Copywriting

Visualize yourself sitting across from a visitor or standing next to them… and then write. This technique is a killer way to prevent talking “at” or “to” your visitor – both of which tend to focus on YOU, not them – and to shape more engaging messaging that speaks with them.

• Explore layers of benefits. Every feature has a benefit (at least, it’d better!). What’s interesting is that every benefit carries with it additional benefits. The primary benefit of your online course may be that users can do exercises at any time of day. Great. What’re the benefits of such convenience? Spending more time with the family; going at your own pace; doing exercises on vacation. Your copy should explore many layers of benefits.
• Explicitly write who your product is “ideal for”. An “ideal for” statement on the home page and key landing pages tells visitors they’ve come to the right place, which can reduce bounce and exits and improve site exploration. The more crisp and specific to niches you get with this statement, the better.
• Focus on “what’s in it for me” (WII-FM). What do your visitors want to know before they read, watch, sign up or buy? This: “what’s in it for me?” They don’t care about you, but they DO care that you care about them. So show you care by “tuning in to WII-FM” before you write or edit a word.
• Scratch all instances of “we” + your company name. Scour your copy for the word “we” and for your company name, then delete those and rephrase the edited phrase so it’s focused 100% on what your prospect gets – not what you offer.
  • Only exception: “About Us” page. But even then, be careful.
• Once you’ve deleted all “we” mentions, DO go in and add explicit “you” mentions. This turns a headline like “Manage Your Inbox Easily” into “You Can Finally Manage Your Inbox Easily” – which is a simple, elegant way to reinforce the fact that you have the solution for your visitor.
• Repeat important messages. If you have an important message, don’t assume that just because you put it in your home page headline your visitors will remember it by the time they’re in your checkout process. Repeat persuasive copy wherever it will help visitors transact.
  • You may find that one click trigger overcomes several objections; for example, “money back guarantee” can overcome “I’m not sure I want to commit yet” and “I might not like it as much as I like my current solution”. Don’t worry if you’re not 100% sure! It’s the rare case when a salesperson is 100% sure their counterargument will neutralize a customer’s argument. Just get as close as possible.
• Match your headline to the call to action that led visitors there A great way to lower bounce/exits is to create a seamless experience in which your visitors’ expectations are matched. So DO simple things like repeating or closely reflecting text-link copy in the headline of the landing page.
• The easiest-to-read blog posts and emails are almost always those in which every sentence begins a new line. Same goes on your website. DO keep ‘paragraphs’ to 3 lines or fewer. The longer the line, the fewer lines you should stack into a paragraph / chunk.
• The most compelling testimonials tell a story of what a customer’s challenge was before your product or service… and what the outcome of using your product or service was. Don't use airy-fairy testimonials like “You’re awesome”… unless you’re going to sprinkle them amongst meatier testimonials.
• Don't Let your USP scroll away. Your home page headline – often your value prop / USP – should remain static + unmoving on the page. If it moves and your visitor didn’t get a chance to see it – or simply can’t recall it after reading the rest of your page – then what? Don't let your most critical messages appear and disappear.
• Don't use round bullets for numbered lists. The symbol you use at the start of each point in your list should help scanning eyes. So if you have a list of 4 steps, use a numbered list. If you want to show a bunch of included features, use a checklist. If you want to break a paragraph into bullets in no particular order, use a bullet list.
• Don't use dead-end pages. Every page needs a call to action. Dead-end pages are the devil. So make sure you make your call to actions clear on each page. In the following example, my only option as a user is to read about the next feature… but what if I’m tired of reading now and just want to sign up?
• Don't Pull back when it’s time to close. Just because someone is on your Pricing (or Registration) page does not mean they are sold on you. If it did, you’d see 100% of your visitors to those pages convert. And I’m guessing that’s not the case. So here’s what you should do: put messages designed to overcome their pricing objections right on the Pricing page – like SOSonlinebackup does