Tips for writing awesome web content

It is a common mistake.

Even seasoned web writers pull it off.

When writing your web copy, who do you think about?

Can you imagine a potential client reading your text? And do you think about what makes him or her click?

That’s what most web writers do.

They treat their website visitors like human beings who like to read.

They treat their web visitors like print readers.

But that’s wrong. Completely wrong. Because web copy is totally different from print copy.

The web copy is scanned. Or take a look. Do not read.

Do you want to write better web content?

Visitors to your website are looking for information or products. They make quick decisions without thinking.

So how can you persuade web visitors to take action if they don’t read your text?

Let me explain…

Here are 9 tips for writing persuasive copy for the web.

Clever?

1. Treat your website visitors like wild animals
Visitors to your website behave like wild animals (source: Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox).

They are searching for information or a product to buy, much like a hungry panther searches for its next meal.

When a panther sniffs out a scent trail, it quickly decides: will the scent trail lead to a good meal? And will it be an easy catch?

Visitors to your website consider the same two things: Does your website offer what they are looking for? And can they find it easily?

A hungry panther doesn’t like to waste time catching a meal. And your website visitors don’t want to browse your website for long minutes to find the product they’re looking for. They want to find it quickly.

Just as the panther makes a quick decision on whether or not to follow a scent trail, your web visitor quickly decides whether or not your site is useful. So if your site looks complicated with many options to choose from, they click through to another website.

Web visitors quickly glance at your web page before guessing whether they are in the right place or not. They don’t need to know for sure. They just want to make a quick decision.

If your website visitors only look at your website, how do you get your message across?

2. Put your most important information first
Writing for the web is completely different from writing an essay or an article.

An essay might go like this: First, explain what you are going to discuss. Then present an overview of the literature. Next, discuss; and finally draw your conclusion. The most important point you make is in the conclusion, at the end of your essay!

On web pages you have to do the opposite: your most important points always come first.

An example: you are looking for a new red three-seater sofa. When you come to a website you want to see sells sofas. And second, you want a search box so you know you can quickly find what red three seater sofas look like.

Or let’s say you’re looking for a copywriter for your website. Perhaps you are looking for someone local, so you need to see a copywriter based in Manchester, who is close by. Or maybe your writer needs to understand medical terminology, so you like to see a title like Writing for the Medical Industry.

The most important information for visitors to your website is often a simple statement of what you do. Once they understand what you do, they’ll want to know some important details. And then maybe you’d like to know some background information.

Journalists call this way of writing the inverted pyramid. In news articles, the most newsworthy information comes before the details and background information. Even if you only read the first paragraph of a story in the newspaper, you still get the big picture.

It is the same on your website. Your customers want the big picture first. Basically: What do you do? Or what can you do for them?

3. Don’t try to be clever or creative
On the web it’s rare for a reader to hang on to every word you write. He does not have time. He is in a hurry because he could check other scent trails (websites) instead of wasting time trying to figure out what you do.

Simple statements often work best.

[W]hen I look at a web page, it should be obvious. Obvious. self explanatory. ~Steve Krug.

Clever wording requires people to think. And asking people to think doesn’t work on the web because web visitors are hunting, they don’t have time to think. So keep your web copy as simple as possible.

Write like you’re writing for a 12-year-old because that makes your copy easy to follow. And be careful with jokes unless you’re absolutely sure your target audience will understand them.

4. Write for scanners
How many people read web pages?

Hardly anyone!

[What most web visitors do] it’s glancing at each new page, scanning some of the text, and clicking the first link that catches their interest or vaguely resembles what they’re looking for. -Steve Krug

Research suggests that only 16% of people read web pages word for word. Most people scan. (source: Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox).

How can you write for scanners? A checklist:

Does your title communicate what it is about?
Does your image title communicate a sales message?
Do your subheadings summarize your key points?
Do easy-to-scan bullet points reduce verbiage?
Your web visitor is looking for information or products. Make sure you can understand your most important information just by glancing at your web page.

