Website Copy 101
The term “copy” is used a lot when referring to marketing and website development. There is often some confusion surrounding the topic, especially when it comes to the difference between copy and content. It is important for small business owners to understand the difference and incorporate both copy and content into their business marketing strategies.
Copy refers to the words you use to get your message across to your audience. It is the written communication needed to persuade an audience to take action. Some examples include Google ads, email newsletters, website landing pages, and brochures.
Content is a broader term that refers to how information is communicated to your audience, as well as the medium used, such as a blog or video. All copy is considered content, while not all content is considered copy. Content comes in a variety of forms, like e-books, social media postings, blog posts, or videos. Copy is the actual written message that compels your audience to utilize your services.
At Cam-Payne, we spend a lot of time working with our clients to curate website copies that are relevant, informative, and generate the greatest number of lead conversions. Your copy is what sells your business and peaks customer curiosity. Content includes your copy, as well as the package that your copy is delivered in, be it a blog article, brochure, or website landing page.
If you are looking to improve your website copy, keep reading!
Your Website Copy: 7 Questions to Ask Yourself
When our clients work with our copywriter to improve their web copy, there are several questions they get asked. In this blog, we’re sharing the top questions we ask clients to help them improve an existing copy or create a new copy that adequately represents their business and services.
You can utilize these questions to improve your existing copy on your own, or you can reach out to a copywriter if you want in-depth, hands-on assistance from an expert that can take your copy to the next level.
If you are a business owner, ask yourself the following questions to improve your copy:
1. Who is Your Perfect Client?
Your target audience is likely something you have thought a lot about as a business owner. If you want to narrow in on targeting ideal clients for your business, it is best to think of a specific client that represents your target audience as a whole. This is easily done by creating what is known as an avatar.
Creating an avatar will help you focus on an individual representation, rather than a crowd representation of your target audience. Focusing on an individual, or an avatar, will help you keep the language of your copy conversational.
As you create your copy, you will want to keep the idea of this avatar in mind. That way, the tone and style of your copy mimics that of a natural conversation. Conversational language tends to yield the best results when it comes to conversions, as it makes your message more relatable and easier to digest.
2. What Kind of Results Do You Want?
Knowing what kind of outcomes you are trying to reach is another important consideration when it comes to your copy. What do you want from your audience? What are you hoping to gain from potential clients? Ask yourself these and other questions to determine the actions you hope your future clients take.
Once you have narrowed in on the outcomes you are looking for, you will have what is known as your call-to-action, or CTA. A call-to-action must be clear, concise, and guide your copy creation. Some examples of call-to-actions include:
- Call Today
- Join Now
- Subscribe
- Claim Your Free Trial
- Find Out More
3. What Can You Offer?
Once you have created an avatar and narrowed down your CTA, you will want to consider the results and benefits of your product or service. Your ideal client is only going to take action if they know what is in it for them. Through your copy, you will need to convey the value of your services. Offering a sneak peek, a special, or a guarantee is a good way to build trust and help your clients gain insight into your services.
4. How Are You Grabbing Attention?
With a clear call-to-action to guide your copy, you will then want to focus on grabbing the attention of potential clients. Even if you have a great CTA or can offer valuable, discounted services, you will need to capture your audience’s attention to kick off the process of generating a lead or sale.
The best way to do this is with an attention-grabbing headline. The best headlines will convey the benefit or services your client is most interested in.
5. What Makes Your Company Legitimate?
Providing proof of legitimacy is important for any business owner. This is especially true when it comes to your website copy. Since your website copy is sometimes the first introduction that potential clients have to your business, you will need to convey proof that you are a legitimate business with a track record of positive results. Some different ways you might provide proof of your legitimacy include:
- Reviews or Testimonials From Past Clients
- Press or News Releases
- Awards & Certifications
- Website Badges from the BBB or Other Organizations
6. Is Your Copy Easily Readable?
One of the best ways to format your copy is to focus on readability. Proper paragraphing, subheadings, lists, and other formatting techniques will make it easy for your audience to get the gist of your business without having to filter through a bunch of blocky text.
7. Is Your Call-to-Action Obvious?
Even though we touched on your CTA in step 2, it is so crucial to the effectiveness of your copy that we are going to address it again. As you go through the steps and craft your written website copy, you will want to make sure your CTA still stands out.
A contact form is a great way to ensure that your CTA is clear. You can also add more buttons to your website page that direct potential clients to a contact page or directly link to a business phone number. While you don’t want to overwhelm your website with CTA’s, you will want to make sure that those visiting can quickly and easily get ahold of you directly, no matter where they are on the website.
Need Some Help with Your Website Copy?
At Cam-Payne, we have noticed that it is common for clients to struggle to put into their mission statements and company intentions into words. Business owners wear many hats — and “writer” isn’t always one of them. Luckily, we have a copywriter that can help refine your website copy.
Working with our team is a great way to take the stress off of curating website copy on your own. We will work with you to guarantee that the message you want your clients to receive comes across clearly and professionally. Here are just some of the advantages you will enjoy when you work with our copywriter
Save Time
As your business has grown, so has your list of responsibilities. It can be overwhelming to add copywriting to an already inflated to-do list. This is when utilizing a copywriter can come in handy. You will save a great deal of time by hiring our copywriter to curate a copy that will represent your business adequately.
Enjoy Stress-Free Website Optimization
Our copywriter will ensure that your copy is optimized for SEO purposes. This means that your copy will include keywords and phrases relevant to your business. You can also count on your copy being free of spelling and grammar errors, in addition to proper formatting. Our copywriter will interview you, work with you to come up with a copy that matches your business mission statement, and see to it that your final copy is polished and professional.
Professional & High-Quality Content
It can be difficult for business owners to not only find the time to write their website copy, but also to describe their business in written form. Hiring an outside source to write your website copy puts this task in the hands of a professional that has worked with multiple business owners in different fields. Relying on the expertise of our copywriter can take your website copy from ‘just okay’ to outstanding.
Contact Cam-Payne now to get started with professional and personalized services for your website!
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