Writing Solid Web Copy
Whether you are authoring a blog or copy for a web site there are some things that make writing for the web unique. People reading on the web, whether on a lap top, iPad or other device typically scan as opposed to reading every word. #webcontent, #blogtips Share on XBecause of this, organizing the copy in an easy to scan or read format is key to good web copy. Designers lay out beautiful graphics and images only to fill the page with barely-thought-out-not-so-strategic copy. Keywords, links and catchy header copy are just some of the opportunities to engage your web site visitor and lead them down the path to conversion to lead and a closed sale.
Below are some basic rules of thumb for authoring effective web copy:
- Create a keyword strategy for your site and implement it.
Solid strategy typically uses your top organic and paid keyword terms in your headers and key paragraphs. Bulk up your site with your keywords in a natural way. Artificial will not play well with Google. Better yet, create blog posts about your core business and you will naturally fill your site with keywords. In other words, be yourself professionally and tell other about your day, your project, your new customer. Write copy that reflects what… Share on X Listen to how your customers talk about the problems you solve for them. Ask your clients how they talk about your products and services. Use the words they are using in your copy. - Write marketing copy, not just straight facts.
Web copy needs to compel people to read it. Create stories, emotional connection – facts are necessary but draw them in with some your stories and happenings. - Include links to relevant areas within paragraphs
Don’t bounce visitors all over, but do what makes sense to navigate the consumer to what they need and where you want them to go. - Chunk copy into small bites.
Online readers scan pages looking for topic headers that interest them. - Add short descriptive headers to key and large paragraphs.
For example, this article is about writing for the web and the the top header is Create a keyword strategy for your site and implement it. - Edit down copy to the fewest words possible.
Use pointed adjectives and be short on prepositional phrases. Say your points as directly as possible. - Use your spelling and grammar checker.
Nothing damages a writer’s credibility more than a spelling or grammar mistake. In general write for a 5th grade reader, but make your grammar sharp. You can use casual or very formal language – use a voice that matches your reader. - Make sure calls to action are consistent, visually appealing and in easy to click areas so that the visitor can respond quickly and easily.
- Each page should have a minimum of 700-900 words.
Current Search Engine Optimization standards demand longer content. If that sounds overwhelming, lean towards the curation of other’s content. For example, cite an article by and industry expert and include your commentary. You can also have a colleague guest post on your site. Remember videos and images can be a post. Provide a photo essay of your best work or a recent success. - Give the search engines at least a month to index your new pages.
Hire an agency to monitor the success of your content, or study your visitor activity stats on Google Analytics yourself. doing this will provide you opportunities to delete or change copy that is not working and add more of what is.
Give a few of these tips a try and let me know how it goes. Happy Writing!
Need help with the content on your site or another marketing project?
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Email Marketing List Building
Building Your Email List
Upon program launch, every email marketer faces the decision as to how they will acquire or build an email list of recipients. A solid email marketing strategy includes a thoughtful creative strategy based on your target market, and an equally thought out list acquisition or building strategy.
Purchase a List
An email list investment has to be measured against forecasted return on the list. In other words, spending is rarely but sometimes worth it, if the list quality is high. Testing a list by buying small segments at first is recommended to mitigate your risk with a new list broker. The list search requires time and research, so choose carefully and talk to list holder references, get 3 bids, you know the drill. Email send companies are very picky about non organically grown lists. Therefore, know your sender’s list policies before you decide your list route. The reason is with new list broker, “you never really know what you are going to get”. The addresses on many acquired lists can be old. Ask how the list was opted into to understand the list quality.
Make sure the seller has regular list scrubbing policies and an opportunity for getting your money back if the list quality is not what was promised. A very conservative approach is to “resubscribe” invite to the subscribers to make double sure (thus “double opted in”) that they want to hear from your company. This may shrink a list but a small and mighty list (mighty = high responding) is much better then an expensive to mail to large list that yields low results.
We don’t generally recommend you ever buy a list. The risk is high when you do so, and it is much better to build a list organically. Here is what we mean:
Build a List Organically
Another way is to build a list of loyal, opted in email recipient. Do this, one by one, via your online campaigns like search marketing, web site sign ups, blogs and other social media efforts. Take advantage of the many traditional media opportunities to collect addresses. Direct mail lead cards, trade show booth sign ups and retail location Point of Sale (POS) collection can all be great means of collecting email addresses. Lastly, activate your customer service and sales teams on board to collect email addresses as feverishly as they collect postal mail addresses.
A Note about Deliverability
Deliverability is the measured value of emails that are actually delivered to an inbox. If you are spamming inboxes and your ISP is onto it, they can “blacklist” you or prevent your emails from reaching their members. You want ISPs to “like” your brand and deliver your emails to your customers that reside within their ISP. A positive deliverability reputation is paramount to ongoing success in email marketing. Deliverability is risky game, even when you know exactly who you are mailing to. Consider that you have one chance to gain a good reputation with ISPs and if you blow that chance getting black listed is not fun and even always possible to recover from. Sometimes, waiting a few months to build your own organically grown list, instead of the dollars acquiring a list is a safer route.
Whichever route you travel, you are sure to enjoy great cross sell, branding and offer results with email marketing. For more information about our email marketing and email drip campaigns, set up a time to chat with us here.
Email Marketing’s Bad Rap
Email marketing gets a bad rap at times from social media gurus as an outdated medium whose retirement has come. Not so fast, I say, especially given a recently updated MailChimp authored article that lists some pretty compelling statistics. People still open email and many click though to “hear all about it”. What are you saying and offering this willing audience?
I will qualify this data by saying actual conversion to sale data is not included, which is key to marketing ROI success, but the data is compelling nonetheless. Design a solid closing plan for email leads, and email becomes a major, predictable source of income for most types of companies.
Arts and Artists, Government, Hobbies, Photo and Video, Religion and Sports categories have over 25% open rates – 1 in 4 people you send an email to within these categories will open it! Think of it, likely 5 out of every 100 recipients of Hobby Lobby email will click through on the offer. Email is not a secondary marketing medium but central for these categories. You can view the full MailChimp report here.
We all know, getting people to click an email, depending on what you are trying to compel them to do, or tell them about, is not an easy task. It takes copy, image, link, lay out and overall design strategy. So if these industries, even just going by the Mail Chimp data, are indicators for success in these industries, I would say that email is not up for retirement but a promotion. There are opportunities to communicate effectively via email, whether you are sharing information that is useful to existing customers, or passing a special offer along.
Please post any compelling recent data you have seen for email. Thoughts?
Brand + Direct Response = One Team
Can brand and direct response marketers work together to grow the bottom line? Can brand awareness be measured with direct response style digital campaigns? I think yes.
Digital media keeps marketers honest. There is either engagement or there is not. Let’s say your “digital media campaign” consists of display (measure click throughs), email marketing (measure delivered, opens, clicks and possibly completed landing page forms), paid search (measure impressions, clicks, time on landing page, completed forms). Okay. Also Facebook – a paid media spend, sponsored story. Are you with me?
5 Small Business Web Site Content Ideas
The challenge of applying corporate digital strategy in a small business environment is typically time and money. There are no dedicated staff to write a blog or white paper, even if those things are highly crucial and valuable to the most basic online presence. Below are some solutions to this challenge to try. A web site without dynamic content is like being a font size 8 on the last page of the phone book. Not very effective. Hopefully these ideas will help: