In a nutshell, your website copy stinks.
And, when I say “your” I’m talking about the collective you. Don’t worry, I’m not going to make any one of you stand up in the front of the class and pull your site apart.
Word by word.
That’s just wrong. I’d rather not be that elementary school teacher who always singled some unfortunate kid out because she read one too many poorly written book reports and couldn’t take it anymore. Although, can you imagine what reading an endless amount of terrible essays about Tom Sawyer could do to a person?
Now, replace the part about terrible school essays with website copy and take a moment to ponder its effect on a potential customer.
Suddenly, we’re dealing with people who don’t have to read what you’ve written to pay the rent. They can run for the hills as fast as it takes to click a button.
And, that’s exactly what they’re doing.
You’re fighting a losing battle
You’ve only got a few seconds to draw people in once they land on your site. Statistics show that as of 2012 the average person has an attention span of 8 seconds. Goldfish make it to 9. Our ability to stay focused on one thing has devolved to the point that we’re comparing ourselves with pets that get flushed down the toilet after they end up in that big fish bowl in the sky.
This is not good. In fact, it’s more than not good. It’s a disaster for those businesses that don’t make their website content and design a priority.
Stack the deck in your favor
Within all of this doom and gloom, there’s a bright spot. Write compelling copy and put it where it needs to be on your site.
Easier said than done. I know. Here are a few things you can do to make your copy start pulling its own weight on your site.
1) Clearly articulate the why
As soon as someone lands on your site, make sure they know exactly why they are there. Your header should have a tagline with an indication of what you do and for whom. With an 8 second window, the last thing you want is for people to be left guessing.
Create headlines that signify to the reader what differentiates your business from the competition and how it can provide value. Then, continue on with subheads and copy that reiterate your value proposition.
To help you do this, answer these questions:
What is the best attribute of my business? or Why would someone choose my business over another one?
How does my service or business solve a problem for my customers?
What are the benefits to someone using my service or product?
Who is my target customer?
2) Leave the jargon speak to Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory
No one wants to sift through a bunch of technical terms just to try and understand what you are selling. You can be professional without being boring and unintelligible to everyone who hasn’t gotten a PhD in quantitative physics.
Be direct and steer clear of the cliches. You don’t get extra brownie points for cleverness if your audience has no idea what you’re trying to say.
3) Make every word count
There’s only so much real estate on any given landing page, whether that’s your homepage, short form sales page or even an About page. Think about what you need that page to do for you. Sell a product. Gather emails for a newsletter. Whatever it is, each word along with the elements on the page have to be providing value in some way and inspiring people to your call to action.
Cut the crap from your copy. If it doesn’t instruct, inspire or motivate, it needs to go.
4) Content drives design
Know what your message is, how you want to articulate it and all the moving parts that go along with it before you even think about putting your website together. For instance, to make a good decision on a coherent navigation structure you’ll need to know how you want the features and benefits of your services or products framed.
Great website copy works in tandem with great design. Remember the goldfish? Website bells and whistles might appeal to our lizard brains for a few seconds but poor writing and an unclear message will turn people off as soon as they realize why they stopped tapping the keyboard.
The elephant in the room
I realize I haven’t said anything about SEO. It’s important but so is coming up with copy that resonates with your audience. It’s all well and good to get people hopping on your site because all the keywords are in place but if your writing stinks and makes people want to leave before they’ve taken any action, all the SEO in the world isn’t going to help you.
Write compelling copy first, optimize second. Then, test it out and go from there.
How happy are you with your website copy? More importantly, what do your customers think?
I love this post so hard. Most of these are just plain good WRITING advice, no matter what or where you’re writing. People have short attention spans. I know that because I often give a post or website two sentences to win me over. If I’m not pulled in, I leave.
You are so awesome, Amanda! Thanks for the vote of confidence. Yes, some of it seems obvious. Yet, too many people still have a tough time with it.
I’m beginning to think that what’s obvious to us may not be as obvious to others. And we often get caught up in viewing our copy as the writer, not as a reader.
I think you’re right.
Great post and a very timely reminder of the actual point of a website! My new site is still in progress, but I know that my visitors love the copy, especially on the work with me page (which, ahem, you wrote!) partly because they tell me and partly because the number of people signing up to my list is increasing far more than it did before I got you to write the copy! Sometimes it takes a different eye to notice what needs to be written, and a different eye to write it well.
Ah, thanks so much! That’s so great of you to say that.
My site is still a bit of a work in progress as well. Services and products change along with the expectations of your target market. It’s good to stay on top of what you’re trying to do and who you want to benefit from it.
Keep me posted on the new project.
It all comes down to content and marketing, doesn’t it? (So, basically content marketing :D).
As a visitor, I judge each blog by three different things:
1) Content – Like you mentioned, short, simple and sweet. Not too much fluff, presented in an inspiring manner. The content has to “speak” to me.
2) Design – Not too flashy, but yet stylish (I am a minimalist, so I like white colors, but not all consumers are like that). I also like when businesses/blogs utilize various type of media instead of just relying on text for everything.
3) Community – For a business, community is testimonials/reviews. Do I know anyone who has brought this product? What do the users have to say about this business and their product?
Attention span is coming down. 8 seconds is bad. Not just for marketers, but also for us, humans as a species. It is bad for our life, it encourages impatience more often (I blame it all one the web 😛 with instant searches and all).
Anyways, thank you for sharing your insights, Jen 🙂
Thanks so much for stopping by! I like the way you break things up. Looking at a blog or a site by content, design and community is a really good way to do it. The goal is to have all the elements there.
And, it is unfortunate that all our attention spans are diminishing. Too much information.
Another winner here Jen and I was a little nervous when I read your title.
Although my content gets read by many and I have a lot of interaction going on over at my place I wouldn’t say I’m that great with the titles. I just write by the seat of my pants and that’s not a very smart way to go about it wouldn’t you agree! I could be a lot smarter and get even more attention if I just paid more attention. If only right!
What I do when I visit blogs is a lot like what Jeevan does. I’m all about the content mainly but if the site is really gaudy and gives me a headache trying to read the content I just have to leave. Luckily not a lot do that to me but I’ve landed on a few that made me run in the other direction and made a mental note to never go back.
I specifically love blogs that have a lot of interaction going on. But I don’t judge people who don’t because we all started at the beginning. Like my blog was two years old before it started picking up steam only because I didn’t know what it took. Some people just have a slower start so if the content keeps me coming back then I’m a supporter.
I totally get what you’re saying though because this is the way to get in front of people who are looking for what we have to offer. Do better and we’ll be better, that’s my motto.
Thank you Jen for pointing this out to us, way to go girl.
Hope you’re enjoying your weekend and have a fabulous week ahead.
~Adrienne
Adrienne, your blog is absolutely wonderful!
Maybe I wasn’t clear enough (not good on my part) but I’m really talking about the website copy in general not so much the blog. You know when you land on a site and you have no idea what it’s for or whom? When there’s no header that tells you this or headline copy on the various pages that support whatever your value proposition is, it makes it tough for people to quickly key in.
You’re in good shape. Your header is great with a great call to action.