Copywriting for the Online World

Being an effective copywriter for the web isn't as easy as one might think. In fact, its a complicated and precise science which can hold the key to making or breaking your web presence. If you want your valued website visitors to turn into valued CUSTOMERS, effective copywriting is essential.
Below are several things to keep in mind when creating both marketing web copy (buy my stuff) and navigational web copy (click X to find Y).

1. Give Them What They Want... Fast!
Anyone arriving at your site wants to know 4 things, and fast.
a) What is this site?
b) What are they offering me?
c) How does it benefit me?
d) How do i get it?

Be sure to answer all those questions quickly and precisely without delving into deep explanations and you will be on your way to converting your visitors into customers. If you want to expand on some of these points, do so in another section of your site... but for the homepage, answer these questions quickly and effectively.

2. Dont Be Stupid!
The most obvious thing to keep in mind is proper grammar. Even though we have all endured hours upon hours of education to perfect our grammatical skills, we still make mistakes... so be sure to read your copy over, and over and over again before you go live with it. The more professional your writing, the more professional you will appear... pretty simple.

3. Keep Your Audience in Mind
When creating your copy, be sure to keep your target market in mind. It is important to make your audience feel like they can relate to what you are saying. As an example in its simplest form... if you are creating copy for an online advertisement for a Toronto sporting goods store it might be good to use some sports references (ie "The prices are lower than the Blue Jays playoff hopes")... ok maybe not that blatant, but you get the idea. In just that one sentence, Toronto sports fans have all identified with your advertisement.
As well as using references, it is also important to use language that suits your target market. Word choice is a delicate balance that needs to be managed effectively. If you are targeting adults between the ages of 40 and 60 and you want to sound hip, you might want to use a word like "cool" but not go as far as to use the word "awesome". Finding this balance may take a while, but its well worth the research.

4. We Can't Focus.
The average website visitor will decide within the first few seconds of visiting your site whether or not they will stay, so be sure to keep your copy SHORT, and to the point. If your homepage has too much text, nobody is going to stick around and read it. Point form is always a good choice, but if you are going to use sentences be sure that they are short, with very few descriptors.
Good = Online marketing will reduce wasted media funds.
Bad = Discover how online marketing can help you lower your marketing budget by covering huge markets for a fraction of the price of traditional marketing mediums.

5. No Tricks
Try not to build yourself up too much. Over hype of your company or product can be very transparent and is often interpreted as weakness by web readers. Outline what you offer and how you do so, let your successes speak for themselves in a "Portfolio" or "Clients" page.

6. Be Human
To most people, it is important to know that there is an actual human being behind the web copy. So try not to sound like a robot. Keep your copy light, and not bogged down in technical jargon (unless absolutely necessary). Try to think of it as having a conversation with everyone that comes to your site. If you are boring, people will want to leave the conversation asap, but if you're engaging and interesting... you're the life of the party!


So there you go, a couple quick tips on creating effective copy for web purposes... get writing.


Alex Arnold
Founder,
2AM Marketing
2AMCanada@gmail.com