Every website sells something. This is true for commercial websites selling goods and services as well as not-for-profit websites that provide ideas or information. Therefore web copy may be thought of as a sales pitch.
Web copy is at a disadvantage compared to hard copy because it has to grab attention so quickly - visitors can exit a website at the click of a button if they don't find anything interesting immediately - and they do so ruthlessly.
The Power of Headlines
The best way to grab attention is with headlines. Many copywriters start with the headline then compose the text copy afterwards. Some recommend spending 80% of your time on the headline with only 20% on the text copy. The reason is because visitors scan the page for headlines and only read the text copy below it if the headline draws them in.
Discover the Secrets of Headlines that Can Make You Money
The headline above is an example of some of the features that headline-writers use.
It should offer the promise of something that can solve the reader's problem or benefit them in some way.
It should be about the reader - not about you.
It should be positive. If the message has to be negative then it should be turned around to sound positive.
It should be in the active not passive voice e.g. "My Product is Loved by Everyone" - passive voice (bad). "Everyone Loves my Product" - active voice (good).
It shouldn't offer anything that the text below doesn't deliver.
It should contain "Power" words.
Examples of Power Words
You
Money
Power
Discover
Save
Easy
New
Proven
Results
Guaranteed
What's Your Unique Selling Point?
It helps if the products, services or information that your site offers have a unique selling point (USP). What is your USP? Why would anyone pay any more attention to what your site offers rather than your competitors? Find your USP and use it.
"Products" as Solutions
Can the goods, services or information that you offer be grouped into distinct categories or "products"? Site visitors like easy solutions to their problems and are attracted to solution categories or "products" that take care of their problems - even if they're actually being offered services or information.
It's useful if you can visualise your "products" from the customers' viewpoint and think of short titles for these "products" that seem to solve customers' problems, using language that the customer would use and not technical jargon.
Benefits and Features
Benefits are not the same as features although they might appear to be. When you write about the features of a product you are writing about you and not the reader - with benefits it's the other way round.
Site visitors don't want to read about you, they want to read about themselves and what will benefit them so list benefits more prominently than features.
An example of a feature is "Our car does 55 mpg" or "Our information is the most up to date available".
An example of a benefit is "Our car saves you money on fuel bills" or "Our information helps you to make better decisions".
Notice that the two benefits above are written in the passive voice. In the active voice they might be "Save money on your fuel bills with our car" and "Make better decisions with our information".
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