Creating Web Copy That Increases Your Sales
Keywords: web copy, content, web site, business success, sales, internet marketing, home business
The Internet is a virtual goldmine - call it a virtual El Dorado, if you will. And, there’s a gold rush out there. Just about every small business owner is doing his best at selling his product, waiting to get that big break - something that will bring home the bacon, the ham and the pudding, and much more.
But, to get that big break is not so easy. And one of the reasons for that is small business owners treat their website as a display unit - a showcase for displaying their wares. Well, they couldn’t be more wrong because a website is much more - the website should be treated like a salesman who not only displays products but also communicates with the visitors and manages to convince them to buy the product. And for that to happen, a website needs good, sorry, make that great, copywriting.
Fundamentals of Good Web Copy
First impressions are the truest and they stay for a long time. And any website’s copy must create that killer first impression that can go a long way in making a sale. Needless to say, good web copy should be absolutely free from grammatical mistakes, and so it is essential to hire the services of a professional writer to create outstanding web copy. Apart from the grammar and writing part, here are the other fundamentals of good web copy:
1. It has to be accurate. A single false claim or even an exaggeration can have disastrous consequences. Every fact that is mentioned must be reliable or verifiable. Remember, if an exaggeration is discovered by a customer, he will blast the website on his blog and on various bulletin boards. Moral of the story: Say what you mean and mean what you say.
2. It has to be written in a conversational style. Like we said before, the website acts as a salesman and, just like a salesman, it should communicate with the visitor in everyday language, without confusing him with long words and big sentences. Think about how you talk in real life and then put it down on paper, and get it fine-tuned by a professional. Remember: short words, short sentences help!
3. The copy needs to be organized and should flow seamlessly from one paragraph to another without jumping the gun. There is beauty in logic and people love to read an interesting bit of copy that takes them by the hand and leads them through the jungle of words.
4. The copy has to be to the point. A heavily worded document is tedious to read and web visitors have short attention spans. Combine these two facts and figure it out for yourself!
5. Hype and oversell kills. Avoid them. Stick to the basics. Period.
6. Finally, the copy must be interesting to read. There’s no joy in reading short copy with short words that just goes blah blah and does not interest the visitor. It must be ensured that the copy has enough twists and turns to compel the visitor to read it in its entirety and then make a purchase. A website owner must liken writing copy to making a movie - plot, character, story, tautness, drama and suspense.
Okay, What’s Next?
Okay, let’s say now that you have sufficient knowledge to write web copy that will hold your visitor right up to the end. The next step is to build in the pitch that will make the visitor act and buy the product. And you can build up the visitor’s desire and make him act by building a value proposition, by making him an offer he cannot refuse!
And, to build in this value proposition the website owner has to persuasively tell the visitor that if he buys from his website he’s getting a whole lot of benefits, along with a knockout deal on the price too. Once the website describes these benefits, it must then create a sense of urgency by announcing a time-limited offer or limited-visitor offer - something that will make the visitor act immediately on impulse and clinch the deal.
This is one of the oldest sales techniques and it doesn’t fail - provided you have got all the fundamentals of good web copy going and the product you are selling does have some sort of a market - no matter how small the market may be.
A Few Tips & Tricks
1. Always proofread and perfect the copy before it is published.
2. The copywriter must always place himself in the reader’s shoes before he writes the copy. If the copywriter does not get motivated or enthused by his own writing, then he must junk it until he gets it right.
3. The copy must not be written in an “I-am-clever-and-I-know-it” vein. Rather, it must connect with the readers by considering them as equals.
Conclusion
To conclude, you must get your inspiration and energy from these two super quotes: “The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean” by Robert Louis Stevenson, and “Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish” by John Jakes.
Now combine the two and see the wisdom in them and go ahead and write that eyeball-grabbing copy you always wanted to write but didn’t do so because you were waiting for a spark that would egg you on. And we hope this article has given that boost to your imagination. Good luck.
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of Be Successful News, a site that provides information and articles on how to succeed in your own home or small business. besuccessfulnews.com
Previous Articles Highlighter:
Ethical And Legitimate Way For Making Your Website Popular On The Web (1)
Link Popularity is the most important technique of getting higher placement in the Search Engines. Before understanding the importance of building links to your website let's first understand what exactly link building is?
