Digital Graffiti: Web Copywriting for Champions

The rules of the game have changed! Learn why engaging copywriting can hook your visitors up!

Hello folks! It is a real pleasure to welcome you back to the page of the one and only Rock Steady Blog and share some marketing insights that can help you become (wildly) successful in business. I hope you enjoyed my last entry that gave you some tips on how to profile your audience and why it is mandatory that you do so. Today, I will focus on how you should deliver your content the way marketing rock stars do it. Just read on to find out how to engage your web visitors and how to avoid the ‘click away’ scenario, the disastrous bounce rate, and the ensuing lack of interactivity. Hey ho, let’s go!

Once you have figured out all the variables that go in your business equation, it is high time you presented your company to the rest of the world. Basically, this is the time when you have to sit down, define or re-define your concepts, and write the content for your website. For some people, this is a piece of cake. For others, this is an insurmountable quest. Hence, they prefer to hire professional copywriters and get content creation out of the way. Attention! If you fall into the second category and you prefer to hire somebody to do the copywriting job for you, be careful! Even pros tend to make mistakes as some of them are still stuck in the Web 1.0 age and they are really having a hard time adapting to the post Web 2.0 years. A certain category of professional marketers and copywriters are still doing stuff that comes straight out of marketing or PR textbooks, published in 2003. In fact, those traditional marketing diehards are not hard to spot. By their corporate, distant, and extremely formal copywriting, which leaves no room for creativity and it stifles interactivity, ye shall know them. Unfortunately, most of the times, elaborate business writing will get you nowhere. Still, I should make it clear from the very onset that copywriting and content creation largely depend on the type of company you are running and the type of industry you are in. Nowadays, however, copywriting for business obeys the maxim, simple is best.

Often, people make a critical mistake: they try to present their ideas using abstract notions or complex vocabulary. Hence, the content of their website loses the luster of amicability and comprehension. Whereas there is nothing wrong with demonstrating a superb command of your language skills, unfortunately, people prefer to indulge in reading information that is easily digestible and comprehensible. Hence, try to use simple language. The more straightforward you are, the better. Do not try to use complicated and intricate metaphors in order to express yourself or convey your messages. Be as genuine as possible. Avoid using long sentences and complex grammar structures. They may create a sense of vagueness or ambiguity and people might misunderstand you. Bear in mind that the type of industry you are in influences the way you write and structure the content of your website. If you are in the book publishing business or the banking sector, you have to stick to the formal code. Being colloquial will not help. Yet, if you are selling oysters or clams, being poetic will get you nowhere. Consider the type of industry you are in and then figure out whether you are allowed to transgress the codes of formality and be light and easy-going. If you are a member of a small startup, and you decide to go totally corporate, you might be perceived as hypocritical and superficial. Hence, be careful what you put on your website.

Regardless of the fact whether you are a huge corporation, or a small startup, follow the rule of 2011: ‘Distant goes out, social comes in!’ Try to be as amicable as possible and this palpable sensation should be omnipresent. Literally. Be as informative as possible and attempt to be as open and engaging as you can. Make sure you write crisp and short sentences. Never forget to show your own personality. A website that displays content devoid of character, has no soul, let alone a distinctive, creative pulse. It does not attract attention, hence, it is not memorable. Forget all the cliche words, which some marketing and PR gurus such as David Meerman Scott have dubbed ‘gobbledygook’. Indeed, terms such as ‘innovative’, ‘creative’, ‘pioneering’, ‘unique’ (my personal favorite), ‘scalable’, ‘groundbreaking’, etc are simply barren. Those words have been so overused that they have become devoid of any meaning. If you want to use any of those, try to find a substitute. Or try using them in small doses.

At the end of the day, I would like to leave you with a few tips to consider before penning the content of a website, the promo text for a product, or the description of a service:

• People have busy lives. Do them a favor: do not write two or three pages in order to introduce or describe your company. Try to be as succinct as possible. Synthesize all your information in pithy paragraphs that are informative and easy to read;
• Forget intricate language. Go simple. It is best;
• Avoid using gobbledygook. It makes you look highly unoriginal;
• Flawless grammar and spelling are your new best friends;
• Write catchy texts that embody the personality of your company and make you memorable;
• Consider the context and figure out whether you can go informal or you should stick to official business writing;
• Be informative and write things of value that matter to people. Users might be looking for your pricing section or they might be interested in checking out your portfolio. Do not give them ten pages of your company history, instead;
• Proofread, proofread, proofread;
• Be amicable;
• Have fun!

Are you afraid of writing and content creation? If you are not convinced that you are up to the task, you can hire a professional copywriter. Nonetheless, make sure this copywriter operates within the framework of the tips listed above. Otherwise, this will not be a very good investment. If you are more determined than ever that writing is your cup of tea, then sit down, get inspired, and start rolling! I am confident you can rock this one! Do not forget to stick around as we have a special treat for you. We are going to discuss branding for business! Yes, yes, just subscribe to our rock steady feed, follow us on Twitter, or join us on Facebook to receive the red hot article that is going to help you get your business branded! Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this one!