| |
| |
|
Copywriting Information |
|
|
|
Writing Tips for Your Website
Now that your website is up and running, it's time to add content. Fresh content will make your site interesting and keep people (and search engine crawlers) coming back. In order to achieve optimal web success, your site must be informative, relevant and written the way that people read the web. Here's a few tips to get you started. Get to the point--FAST. Just ask internet usability consultant Jakob Nielsen. People don't read the web, they scan. It's not like print, where you can meander your way to the point. Online, you have but a nanosecond to prove you're legit. Nielsen says to use the "inverted pyramid method." for web content. Tell the point first, get to the supporting info afterwards. Find your inner voice. We want to hear you on your website, not a text book or someone else. Get in touch with your real-live human "voice." Hello? Is anybody there? Show us your humanity so we can relate to you. Don't publish anything that you haven't completely written researched or re-worked. Posting text to your website that's meant for the printed page is a no-no. People won't read it, and worse, they'll make bad faces at you. Use the least amount of words for what you have to say. Listen, you're not going to impress us by using big technical words. In fact, when you use words we don't understand--I must say--you look stupid. Why? It's easier to write a story with 3000 words than it is to write the same story in 300. It takes more thought, more planning, more time to extract away the excess. Therefore, the writer who uses less words to convey to same message is clearly the winner. Write to a person, not a group. When you are writing web content especially, write to a person. Pretend like that person is sitting right in front of you and write conversationally. When you write to a person, it draws the reader in and makes you look more human. It's good for connecting and bonding with your reader. Don't talk down to your readers. Though it's true that most of your readers will be reading at the 9th grade level, and your content should be written accordingly, resist the urge to talk down to your audience. Humble yourself. And certainly don't try to appear more knowledgeable with shop talk. If you don't know what your writing about, research it more. Otherwise, your lack of knowledge will be transparent even to a 9th grader. Use small words with the least amount of syllables. This is a basic web content premise. The fewer syllables that you use, the less your web reader has to think to digest your information. Try not to make your user think. Spoon feed the information in the cleanest manner possible so they get your meaning with the least amount of distractions. Don't say "successfully" when "well" will do. As with every rule, there are exceptions. Do not underline to make a point. Underlined words are It is a convention on the web that underlined words are links. It is irritating to click an underlined word when you think it is a link. Do everything possible to keep your visitors from being irritated, and to keep yourself from looking--well let's just say, from looking like you don't know. Don't underline anything unless it is a link. Use bold to accentuate your main points instead. The tips above are by no means exhaustive. There are gazillions of techniques and writing tricks that foster online success. Wise is the web marketer who understands that marketing your business online is a process that can always improve, just like direct sales. Get these guidelines under your belt and you'll be a step closer to winning clients, customers and respect online. Jennifer Ryan of The Marketing Shop is a web promotions and sales expert. Having earned numerous awards, recognition and financial success in sales, Jennifer now sells online for businesses worldwide. Using a variety of tools--web design, copywriting, SEO, pay-per-click and web site conversion enhancement--she creates Websites that Produce?. Visit http://www.the-marketing-shop.com today to sign up for her monthly newsletter (generous with free tips and advice!).
MORE RESOURCES:
Original content improves on-page SEO so copywriting is also an ... - NewDesignWorld (press release)
Copywriting - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How Your $2-an-Article Ghostwriter is Like a Cheap Pair of Pants Web marketers: have you figured out that article marketing is the secret to your success on the web?And did you realize that the more web articles you put into circulation, the more of a web celebrity you'll become, and the more money will come pouring in?So what did you do after you figured this out? Let me guess: You went on Elance.com searching from someone to write your web articles cheap. Writing for People and Search Engines Writing for the search engines is much different than writing in any other medium. Search engines are finicky, but they love text, so you're talking their language. How to Write a Direct Mail Fundraising Letter (Four Tips for Fund Raising Success) 1. Address your reader as a friend, not as "Friend. 3 Steps To Better Sales Copywriting Whether you're wet-behind-the-ears or a seasoned copywriter, your craft will benefit by remembering one thing:You're nothing more than a salesperson.There's an old saying in the "business" that, "a copywriter is a salesperson sitting in front of a typewriter. Why You Should Write To Inform And Not To Sell Advertising is key! Unfortunately most people waste their money on advertising unless they can play by the numbers. Playing by the numbers is simply spending enough money on advertising and saturating the market so much, that percentage wise, enough people will want to see what you have to offer. Some Copy Tips From An Old Hand I have been in the ad game for a long, long time. I have trained hundreds of writers, and I've been responsible for moving of millions £ & $ in product worldwide. How to Hold Peoples Interest throughout those Long Copy Sales Letters People tend to read your ads and sales letters in 2 different ways:1. Word For Word2. Writing Great Website Sales Copy Many small businesses fail because their owners don't pay enough attention to marketing and sales. Part of the effectiveness of a marketing effort is directly related to the sales copy you produce. Professional Copywriting Services - How to Provide Your Own Just because you're running a small business doesn't mean you have to run an amateur business. People judge the professionalism of a small business by many things including: the quality of the product or service offered; the dress code of the sales people; the location and decor of the business premises and; the quality of their written material. Ad Copy - Your 12 Point Inspection! You're ready to launch that new product or promotion, & you're really counting on a piece of advertising copy to come through for you.You're looking for stellar results! And, you're determined to do everything in your power to get them. How To Really Connect With Your Customer In Your Copywriting One of the least talked-about areas in copywriting education is voice. This is probably because it's tough to set general rules for something that's so personal to each of us. Writing Copy for Voiceovers As with any of the performing arts, an effective voiceover begins with a well-crafted script. You don't have to have many years of writing experience to create copy that is both effective and a pleasure for the voice actor to perform. Is Freelance Hiring Right For You? Assume you were faced with the task of hiring a new group of talented individuals to handle a huge account you just landed. Are you up for the task? Or perhaps you have a small job that needs completing but no one on staff can handle the project. Some Important Tips On Proposals And Price Here's a critically important copywriting technique I use when writing sales letters and proposals for our own direct marketing services and for our clients.It's all about "price". Five Sections of Your Copy Guaranteed To Get Read Only about 20% of your copy is going to get read. The rest will simply be scanned. Power Words And Phrases I like to use power phrases when writing sales material. These power phrases add punch to a line or a paragraph and I usually use them to start off a sentence. Real Estate Professionals Need You to Write for Them! Ask yourself these questions:Are you an experienced writer?Do you want to stay at home to write?Do you want to work for yourself?Do you learn new things quickly?Are you interested in a broad number of subjects?Do you feel like you're being pigeonholed with your current writing and you want to branch out?Do you have a flair for marketing?If you answered "yes" to any of these questions - or even better - several, you may have found a new career!It's more important than ever for real estate professionals to market themselves legally considering the laws regarding email and telephone sales seem to change daily - depending on which court is hearing the case. Many experts speculate though that eventually some sort of anti-telemarketing law will be enforced and while it's much more difficult to regulate email, it's still being made more and more difficult to use this form of marketing and sales. Content is King IntroductionA pencil. Yes, a pencil. Stop Chasing Away Customers! Bad Copy is Your Worst Enemy Every day, more and more of us begin new online business ventures, hoping to make a better living or just a little extra on the side. And every day, more and more of us fail. Copywriting FAQs One of the biggest challenges a copywriter faces is to make future clients feel confident in his or her ability. You know you can deliver, but your clients don't know that.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
