AMA: Web Designers, Your Web Copy Sucks

[Brian C.]

Web Designers,

How do you feel about the thread's title? Effective? Provoking? Maybe even a bit arrogant?

If you clicked on this thread because of the title - fantastic. Why? Because if you've made it this far, you've been converted.

That's right. You are a conversion. You see, I wrote that title with intention. To me, it's what is considered "web copy." And there's reasoning behind every word, punctuation, capitalization, etc. Everything has a meaning.

Now why would I want to provoke a reaction in web designers?

Because if you design websites, I want you to read & frequent this thread. I really do. It can genuinely benefit you, your clients, and essentially anyone involved in web design. I partner and write web copy for several web design companies, such as @Fox and his team, and have studied under copywriting legends, such as @SinisterLex . So, I'd like to think I can add a bit of value for you web designers.

But, it's not about me. It's about you. Your web copy for your website. If you've ever created, designed, or developed a website, you probably have used some form of web copy yourself. Otherwise, you'd have a website with just graphics. To this day, most that I've seen still use words. For some, those words have worked wonders. For others, not so much.

My plan over the course of this thread is to share my experience and expertise in web copywriting. I'll explain how to improve your web copy, so you can add significantly more value to the websites you design - and charge more too.

I'll do my best to answer all questions and provide consistent updates with tips, tricks, and advice on how to offer more value in web design with effective web copywriting .

Enjoy.

 

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[Javin]

Suggestions on books or anything for a beginner into the world of web copy writing? Been eating, sleeping, and breathing code this past month. I know i'm going to have to incorporate copy writing at some point!

 

[Mr.Donnerhuhn]

Okay, question then:

A lot of modern websites have text sections that are short.....VERY short. Like a very long text block on a modern website is three sentences.

How do you create compelling sales copy with such limited volume to work with?

 

[Brian C.]

Suggestions on books or anything for a beginner into the world of web copy writing? Been eating, sleeping, and breathing code this past month.

These are some of my favorites that'll help give you an edge in copywriting. Ca$hvertising will give you a proper foundation you can begin to build off of, while some of the others will help you better understand consumer/viewer psychology and branding. These aren't "copywriting books" per se, but are rather books on marketing & advertising, which copywriting falls under.

I know i'm going to have to incorporate copy writing at some point!

Absolutely. Better, more effective web copy = Better, more effective website = Better value (for you & your clients).

In the beginning stages, learning web copy is beneficial. You'll begin to understand the consumer/target audience that much better, and you will actually understand the psychology behind your written content. You'll learn what works and what doesn't and how to write for effect & results. As you scale your web design business, it might be in your interest to outsource the web copy to someone who specializes in web copywriting. Just more value you can add to your clients' sites.

 

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[Javin]

View attachment 13937 These are some of my favorites that'll help give you an edge in copywriting. Ca$hvertising will give you a proper foundation you can begin to build off of, while some of the others will help you better understand consumer/viewer psychology and branding. These aren't "copywriting books" per se, but are rather books on marketing & advertising, which copywriting falls under.



Absolutely. Better, more effective web copy = Better, more effective website = Better value (for you & your clients).

In the beginning stages, learning web copy is extremely advisable. You'll begin to understand the consumer/target audience that much better, and you will actually understand the psychology behind your written content. You'll learn what works and what doesn't and how to write for effect & results. As you scale your web design business, it might be in your interest to outsource the web copy to someone who specializes in web copywriting. Just more value you can add to your clients' sites.

Greatly Appreciated!

 

[Brian C.]

Okay, question then:

A lot of modern websites have text sections that are short.....VERY short. Like a very long text block on a modern website is three sentences.

How do you create compelling sales copy with such limited volume to work with?

Hmmm, this is a bit more indicative of my personal process, but I'll give it a shot.

The majority of the websites I work on are minimalist - kind of like you mentioned. More graphics, less written content. I think this trend will continue for quite some time, especially given the push towards mobile optimization. Clean sites are what works, and despite industry recommendations that long copy is more effective than short copy, I think it's important to keep web copy concise & engaging. You only have moments to attract a reader. For them, it's as simple as dragging a mouse a centimeter to the right and hitting an "X." It's not like direct-mail or a sales letter they have to physically dispose of.

I play off the design when writing web copy. Design comes first, then web copy is inputted accordingly. Most themes, designs, etc. have default text content already, so I often get a word count based on that, and try to match it. I'll write copy down, and edit and edit and edit until I get close to the respective word count. I'll eliminate unnecessary articles, words, use punctuation to express points instead of words, re-arrange, etc. Basically anything that gets the word count down.

This is more of what I consider "wordsmithing," but I hope this answers your question.

 

[Brian C.]

What Do You Want Your Tone to Be?

When I work with web designers, I often have an opportunity to speak with their respective clients. I ask their clients questions in regard to marketing/branding strategy, and then gradually move toward specific copywriting strategy. There's logic behind this line of questioning, and I'll expand on it below.

But whenever I ask the aforementioned bold question to a respective client, I almost always receive the same answer:

"Professional."

9 times out of 10, at least. And it makes sense. For the most part, businesses genuinely want to be perceived as professionals, not amateurs. Giving off an amateur vibe can be the kiss of death. Lawyers, Real Estate Investment firms, technical writers, etc. If their tone is off, they (and the site) lose all credibility.

But what does a "professional" tone really entail?

When a client tells me they want their tone to be "professional," I take it as meaning two things:

(1) They want their content (actual words) to be professional. They want to appear as experts in their field, and want their content to be indicative of their industry expertise. They want their grammar to be perfect. After all, whose going to hire a lawyer who doesn't know the difference between (there, their, and they're?)

(2) They want their voice to appear professional. Not a "voice" you hear at a bar or NASCAR race, but a "voice" you hear at one of their industry-wide seminars.

The issue with the word "professional" is that it can encompass so many things. If I attempt to write in a "professional" tone, I make assumptions as to what "professional" means for that individual brand/business. But remember when I said there is logic behind my line of client questioning? Well, you see, I already knew the answer to the tone question before it was ever asked.

When it comes to web design and web copy, I like to understand the marketing strategy behind our clients first. I like to know how they view themselves, who they view themselves as, what they believe in, why they do what they do, etc. I like to understand them on a personal level, so I can effectively communicate and advocate for their business with my web copy.

Capturing a client's voice is arguably the most important aspect of web copy for web design. It's what attract readers. It's what keeps them reading. In this day and age, readers can both consciously and subconsciously detect authenticity.

Take someone who says: "I'm sorry." Chances are, you can detect by their tone whether they're being genuine or not.

While the actual words will matter in your web copy, it's how those words are said that's most important.

 

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[ApparentHorizon]

Web Designers,

How do you feel about the thread's title? Effective? Provoking? Maybe even a bit arrogant?

I clicked only b/c I'm in this space.

If you clicked on this thread because of the title - fantastic. Why? Because if you've made it this far, you've been converted.

That's right. You are a conversion. You see, I wrote that title with intention. To me, it's what is considered "web copy." And there's reasoning behind every word, punctuation, capitalization, etc. Everything has a meaning.

But now...I feel so used

j/k

How do you handle situations where, what the client wants is going to impact them negatively?

 

[Brian C.]

I clicked only b/c I'm in this space.

That's the idea

But now...I feel so used

j/k

How do you handle situations where, what the client wants is going to impact them negatively?

This question seems to come up a lot in copywriting, namely web copy, so I'm glad you asked it @ApparentHorizon

For the most part, our clients trust our expertise. The "good" ones do anyways. They give us free reign to produce the best site/copy we possibly can. It's in our best interest to do so. But as you mentioned, there are some clients who want their site done according to their wants/personal preferences - for better or worse.

If I know "their way" will negatively influence their results, I suggest it to them. Not tell, but suggest.

"You know Bob, using a "you" focus in your "about me" has produced better results for my clients in the past. Perhaps this is something we may want to reconsider going forward."

As a web copywriter, I don't tell anyone to do anything. I really don't. I don't tell readers to go out and buy a product/service. I suggest it to them. They make their own choices based on their own free will. Working with a client is no different. I'll present my case as best as possible, and will leave them to make the choice (if they're hellbent on making it).

In copywriting, marketing, advertising, etc. testing is the most effective way of determining what works and what doesn't. So, I like to give my clients the benefit of the doubt. If they want something done a certain way, we'll do it that way. We'll test it. We'll give it a shot.

Based on the response, we know whether or not it was an effective approach. From there, we can try the alternative.

But again, I rarely run into this. When I do, it's usually for smaller, lower-paying clients.