how to avoid watering down your website copy
I bet I can guess what you do when you sit down to write copy for your website — write about the logistics and details of your offer.
That’s fine and dandy, but guess what? 800,000 people (probably more) offer the exact same thing you do. Whether it’s copywriting, social media management, or brand strategy, how do you stand out from the crowd?
My advice
You need to understand your audience (AKA your potential client), which is why I recommend focusing on their intention behind visiting your website. When you know WHY people are visiting your site and WHAT goals they have that hiring you would accomplish, it’s a lot easy to write about what’s relevant to them.
So rather than simply explaining the process of working with you and what you offer, discuss the VALUE of your services and why YOU are the best person to help visitors achieve their goals. Let’s illustrate this.
A website header focused on logistics and details might look a lil something like this:
Freelance copywriting for mission-driven brands:
Email marketing
Website copy
Paid ads
While website copy focused on storytelling and connection/an understanding of your audience might look like this:
Your mission drives the copy we create, like:
Monthly emails to connect with your audience and inspire action
Website copy that clarifies your brand’s mission
Paid ads to get your message in front of the right people
Now that you see the difference, let’s get a lil deeper to see how this plays out across your entire site.
Questions that help drive the direction of your copy
Basic information about your services, process, and pricing is necessary to include on your site, but there’s more to it than that. If you want to stand out from the crowd of people online offering nearly the exact same thing as you then you have to dig a lil more.
Here are 3 audience questions to reflect on when writing website copy that connects AND converts.
1. Is your audience looking for someone who’s worked on a project similar to their needs?
If so, include portfolio pieces with commentary on your client’s goals and how your experience and process helped them achieve XYZ results.
2. Is your audience looking for someone experienced in a specific niche or with a particular demographic?
This is where you would include language on your site to address that. But not JUST with a basic keyword like “wedding content writer.” So what do you do? Well, I recently met up with a lovely freelance content writer for the wedding industry. Here’s the hero on her website:
Wedding content writing that brings engaged couples to your business
Say “I do” to engaging blog posts, email marketing, and website copy that bring you clients. More traffic to your website means more leads and more bookings. I want to help you do that!
See how she was able to sprinkle personality onto the page while getting the point across that writes wedding content? You can do that too by reflecting on this question for your own audience!
3. Is your audience looking for someone who’s delivered consistent, compelling results?
Sometimes your best copy comes from your audience. If you’ve had the pleasure of working with multiple clients, be sure to collect reviews from them. Then use their language in the copy you write to get across how your solution can benefit their specific problem.
You should also include testimonials on your website itself to show social proof! This will also give potential clients even more insight into the type of businesses you’ve helped in the past (and how similar they are to their own business).
Final thoughts
This website copy advice isn’t new or novel. But simple tweaks in the way you think about your website can transform the copy from dull to dazzling.
The main takeaway here? Know. Your. Audience. And write FOR them, not TO them.
Simple tweaks to your website can mean the difference between someone booking or bouncing. Make ‘em count!
Love this? There’s more to explore on the blog, but you might like to read this one about creating content specifically.