5 Common Website Content Mistakes Even Smart Business Owners Make
Things to Avoid When Writing Your Web Copy
There are three fundamental pieces of information every good business owner knows in depth before creating their website content.
These are: your audience, your product or service, and how your product or service uniquely solves your customer’s problem.
Identify these key things and you are well on your way to writing great copy that will convert browsers to buyers.
However…
Once you get writing, it can be easy to get carried away.
After all, a website doesn’t generally have the same word count limitations as print. Paraphrasing Winston Churchill, copy should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the details and short enough to keep your audience’s attention.
But what does that mean?
the effectiveness of your copywriting is subjective until you get objective feedback through sales.
This is why it can be so tricky to know exactly how much to include and what to leave out.
Here are 5 common mistakes to watch for when you come to write your copy.
Assuming it’s the audience’s fault if they don’t understand
I knew a dog breeder who got frustrated that browsers seemed to be unable to take the action they desired.
So they put a bit in the introduction explaining how a website menu worked. It just made it more cluttered and confusing.
Most people know how a website works - if people are confused it’s up to you to provide clarity rather than blaming your prospects.
In order to guide people to take action, it’s essential to have a direct C.T.A. like ‘buy now.’ It’s also good to have transitional calls to action like ‘read this article to find out more’ or ‘contact us today for a quote.’
Tell people what to do, and they are more likely to do it.
2. Saying too much and complicating things.
Depending on your product or service, there could be lots to say about it. But don’t get carried away with your enthusiasm or out of fear that prospective customers won’t get it.
Keep to the salient points: what it is, who it’s for, how it helps your prospect. This makes it easier for them to understand and take action.
Hang on to that extra content and use it for future blog posts and articles.
3. Forgetting to keep it about the reader
In order to write great copy you need to understand what people want. And when all is said and done,most people want to know what’s in it for them.
You may have heard the radio station that most people like to tune into “WII FM.” What’s in it for me?
This means that you have to search out the ‘we’ statements and see if you can transform them into ‘you’ big benefits. Even on your ‘About Page.’
4. Expecting them to read every page
People have short attention spans. Most people will scan your content looking for answers.
They will get in and out as fast as they can. Unless you can offer the solution to their problem they may bounce in seconds.
The goal is to have compelling sales copy on each page - even the contact page - that draws readers in and spurs them to take the action you want them to take. Because you never know where people might end up on your website.
This is why you need to ensure there is a clear call to action on each page.
5. Thinking it’s done and dusted
Once you’ve had your website created and the content uploaded, you may think it’s time to sit back and wait for sales.
Unfortunately, this is not necessarily the case. This is just the beginning. Your website needs to be updated regularly to stay relevant and to rank well in SERPs.
This is where posting useful, engaging, and relevant content comes in.
Now you’ll be pleased that you didn’t use everything you had to say about your product or service in your web content. Create useful posts that will further solve the problems unique to your customer.
Effective content marketing takes time, but if you want to stay relevant and attract quality leads it’s worth the effort.
I hope you found this useful. It’s easy to get caught up in all the things you ‘should have’ on your website, but start simple and you should avoid making too many of these mistakes.
If you are looking to build authority through content you can contact me at rachel@copyhunter.co.uk for a free fifteen-minute chat to discover how I could help you.