Writing Web Copy

Writing Benefit-Driven Web Copy – 4 Steps to More Sales

You've identified the benefits you offer your customers, but how do you turn a list of benefits into engaging copy?

As a copywriter, many of the projects I undertake are completely new websites. The client has some general ideas about what they’d like to convey, but they need someone who can fine-tune their message, and create copy which engages their readers. As a result, over the years I’ve developed a process for doing this effectively. There are four main steps:

• Identify benefits
  
  
• Identify how you deliver these benefits



• Prioritise your benefits



• Write the content

STEP 1 – Identify your benefits

Branding aside, most websites are about selling. Customers don’t want to know what you can do; they want to know what you can do for THEM. That means the first question you should ask is, “What benefits do I offer my customers?” This is usually the first step toward identifying the key message to be conveyed.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t describe your products and services. You just need to make sure it describes them in terms of benefits to your customer.

STEP 2 – Identify how you deliver these benefits

Of course, you can’t just claim to deliver benefits and stop at that. You need to support that claim. You’re going to need to convince your audience that you actually do deliver these benefits. Anyone can say they deliver benefits, but few can say it persuasively.

From step 1 you’ll have a list of benefits. Now you need to think about how you deliver each benefit in that list. This is where you start talking about features – price, product highlights, distribution channel, competitor weaknesses, external factors, USPs, etc. It’s helpful if you draw up a table with one column for benefits and one for the features which deliver those benefits.
You’ll probably find this process much easier than identifying benefits. In fact, you’ve probably got most of this information written down already… somewhere. If not, chances are you uncovered a good portion of it when you were brainstorming for benefits.

TIP: If you’re having trouble identifying supporting features, before filling out the table, try listing everything you can think of which relates to what you do and how you do it. Don’t worry about the order. Just braindump onto a piece of paper, a whiteboard, a Word document, anywhere… Don’t leave anything out, even if it seems unimportant. (You’d be surprised how important even the most insignificant details can become once you start assigning them to benefits.) If you start getting lost, think back to the question you’re trying to answer: How do you deliver your list of benefits to your customer? Once you’ve done your braindump, read through it and decide which specific benefit each feature delivers.

STEP 3 – Prioritise your benefits

Now that you’ve identified all the things you COULD say, it’s time to figure out what you SHOULD say and where you should say it. This is where your benefits-features table comes into play. Read through your list of benefits and prioritise them according to how compelling they will be to your reader.

The reason for this? Priority determines prominence. The most compelling benefits will need to be prominent.

TIP: Be aware that your list may include some benefits which everyone in your business category could claim. In other words, they’re not just specific to your company, but apply to the type of service you offer. For example, if you sell a Content Management System (CMS) for website creation, you may list “Greater control for marketing managers” and “Less expense updating content” as benefits. Every CMS vendor could claim these benefits, so you’ll need to question their importance. Will they differentiate you from your competitors. Generic benefits can be useful if none of your competitors are using them, or if you feel you need to educate your market a bit before launching into company-specific benefits.

STEP 4 – Write your content

So now you know what you’d like to say, it’s time to decide how to say it. This is about three things:

• Subject – What is the subject of your site; features or benefits?



• Structure – How do you structure your site such that your customers will read your most compelling benefits?



• Words – What words should you use to best engage your audience (and the search engines)?

Subject

What is the subject of your site; features or benefits? The answer to this question lies in audience identification. If your audience knows a bit about the type of product or service you’re selling, lead with features (e.g. processor speed, turnaround time, uptime, expertise, educational qualifications, wide product range, etc.). But make sure you talk about their benefits, and make sure the features offering the most important benefits are the most prominent.

Here’s a simplified example…

Cool Widgets offers:

• Standard Operating Environment – Significantly reducing the complexity of your IT infrastructure



• System upgrades which are less expensive to license – Providing excellent TCO reductions

In cases where you’re selling to an audience who knows very little about your product or service, lead with benefits (e.g. if you’re selling something technical to a non-technical audience).

Here’s the same simplified example, reversed for a novice audience…
Cool Widgets offers:

• Reduced complexity of IT infrastructure – We can implement a Standard Operating Environment for your organisation


• Reduced TCO – We can upgrade your IT to systems which are less expensive to license
  Structure
  

How do you structure your site such that your customers will be sure to read your most compelling benefits? The answer is, keep it short ‘n sweet. And make it scannable. This doesn’t mean you have to cut features or benefits. You just have to structure your site to accommodate your message.

While every site is different, as a rule of thumb it’s a good idea to introduce your main features and benefits on your home page. Summarise them – preferably using bullet points, but at the very least, clearly highlight them so that your audience can scan-read (e.g. bold, underline, colour, link).

Then link from each summarised feature or benefit to a detailed description. Try to keep each page to approximately 200-400 words. You may need several pages to detail all your features and benefits. (Click to download a 29KB Word file containing a page structure template.)
TIP: In cases where you need to introduce features and benefits which are generic to your field (rather than specific to your offering), your home page is generally the best place to do it. From there, you can lead to a second page summarising the specific features and benefits of your offering.

Conclusion

Web copy is about far more than just clever words. It’s essential that you identify the benefits you offer your customer, and that you can convince your customer you actually deliver those benefits.

I hope that the guidance and tools provided in this article will help you on your way to engaging copy which converts to sales.

