Does your website copy make you cringe? If you’re shouting ‘yes’ then you’re not alone.
Many freelancers, sole traders and owners of small businesses set up their websites in a panic. In their haste to get so many tasks ticked off ahead of their launch, the words on their website that persuade potential customers to take the next step and buy from you – the all-important copy – become an afterthought.
If you often wince when talking about your website or apologise for what’s on it (and wish you’d got around to updating it) that’s not good. But if you avoid sending potential customers to your website and it’s costing you business – that’s a serious problem.
And if you don’t know how to fix the issues yourself (so you keep putting it off) then you may need a copywriter’s help.
Why does your website copy make you cringe?
1. It doesn’t sound like you
If you’ve never written anything for a business website before it’s easy to fall into the trap of writing in a style that’s too formal. With a vocabulary and structure that sounds like you’re reading from a textbook and packed with industry jargon.
Or perhaps you hurtled in the opposite direction and your words are too informal, with colloquialisms or inappropriate words that come across as unprofessional.
When you wrote your website copy you may not have considered how you wanted to sound to the reader. And how to walk that fine line between conversational and chatty. Your brand’s personality needs to be consistent in all of your marketing including your website, social media and newsletter to create an authentic brand voice.
If the words on your website sound robotic, boring or unprofessional and don’t connect with you then they won’t connect with your audience!
2. It was written in a rush
It’s easily done. You needed a website to launch your business so you hired a web designer to make it look good but you forgot about the words. You hadn’t thought about or budgeted for a copywriter so you hastily wrote a few paragraphs yourself or cobbled something together from your social media posts, complete with spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes. And you don’t even want to think about the repetition, contradictions and factual errors that you didn’t pick up on.
You intended to write a proper version later but you never got around to it with so many other tasks to do to run and grow your business.
3. It’s out of date
You used a copywriter to write your website back in the day but that was (gasp!) five years ago and so much has changed in your business since then. You’ve introduced new products, new services and different ways of working. You’ve even discovered a new target audience but your neglected website doesn’t reflect any of these changes. You have so much more to tell people about how you can help them and why they should buy your product or use your service.
4. It’s too long-winded
You wanted to let everyone know what your business is all about so you gave them everything. Including the kitchen sink. At best, your words could be described as thorough. At worst? Well, rambling and a stream of consciousness spring to mind. Concise and clear copy is the way to go when writing for your website. People don’t have much time so you need to get to the point quickly.
5. There aren’t enough words
Your website has lots of lovely images and the design looks great. But where are the words? Apart from a header and a few sentences on your homepage, there’s nothing to explain to visitors what you do and why they should work with you. Short, to-the-point copy is great but not at the expense of being clear or giving the reader all the information they need to make a buying decision.
What’s the answer to your website copy worries?
The priority is to restore pride in your website so you’re delighted to direct people to it. And the best way to do that is to rewrite the copy. With the right words in place, you’ll want to shout about your website from the rooftops.
How I can help improve your website copy
Book a Website Copy Review and I’ll assess up to 5 pages of your website copy to work out how to address your visitors’ needs better and persuade them to take action. You’ll get a 2-page report packed with quick copy fixes and ideas to improve your tone of voice, structure and layout. I’ll give feedback on your calls to action and suggest keywords and how to convert your visitors into customers. Learn more.
I can write original, bespoke copy for your website as part of a Revamp Copywriting package or I can proofread and edit your copy with a Refresh Copywriting package.
If you prefer to do it yourself, I can teach you how to improve your website copy in a one-hour one-to-one Copy Coaching Call.
Email me to find out more about any of these options or to book.
Free resources to improve your website copy
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