Your web copy should be clear, concise and speak to a specific audience. Writing compelling web copy takes practice.
If you’re new to having a website, it can be tricky shifting the focus from you and your business to your audience and their needs/wants.
BUT, this shift if the first step in writing web copy that encourages people to take action.
1) Identify Your Target Audience
Copy that is written for everyone won’t resonate with anyone. When writing copy for your website, pull up a picture of your favorite client, or aspirational client.
Think about how they talk, their goals, hobbies, where they’re located, and where they hang out.
If you need help finding your target audience, here’s a link to an article we wrote on how to use your data to define your audience.
2) Speak to Their Pain Point or Future State
People don’t care how awesome you are. Their immediate thought when browsing through your website is how you can help them.
Consider what keeps them up at night. What problems do they face and where do they want to be?
This should be immediately addressed on the homepage of your site within your Headline and Sub Headline.
To use our clients as an example, they come to us because they don’t want to spend time learning how to build a website on Wix or WordPress, or the latest tactics for building an effective marketing campaign that brings them business.
They have a business to run and want help getting something up and running, so they can focus on actually running their business.
3) Be Human & Use Examples
Don’t be afraid to express your personality and be human. Tell a story that shares a lesson you learned, or use an example of how you helped a previous client or customer with their problem.
People do business with people. So don’t feel like you have to be so professional that you end up sounding like a robot.
Show how you can help them achieve something faster, save money, and/or give them something they don’t have but want (knowledge, product, service they can’t do themselves).
4) Keep Offer as Simple as Possible
People can get overwhelmed easily. Try to limit the number of offers on a page, so it’s clear what you want them to do next.
On our homepage, we offer a free strategy call, or access to our free traffic planner guide.
If someone isn’t ready to talk to our team yet, but wants to learn more, they can download the guide, and if they’re ready to chat about their business, they can book a call.
Keep it simple.
5) Avoid “Fuzzy” Words
You know industry terms because of your many years of experience. Even when you simplify things, it may still go over your customers’ heads.
For example, we sometimes talk about the importance of optics for your online business. But, if we don’t first explain what optics are and how it’s related to understanding your web data, “optics” might be considered a fuzzy word.
Instead, strive to use words that your audience would know. This helps make things more clear and shows that you understand.
6) Demonstrate Your Expertise & Build Trust
Showcase your experience by writing your compelling web copy, so your target audience things “that’s so me!”
This helps to build trust and if you can clearly outline how you help address their pain point and get to their future state, they’ll see that you have the plan they’ve been looking for.
Share case studies, or create a community where your ideal clients can share ideas, ask questions and connect.
7) Add Urgency
At this point you’ve probably seen websites that have a countdown, or offer a discount for “a limited time only.” Why do they do this?
Well, because it works. People like to feel special and that they got a good deal that others might not get. The goal is to make your prospects feel uneasy about waiting and have FOMO (fear of missing out).
So, if you can offer an incentive for those who are ready to take action, this can be the very thing for someone who was still on the fence.
Wrapping It Up
If you’re new to writing compelling web copy, it will take time to get it just right. Don’t be afraid to publish, republish and tweak as you go.
You aren’t going to compel everyone, but that’s okay. Copy that is for everyone is really for no one.