Questions And Answers About An Online Business (2)
You can avoid all the negative things associated with going to the office everyday by investing in an online business of your own. As the term suggests, an online business refers to a business that you start and run right in the comfort of your own home.
Link Exchange Request As A Tool For Web Promotion (3)
Link exchange is one of the most important steps in search engine optimization (SEO). Web sites must be signed up with their service in order for you to exchange links with them.
The Secret Of The One Way Link Maniac (4)
Do not exchange links with directories, the entire purpose is to receive one way links from the directories. Also consider paying for submission to some important directories. By paying a fee directories will include the website in their directories in less than 2-5 days.
Hyperlinks Used In Professional Web Design (5)
Pull down the lists to change the color. To set up a hyperlink you must have at least two pages in your current web, the hyperlinked page and destination page.
Search Engine Optimisation Information (6)
If they can't then chances are people are never going to know about the site because they can't find it. Search engine optimisation can have a massive effect on any website and if used effectively can dramatically increase the traffic going to a site.
How To Recommend An Affiliate Program To Others (7)
People are getting deluged with emails left, right and center all day every day, so for yours to get through and actually get read you need to make it worth reading.
Ways To Make Money With Affiliate Programs (8)
You do not need to have any inventory in order to start the business. Instead you will promote the products of the advertisers and you can earn money if someone orders the products from you.
How Traffic Building Helps Your Profits (9)
Search engine traffic is targeted traffic, and search engine marketing is big business. One of the secrets of the use of search engine optimization in traffic building is to keep it simple.
Your Traffic Tactics That Won't Cost You A Cent (10)
Your page content must be keyword-optimized and this can be achieved though keywords research. After a keywords research, you can include this to your content (make it sure that it has passed the required standard for keyword usage) and make it scattered throughout the content.
Anatomy Of Web Hosting Services (11)
When the website address is entered, the customer gains protection from firewalls that are set up on servers where the website resides. The registration process allows a customer to enter the website just as humans use a key to open a door.
Exploring Typical Features And Services Of Affiliate Tracking Software (12)
For example, one agreement with an affiliate could be to pay 15% of each sale, while another affiliate agreement pays out 10%. In these cases, this feature is key to keeping these transactions separate from one another.
Network Marketing Lead Generation (13)
Follow up is not something that comes easy, especially if there are some rebuffs. There may be unreturned phone calls, emails that will not earn a response and even canned answers that sound something like do not bother me, i will let you know if I want any piece of you.
Make Money With Adwords - Learn How To Earn More Income Online Using Google Adwords (14)
This can work to your advantage because if you do what Google wants they will reward you. In this case the reward of developing a high adwords account quality score means that you pay less for clicks and get higher rankings without paying extra.
Software With Private Label Rights (15)
As such, the market demand for software will always be more than the demand for ebooks. Additionally, an innovative software program that expands upon what previously existed in the marketplace is almost always in demand.
How Testimonials Can Be Your Website's Best Friend (16)
Experienced web visitors will read between the lines. They will notice you have testimonials -- a good sign -- but they will want to know more. For example, Lance Lucrative says you tripled his sales in 90 days.
Make Money On Private Label Rights (17)
If you have a mailing list, this is the fastest way you can make money. Your subscribers trust you (I hope!) and most likely think highly of your products or they would not be on your list in the first place.
Will Free Iphone Downloads Change The Web? (18)
The fortunate news is that as technology progresses there is starting to be some real alternative sites to sites like this. There are a new breed of website emerging, and they will actually provide the free downloads that all the others claim.
Free Internet Advertising Site-Effective Medium To Boost Profit (19)
By giving this opportunity, you are given privilege to present your products and services in an absolutely quick way thus it easily gets attention that your products and services need.
Using Free Reports To Build Your List (20)
Topics: Using Free Reports To Build Your List, internet marketing strategy, internet marketing, free reports Other than pre-selling your products or services and affiliated offers, the other objective of your free viral report should be to build and organize your mailing list.
Newer Articles Highlighter:
A Trade Show Display That Can Stand Alone (1)
Here are some tips for dealing with your customers at a trade show. 1. Give them space Don't pounce on them: Allow them time to browse through your information and greet them with a smile.
