment you can make to your web site.
Let me repeat that:
Because text is what your information-hungry customers look for first, professional copy writing is the single most important investment you can make to your web site.
The Customer You Want
Once you've got effective copy in place, your prospects become long-term customers who return to your web site again and again. This is the customer you want.
Crafting your copy to earn your customers' trust and win their business creates long-term benefits for you because:
- It costs much less to keep an existing customer than to go out and find a new one.
- Your satisfied customers will tell others about your offerings.
To summarize, you can have the best content that money can buy, brilliant programming, fabulous design, sweet domain name, automated everything-and still just break even, or worse.
Or, you can invest in web copy that sells and watch your conversion numbers climb.