Ask a Professional Copywriter – 10 FAQs on Writing for Websites from Florida Copywriter Susan Greene

Hi, Susan Greene here in Orlando, Florida. At a colleague’s request, I recently met with some students studying copywriting at a Florida university. They were looking for guidance in launching their career and learning their craft.

I noticed that much of the focus for these Florida students was on writing for websites. Clearly, they realize that web copy is among the fastest growing fields for professional writers.

I’ve compiled below a list of 10 questions they asked about web copywriting that I thought others might find of interest too.

In its most basic form, good web copywriting accomplishes two goals: 1) It attracts visitors to the website via search engine ranking, and 2) It motivates those visitors to take action, such as make a purchase, subscribe, become a member, place a call, or request an appointment.

Many websites are impersonal and unfriendly. They’re written almost like a high school term paper or an encyclopedia entry. They lack passion. They don’t convey enthusiasm. And for all those reasons, they fail to connect with their visitors.

Another mistake I often see is the site lacks a call to action. The whole purpose of having a website is to persuade the visitor to make a purchase or take some other type of action.

It’s all well and good to be informative in the copy, but ultimately, to be effective from a marketing standpoint, you need to tell the visitor what you want them to do next, what action you want them to take.

3. Should website copy focus on the features or the benefits of the product or service its selling?

Ideally, it should provide both.

The features describe the product or service, what it is and how it works. The benefits describe how the product or service is good for the customer.

For example, if I were selling a lawnmower, (Keep in mind I know nothing about lawnmowers, so this is purely hypothetical), the features might be that it has 40 horsepower, three stainless steel blades, and a quick-start ignition.

The benefits would then be that this mower is so fast that you will cut your grass in half the usual time. It’s so powerful that even a child could push the mower. The three blades do such a precise job of cutting each blade of grass, that your lawn will look like a Florida golf course. The quick-start feature means you’ll power the mower on the first try every time; no more back-wrenching pulls and false-starts.

See the difference? The features are the descriptive facts. But the benefits are the reasons you reach for your wallet to buy this product.

Write your copy for humans first. After all, they’re the ones who will buy your product or service. Then when you’ve crafted compelling text aimed at your target prospect, look for every opportunity to incorporate your main keywords for that page so that the search engines will reward you with good ranking.

I know my high school English teacher is going to hate my answer, but I believe informal writing is more persuasive. A better way to say it is that you should be conversational in your copy, even friendly.

Ideally, you want to sound like you’re befriending the visitor and helping him to make a sound decision as to whether to buy your product or service. That may mean breaking some basic punctuation rules or using some colloquial phrases and even injecting humor, but all those elements are bound to be more readable than copy written like a term paper (yawn).

7. Before sitting down to write a website, can you suggest any techniques that will help me create good copy?

Of course everyone has their own approach. For me, I think of four basic questions that I need to answer before I can begin writing:

Of course, as a copywriter, I’m biased. I like to think the copy is crucial. But in reality, good copywriting and good design go hand-in-hand. If either one is lacking, your site won’t be effective.

I’ve seen clients put all their money into an elaborate design, and then either use minimal or poorly written copy. The result is a website that doesn’t work, doesn’t meet the objectives its owners wanted.

9. Is it better to have a small website with just a few highly-relevant pages or a large, detailed website?

I vote for a large, detailed website but with one caveat; it must have good navigation. That means the visitor must be able to quickly and easily find the information he or she is seeking.

When people search on the web, they are looking for information. If your site provides a lot of information, it will be better in meeting your visitors’ needs. And it will likely rank higher in the search engines than a smaller, less informative site.

Ideally, you want to dedicate a page to each main topic. Let’s say, for example, that your website is promoting your jewelry business, and you have four main products: necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings. Devote a page to each product, providing all the relevant details.

In writing a page for your website, you want to be sure it’s easy to read. Try using conversational language. And make the copy scannable. How? Keep paragraphs short, no more than five lines each. Break up the copy with subheads. Insert bullets. Include relevant photographs or pictures that illustrate the text.

Finally, be sure to include some sort of call-to-action at the end, whether it’s to buy your product or click to another page.

Do you need help writing copy for your website? Do you need assistance with SEO (search engine optimization) or converting your site’s visitors into customers?

Contact me, Susan Greene, today. I’m a professional website copywriter in Orlando, Florida, and I can help make your website meet your objectives.

I can be reached at Susan@SusanGreeneCopywriter.com or call 407-578-5528.

Ask a Professional Copywriter 10 FAQs on Writing for Websites

Ask a Professional Copywriter

10 FAQs on Writing for Websites