Can Your Affiliates Count On You? (2)
This type of thing is great because affiliates get to answer their own questions, and have the opportunity to be around one another and learn more about one another. You can do this in a web-based chat room, via the use of a conference call or even a web based seminar with IM questions or email questions that are being presented to the product owner.
Do I Need Business Web Hosting? (3)
The most important decision you will make for your business is who you select for your business web hosting service with so many to choose from. Business web hosting (BWH) site developers commonly host the Web pages for companies often on a computer in their office.
Narrow Your Focus In Affiliate Marketing (4)
So 'affiliate programs on writing', 'affiliate programs on cooking' and 'affiliate programs on marketing' would be good examples. You can also go to one of the big sites which houses hundreds of affiliate programs from lots of companies - some of whom are well known names that would also add more credibility to your site, if you are looking to add some banners to your pages.
Internet Marketing Via Blogging (5)
Topics: internet marketing, blogging Blogging has become a very popular pastime with many people. While some use it to sound off about anything and everything, the savvy ones among us use it to earn some money - often to supplement their other internet marketing activities.
Should You Manage Your Own Affiliate Program? (6)
Have your eyes set on a good affiliate manager and you will be happy with the returns that you are able to obtain. Robert Paul Williams is the Editor of Work At Home Business Website.
Striking It Rich With Pay-Per-Click Advertising (7)
For those involved, there's money to be made on either side of the road -- as an advertiser and as the site on which the ads are posted. PPC involves advertisers placing bids on the key words they believe their potential customers will use to find products or services like their own.
Contest Ideas For Your Affiliate Program (8)
The numbers of people who are recruited are what the contest can be based upon, and the winner is the person who has recruited the most people to the program that month.
Why Ad Tracking Is So Important (9)
Proper use reflects good results for your company in the long term. The reliability of this program also entails a significant amount of commitment from you, just like the ordinary way of running a business.
How To Grow A Massive Opt-in List Almost Overnight (10)
There are a lot of professional and experienced article writers that can do the writing for you for a small fee. They usually already know what needs to be done.
How To Find Hot Selling Products. (11)
Finding a good product can be difficult because of the demand for the product in the current market and the level of competition that the product will have in the long run.
Embracing Online Marketing: 4 Ways To Reuse Content And Boost Your Book Sales (12)
If you know nothing about blogging, a great place to start is emiDOMAINS. It has everything you need to get a site on the web all in one place.
How To Effectively Distribute Your Juicy Short Reports And Hot Articles (13)
The second thing I do is send SOME of my articles to various ezine owners I know and offer them the chance to publish it. To increase my chances I allow them to replace the link to my site with their affiliate link to my product.
Email Marketing Software Boosts Sales With Landing Pages (14)
Other marketers however, take a more passive approach and write something a bit mellower, like "Learn More" or "Additional Information". Depending on your audience and the product you are selling, you will have to choose an appropriate method.
How To Get High Quality Private Label Rights Articles (15)
3. Article Cycle Rate Another thing to look out for is how often the provider updates the content. The higher the turn over rate of articles, the more options you'll have to choose from when adding new content to your web site.
Multi Level Marketing Is No Longer On Trial (16)
It's not on trial anymore. It's a proven business model, with 25 billion dollars in sales last year alone just in the United States. The list of companies who are now using the Network Marketing - MLM business structure is quite extensive.
Here's Why You Should Write Product Reviews (17)
If you're asking yourself how product reviews can be this important and effective, here are some reasons why you should believe. 1. Better Information While most consumers rely on advertising to get to know about products they are interested in.
Link Building: How To Promote Your Content As Link Bait (18)
You can create link bait by adding your link in the email, so that they can visit your website and get more information. Link bulding though Blogs and articles writing has a viral effect which means that the content will keep on getting posted online and therefore increasing your inbound links.
The Best Way Of Advertising On The Internet (19)
To start with advertising on the Internet, you can create an advertisement that is attractive and interesting and delivers your message clearly. Make it attractive, as the chances of people clicking are more.
Deciphering Web Hosting For Video Sites (20)
In such a case, in order to view the videos, flash player will also be required. Sometimes free web hosting may also be available. But this is not a good idea as your site might keep getting bombarded by a large number of pop-up ads.