Have you ever wondered why some websites just draw you in, lure you to scroll through their feed, catch your sight and oh, induce you to buy their product or service once, twice, and even thrice?
Many companies today will agree to the fact that online presence is a basic necessity, no matter what type of website or business you operate. Attracting the right audience through a visually appealing website is one way to snowball your online presence, but the real trump card that can lead to a healthy lead conversion rate is copywriting.
Even the most powerful businesses in the world recognize the importance and benefits of web copy. Practicing the right copywriting techniques for your website that is both informative and engaging, can bear great returns in the long run.
The ability to find the perfect words to tell your company’s story is not an easy task. However, we should never feel shy about giving it a try and here are 5 ways to achieve this feat.
Get Used to Using Vivid Language Often
Let us start with the chocolate-dark colored phone kept on the desk; Shaun picks up the receiver, working his fingers on the keys, “Hello Dominos.” He places an order and minutes later, the doorbell rings and a staffer wearing white gloves delivers the pizza.
Can you imagine this scene?
That is because of specific, vivid imagery details like the chocolate-dark colored phone, working his fingers on the keys, dominos, the doorbell, white gloves, and the pizza. It is quite easy to picture these things right?
The elements of setting – time, place, mood, social and cultural context – are what helps to make copywriting feel real and alive. Vivid writing is expressive and powerful as it forces the viewer to imagine what is going on or what something is like.
In only 44 words, we as a reader can picture the whole scene right from placing the order to getting the pizza delivered at Shaun’s residence.
Here is one more example:
Apple is the master of the vivid art. If you ever saw Apple’s iPhone X ad, you will notice a pure combination of words, animation, and sound that is easily understandable and pleasing to eyes. Creating an image with words is a most powerful technique of copywriting every small business should start practicing.
Write for the Reader who Scans
As high as 79% of web users habitually scan content rather than reading it from tip to tail. Yes, you heard it right, 79%. Now you will understand why content titled “10 ways to lose weight” or “5 simple tips to a glowing healthy skin” are preferred more.
Mark, an editor at Thanksforthehelp, says, “The bottom line is that users do not read much as there is a lot of familiar content available all over the web.” Which is arguably correct.
So how can we keep them engaged?
First, start putting extra effort into penning your headings and subheadings because readers tend to pay more attention to headings and subheadings than the actual content. Engaging copywriting is anything that gives the user a complete idea of what you offer, just by reading the heading and subheadings.
Secondly, make the important sentences bold. Bold text catches attention. It almost works like a heading because it can direct the reader’s attention while they are scanning the content, case study, infographic or anything else.
Even though there are lots of small paragraphs, a user will only need to read the bold words to understand the whole story. Plus, at times you will have sentences you really want to bring into the reader’s sight, but it is not fitting for the heading. In such cases, making the sentence bold is a better option.
Learn how to Activate Mental Triggers
Focus on benefits rather than features. I have seen a lot of copywriting lean towards narrating the features of a product rather than its benefits. This does not help the consumer at all. A consumer tends to make a purchase decision based on what value the product promises to add to their life instead of its features.
You are good with words, the reader might not be. At times, in the pursuit of adding to the asceticism of the product, copywriters tend to add useless jargon that confuses the consumer. Use simple, easily understood language in your headlines so that you can reach a wide audience without appearing to break a sweat. In addition, do not put prospects off before you have even started talking to them.
Give them social proof. When you are talking about how good your product is or seeking the trust of consumers, back up your statements with supporting proof to give yourself credibility. It could be in the form of testimonials, case studies or reviews. People tend to believe what other people think about the product they are wishing to purchase.
Focus on “you,” not “we”
It is essential that you write web copy that speaks to your target audience and not at them. At the end of the day, business is all about the customers. It is thus important that you write copy for any ad or marketing piece in the second person (you, your, yours) but mostly “you.”
For example, do you prefer a copy that says, “Our delivery staff will deliver the pizza within 30 minutes” or “you will be enjoying your pizza in 30 minutes.”
While the first copy focuses on business, the second focuses on the customer interaction and relation. The second sentence feels like someone is having a conversation with you. It is more personal, and thus, more effective.
Exploit your competition’s weaknesses
To write convincing copy, it is essential that you know what differentiates your product from the competition. Once you are able to pinpoint a competitor’s weakness, you must learn how to use it to your benefit.
You must make sure your audience knows and understands why buying your product is a better investment and why buying a competitor’s product should be a big No. Feel free to tear the competition apart with accurate facts in your comparison.
Get started by thoroughly researching your competition and understanding what they offer in terms of products and services. This is how you pave way to better and more effective copy.