5. Use familiar words
As web readers, we are hunter-gatherers once again, only this time, instead of scanning the horizon for prey, we scan the pages for keywords. When we see these words, we click, we act. ~Gerry McGovern

Imagine that you want to fly to Bangkok for a vacation and you are looking for a cheap flight. What will you be looking for: a profitable flight, a low fare or a cheap flight to Bangkok?

No one is looking for profitable flights. As the Google Keyword Tool shows, cheap is what people are looking for:

Keyword search results showing that cheap is much more popular than profitable low rate
Most people look for cheap flights
Carewords are the words that people are searching for. We often like to make ourselves sound better than we are. We try to embellish what we do. We try to sound scientific, sophisticated or special. But your web visitor is looking for familiar words, important words, because they are the scent trail that tells you that you are in the right place.

6. Write for bums
Just like the lazy panther looking for an easy catch for his dinner, your web visitor doesn’t want to strain to read your text.

Make your copy easy to read:

Use short paragraphs – four sentences maximum
Use short sentences – twelve on average
Skip unnecessary words
Avoid jargon and gibberish
Avoid passive stress
Avoid unnecessary repetition
Directly target your website visitors: use the word
shorten your text
How short should your text be? Steve Krug recommends getting rid of half the words on each page, and then getting rid of half of what’s left. That may be too demanding a goal, but give it a try. Challenge yourself and keep your text as short as possible.

7. Expect people to land anywhere on your website
People usually read a book from chapter one, through chapter two, three and four, etc.

Now, imagine that people pick up a book and start reading somewhere completely random. Possibly at the beginning of the last chapter, perhaps in the middle of chapter three, or on the last page of chapter one.

So is the web. Most web visitors won’t start reading on your home page. They can reach any of your web pages.

If you don’t know where people land on your website, go to Google Analytics >> Site Content >> Landing Pages. You can see exactly how many web visitors landed on each web page.
If every web page can be a front page, what does that mean?

Each page should be easy to scan
Each page should make it clear to people where they are; and what is your site about
Every page should have a call-to-action that tells people where to go next: read another blog post, sign up for your email newsletter, check out a detailed product description or testimonial, request a quote, or add a product to a shopping cart.
Don’t rely on your navigation bar to tell people what to do next. Include a button or link to guide people to the next step. On every page.

8. Make it easy for hunters to find you
Potential customers are looking for information or products.

How can you help them find you?

Attract potential customers to your website by providing them with useful information. This is how writing for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) basically works:

Answer the questions potential customers ask
Discuss a key theme for each page
Include links to relevant pages on your own website or on other websites
Use phrases and words that your potential customers are searching for
Above all: Be helpful.

9. Make a visual impression
Web copy and web design must work together.

You can’t type your words, you can’t compose your sentences, you can create your bullet points, regardless of how your web page will look.

The visual appeal of your website affects the readability of your text; and it influences whether web visitors can quickly get what it is about.

How to increase the visual appeal of your web copy:

Replace text with photos or videos
Consider different font sizes – think first of people who scan large text
Emphasize quotes from clients (or experts) to add credibility
Play with highlights, bold text, ALL CAPS, or italics
Split a long title into a title with a subtitle
Change paragraphs to bullets
The most important thing: the mess. Reduce noise and add white space. Not only will it make your website easier to read, it will also increase your perceived trust (source: Social Triggers).

The truth about writing persuasive web copy
I’d love to tell you that writing persuasive web copy is easy.

But the truth is, writing simple, useful copy is hard.

Don’t treat your website visitors like academics who love to read challenging and complicated texts. Don’t treat your website visitors like lawyers poring over the fine print. Don’t be long. And don’t brag about your extensive vocabulary.

Instead, make your text as simple as possible.

Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Know who you are and what you do.

If your positioning is clear, it is much easier to stand out on the web and be found. If your message is clear, it’s much easier to create persuasive web copy.

Be clear. Be specific. Be bold.

Want to further improve your writing skills?
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