Glenn Murray is an advertising copywriter and heads copywriting studio Divine Write. He can be contacted on Sydney +612 4334 6222 or at http://www.divinewrite.com/.

Visit http://www.fivestarwebdesign.com/ to get a web site that sells.

Boost Your Internet Sales By Building Your Own Opt-in Mailing List

Building a list is the most important element of any Internet business. You need an opt-in list to be successful online and turn prospects into buyers.

An opt-in list is an email list of people who have agreed to receive information from you. When they opt in, you get their permission to send them information. They have the option of unsubscribing from your list anytime.

Why do you need an opt-in list?

First, your visitors may not be ready to buy the first time they visit your web site. People don't always make decisions right away. They may want to check out other web sites before buying. They may procrastinate because they're busy and in a hurry. Therefore, you have to stay in touch with your prospects regularly so they'll remember you when they are ready to buy. Another reason they may not buy right away is because they don't know you yet. You haven't built rapport and trust yet. You have to develop relationships and show that you know what you are talking about. To build trust, you must provide your subscribers with helpful information that is related to the products and services you're selling. You have to keep contacting prospects until they buy from you. Marketers know that typically a prospect must hear a message an average of seven times before they will buy. If you give up too soon, you'll be losing many sales.
It's important to motivate potential clients to give you their email address so you can contact them on a regular basis. If they leave your web site without giving you their email address, you're losing your chance to sell them.

Building your own list provides highly targeted, responsive leads. People who sign up for your free newsletter or report are your best prospects. They are interested in your information and they will be a lot more responsive to your recommendations and offers than purchased leads.

If you have your prospects' email addresses, you can keep in touch with them and start building a relationship. You can send them discount offers and sell them other related products. A broadcast message to your own email list will get targeted traffic to your web site instantly.

Here are some of the best free ways to build a list.

- Put your subscription offer somewhere near the top of your web page. Or get their attention with a popup, popover, or popunder.

- Another way to get their email is by using a “name squeeze” page. This is a web page with a sign-up form that is designed specifically to get the name and email address of visitors. You need compelling copy on the page to encourage people to sign up.

Offer something that makes it worthwhile to subscribe. For instance, offer a free report when they sign up for your newsletter, or a free ebook, audio, or video.

Here's an example of a compelling subscription offer:

Please take a few seconds to register and you'll immediately get an email with 15 audio interviews with professional copywriters. You'll also get a free subscription to my ezine "Inside Copywriting Secrets".

Build your own list using one or several of the above opt-in methods. Then use autoresponders to stay in touch with your prospects on a regular basis and build trust by offering great content. Autoresponders make it easy to automate your follow up.

Don't make the mistake of giving a hard sales pitch in the first autoresponder message. Instead, build interest and rapport. Start with an informative message that educates the reader about a topic that is related to your product or service. Mention how your product or service can solve their problems. By the time the potential customer reads your seventh message and your sales message, they will be convinced enough to make a purchase!

Building lists is very important to your Internet success. Capturing leads and building list should be the main focus of your site.

Visit http://www.fivestarwebdesign.com/ to get a web site that sells.

How to Create a Powerful Online Presence

Web site design plays a crucial role in converting visitors to customers. Your web site is the first impression people have of you. It is often your first and only contact with your prospective customers. A professional-looking, easy-to-read-and-navigate web site is essential to building trust and making sales. Follow these tips to create a powerful online image.


· Simplicity is the key to powerful design. A web site must be pleasing to the eye, but not too flashy. Limit colors to two or three colors. Limit fonts to two or three fonts.


· Be unique. Design original graphics and layouts to attain a unique look. Stand out from the crowd.


· Target your market. Use images, colors, text, fonts and themes that are appropriate for your market. For example, you will use completely different images and colors for kids, professionals, men, and women.


· Use quality images. Just as quality images will boost credibility, bad images will hurt you.


· Use images that support your sales message. Don't fill the page with graphics that have nothing to do with the content. Your product image is important. For example, if you're selling an ebook, make your book look real with a targeted ebook cover. If you're selling a CD, show a CD image.


· Emphasize important information with attention getting underlines, hand drawn and handwritten notes and other doodles such as hand-drawn arrows.


· Design a quality header. You can instantly change the look of your web site by changing the header graphic. The header is the very first thing a visitor will see when they arrive at your site, so it is your first chance to make a good impression.


· Use logical, consistent navigation. Viewers want to find what they’re looking for without having to go through numerous pages or clicking on numerous links. Use terms for your navigation buttons and links they will recognize such as Home, Order, and Contact. Provide plenty of links on your home page, giving an overview of your web site's content and choices.


· Design a catchy order button to attract attention and motivate people to order.


· Don't overuse the latest web techniques. Avoid entry pages with animation that don't tell anything about the content and take a long time to load. Your visitors will appreciate a site that opens fast and search engines will be able to index your pages.


· Write compelling copy. A clear, well-written message is essential to converting prospects into sales. Avoid spelling and grammar errors.


Combining layout, graphics, typefaces, and color into a unique design requires graphic design skills. If you don’t feel you are quite up to the task, or are just too busy putting the content together, then it would certainly be beneficial to get help from a professional designer who specializes in creating web images.


If your web site looks professional, visitors will conclude that you are professional. If your web site looks amateurish, they will assume that the quality of your services and products is unprofessional too.

Visit http://www.fivestarwebdesign.com/ to get a web site that sells.


© Leva Duell