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• Writing effective web copy – easy as pie?

  May 31, 2010No comments

  In the past, most copywriters were employed in advertising agencies or marketing units of companies.  But ever since marketing campaigns became speedier and reached broader audiences through the internet, copywriters have learned to weave their magic for digital media.

  There are myriad ways to reach your target market online. Of course there’s the tried and tested website. Then there’s marketing through email, social networks, blogs, flash ads and banners.  We’ll tackle each on future posts but for now, let’s set the tone. How to write effective web copy? By effective, we mean of course copy that sells. Easy as pie? See for yourself.

  First, get this into your head: creating good copy is a craft, not an art. Your words do not necessary have to possess literary value. They may not be outside the ordinary or original (though you can’t copy word for word)—you just have to convince the readers that they are. There is only one thing that a good copy writer should be: PERSUASIVE.

  Good copy, you see, is a good argument. It makes the reader want to read the next sentence and so on until the end. It makes the reader buy the idea and of course eventually buy whatever product or service that you are selling.  Towards that end, here are some tips:

  1)      Make sure they read your first sentence. The Lead must grab the attention of the reader. Otherwise, well…there certainly are a million other websites to browse through, aren’t there?

  2)      Segue into your next paragraph smoothly and logically. Present your thesis in the last sentence of the previous paragraph and expound on it in the next.

  3)      Verify whatever argument you present.  Never lie. Or worse, plagiarize. If you don’t really consider it cheating, well, think again—it is very easy to countercheck on the web.

  4)      Clinch the sale with a clear call to action.

  5)      A good tagline is a powerful tool. The more concise, the better.

  6)      Know some SEO. With the sheer number of competitive sites online, knowledge and implementation of SEO in web content will give it more chances of getting read.

  It’s important to remember that the Internet is an interactive channel. While reading your copy, the site visitor may click on banners and links, make comments or inquiries, and even purchase—all within a few seconds!  So it’s a must to know your audience, the people whom you want to sell products or services to! Get to know them well and write as if you are talking to them.  Then they will buy you. And they will persuade others to buy you.

  Lastly, don’t be too excited if your copy was effective one time. There are hundreds of copywriters out there looking for new ways to sell ideas, products, and services. So write. Review.  Revise. Because there’s only one way to get better at this craft: practice.  It’s the same way with pies. No one has made a perfect pie at first try. Not even the expert cooks.

  

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