What is website copywriting?
Website copywriting means writing content for the web in an engaging way that gets the readers to take some form of action like submitting a form or making a purchase.
Examples of web copywriting include ad copy, social media posts, and other marketing materials.
Why is website copywriting important?
When you write for the internet, it commands a different style than offline writing.
The reason is this…
When you buy a newspaper and read it, it is the same for everyone who reads the newspaper.
But when online, because we all have different devices that can connect to the internet, the layout of the content will be different for many people.
Also, the switching cost online is cheap.
This means that readers are only one click away from leaving your website if it doesn’t engage them enough.
That is why your content needs to be damn good and engaging so that the customer takes the required action needed.
How to write a great website copy
Use these 5 steps below to write great website copy that’ll resonate deeply with your readers and get them to take action.
1. Write seductive headlines
Your headline is the first thing your reader sees as soon as they land on your website.
And if your headline sucks, they’ll click away immediately.
And you would have lost that reader.
Also, a strong headline is a major reason for social shares.
When writing headlines, stick to these 4 major U’s
- Create Urgency
- It should be Useful
- It should be Unique
- and Ultra Specific
The more of these U’s you can use, the better.
But if you manage to use all 4 in one headline, that will be awesome.
2. Use the slippery slide
The main job of your headline is to get the reader to read the first sentence.
The job of the first sentence is to get the reader to move down to the second sentence.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
Use the slippery slide method to get the reader to the end of the article.
And as it turns out, short sentences and short paragraphs have the slippery slide effect.
(Which is why you’re still reading this)
3. Use the rule of three
There’s something about the number 3.
Especially when you include it in your copy.
It feels complete and just enough to make a pattern.
Look at the last three sentences, that’s the rule at work.
As this Wikipedia article says, using the Rule of Three can make you “seem knowledgeable while being both simple and catchy.”
I like that.
You can use this rule of three in any part of your content:
- Three main sections in a blog post.
- Three major concepts in an essay.
- Three examples per concept.
- Three testimonials on your homepage.
4. Use a killer structure
If you want your online content to be easy to follow
Use a good structure.
In the world of psychology, the fluency heuristic tells us that the easier something is to follow and understand, the more people will trust it.
This means…
If you want your content to be easy to follow, you’ll have to structure it well.
That means if your content is one long post, try breaking it down into headings and sub-headings.
This will make it easier to read and follow.
5. Steal from your audience
Before you write a website copy, do customer research.
The reason for this is through your research, you’ll be able to speak to your customers/readers in the language they understand.
Customer research is not only great for website copywriting, but it is also great for writing direct response copywriting to increase conversion.
When you perform customer research before writing your website copy, you will be able to resonate more deeply with your readers.
Here are a few ways to find words and phrases your target customer uses:
- Use google search and at the end of the result page, check out the “Searches Related To…” section.
- Look at relevant threads on Quora, Reddit, and forums to see what your target audience is saying… and how they’re saying it.
- Keep an eye out for the language that people use in your blog’s comments section. Not only does this give you an insider view of the language they use to describe their problems, but it’s also great for finding topics for blog posts.
- HubSpot’s guide to running a customer research survey. Even though this survey is designed for product development, the same rules apply to using surveys to improve your online copywriting.
Conclusion
These are the fundamentals of website copywriting.
And I hope this post has given you insights into structuring and creating a good website copy.
Or if you outsource your web copy, now you’ll know if your copywriter is good or not.
And if you need any help editing your web copy or writing web content for your online business and website, feel free to shoot me an email at makucopy@gmail.com.
Maku Seun is a freelance copywriter and Direct Response Marketer. He helps digital marketers, coaches, and course creators boost sales by writing compelling sales letters for their products and services. If you’d him to write a sales letter for your business, click here.
