Henneke Duistermaat
The secret to great copywriting is to know who you want to entice with your copy and to understand what it is they’re looking for. (Location 63)
The biggest mistake even professional writers make is writing from a company’s perspective. (Location 81)
The biggest mistake web writers make is trying to write for too many people. It makes our messages wishy-washy, watery, and ineffective. (Location 107)
Another huge mistake that turns web visitors away is writing what you, as business owner, like to write rather than what your web visitor wants to read. (Location 110)
If you want to persuade your reader to get in touch, sign up, or buy something, you need to address his or her needs, wishes, and desires. You need to get into the head of your reader to gain his interest, to urge him to read on, and to take action. The biggest improvement you can make to your web copy is changing your perspective and writing for your reader instead of for yourself. (Location 113)
People don’t like to be addressed as a crowd. They prefer to read something that addresses them personally, directly. Describing and visualizing your one ideal reader makes your web copy more vivid and more personal. (Location 123)
Describing your ideal reader helps you plan your web copy better. If you understand the challenges and problems your ideal reader faces, you are able to provide the right solutions for her. If you know which words your ideal reader uses, you can adjust your language so she immediately understands what you’re writing about. If you understand your ideal reader’s objections to buying from you, you can be more persuasive. (Location 140)
What you need to know about your ideal reader (Location 146)
How to learn more about your ideal reader (Location 166)
If you have an email list, send your subscribers an online questionnaire. Keep in mind that you learn most from open-ended questions rather than multiple choice. (Location 173)
You can also ask your web visitors a question. Qualaroo or LeadConversion are inexpensive tools for this. Or read comments on forums and blogs (if a blog matches your ideal reader), or check out Amazon reviews. (Location 174)
Create a one-page bio for your ideal reader. Write down your answers to the questions listed earlier in this chapter. (Location 182)
The most important lesson you learn in this chapter is that nobody is interested in your company and your products. People are interested in themselves. They want to know how you can help them to be happier, healthier, or more productive. (Location 199)
To sell your product or service, you need to address your ideal reader's self-interest. Such as: (Location 214)
To keep your reader paying attention, you need to introduce a few problems. A problem makes your reader's heart rate go up, gets him excited, and makes him pay attention to the solution you offer to deal with that problem. You can’t just talk about the benefits of working with you; you also need to mention the hassle you prevent, the headaches you cure, and the glitches you avoid. (Location 222)
Most benefits can be reformulated as a problem you avoid. Your restaurant service is quick, so you avoid delays. Your cruise control keeps your eyes on the road rather than on your speedometer, so you prevent accidents. You automatically bring fresh flowers every week, so you avoid the hassle of re-ordering flowers. (Location 228)
Features are facts about your products or service. Benefits are what your product does for your readers. (Location 234)
None of these advantages are real benefits. To find the real benefit, ask yourself, So what? (Location 242)
Once you can’t answer another So what? question, you’ve found a real benefit. In most cases, you can create a combination of a problem, benefit, and feature. (Location 249)
You want to be persuasive because you want people to buy your products. But it’s not enough to tell your audience how good you are and how much they’ll benefit from working with you. You also have to anticipate their objections and overcome them one by one. (Location 267)
If you’re unsure, call a few customers and ask them: Before they decided to buy from you, why were they in doubt? What were the obstacles to buying from you? (Location 271)
Your value proposition is the promise of the value you offer to your ideal reader. Your value proposition is the most important information on your home page. It usually consists of a headline and bullet points. (Location 282)
Your value proposition isn’t a magic pick-up line either. It’s your conversation starter. Your value proposition entices your web visitor to learn more about you. (Location 288)
As usability expert Steve Krug suggests, your home page is like a billboard along the highway. Your web visitors make a snap decision whether they read on or click away. Your value proposition is what you write on a billboard: a headline, a few bullet points, and an image. You don’t have to explain your whole story or present all details. You only need to entice potential customers to read on. (Location 303)
To make your value proposition compelling, you need to target your ideal reader. You need to say something that interests your ideal reader in a language that is easy to understand. You need to be credible, clear, and concise. (Location 315)
Create a simple and clear statement. Skip word play. Cut puns. (Location 324)
Web visitors aren’t looking for a unique offer. They’re looking for a company they trust. They’re looking for a product or service offer they like. (Location 335)
Let's start with writing your headline. Four different options exist: (Location 342)
Here’s a potential headline for a web writer: Persuasive Web Copy That Converts Web Visitors to Customers (Location 352)
The headline above includes a problem you help avoid (stress), a benefit (reduce your tax bill), plus a statement of what you offer (accounting services) for whom (small businesses). (Location 356)
Headline: Accounting Services for Small Businesses Subheading: Avoid stress and reduce your tax bill (Location 359)
The example above uses a headline to target people who have a specific problem (Location 364)
Now write several headline options: (Location 369)
How to write your bullet points (Location 380)
You might want a web visitor to buy directly from you, to set up a free initial consultation, or to sign up for your e-newsletter. You need to persuade him to take the action and address his objections to doing so. The objective of your website content is to persuade your ideal reader to take the next step in your selling process. (Location 408)
For instance: (Location 421)
Another example: (Location 425)
One more example: You sell a wide range of online marketing services to small businesses in Sydney. Your offer includes web design and development, PPC management, SEO, and social media management. You need to set up different pages for each of the services you offer. (This also helps you gain organic search traffic. More about this in the last chapter.) (Location 427)
Each product or service page should have its own value proposition, a detailed description of your product or services, and a call-to-action. (Location 431)
to sell your products or services. This is how: (Location 434)
To be persuasive you need to specify why your service is so marvelous. (Location 448)
When possible, use numbers in your web copy. (Location 450)
Meaningless, empty phrases turn your web visitors away, but facts and figures make them pay attention. Include as much factual information as you can. (Location 452)
Use the power of a subtle nod (Location 454)
When you engage emotion and the senses, people get transported to a different world. Allow prospects to experience working with you, and their defenses against sales pitches are lowered. (Location 468)
If your product or service can’t be trialed on the web, the next best thing is to allow readers to imagine what it’s like to work with you. (Location 471)
Statistics, survey results, or test results (Location 475)
Testimonials, case studies, and customer quotes (Location 479)
Sean d’Souza suggests you start with asking your customer why they hesitated to buy from you, and then discuss how happy they are now that they’re working with you. (Location 483)
Also, think about awards you’ve received or well-known customers you’ve worked with or newspapers you’ve appeared in. Can you add their credibility-enhancing logos to your website? (Location 485)
Where do you address your customer’s objections? (Location 490)
Apple’s product information only provides you with reasons to justify your choice. (Location 500)
You need to work hard to gain the trust of potential buyers. An easy way is to provide case studies and testimonials, or to include logos of business you’ve worked with, or publications you’ve been published in. (Location 505)
Get your web visitors to take action (Location 513)
Each page needs to have one main call-to-action. In a color that stands out. And that tells people exactly what to do. (Location 520)
For instance: Download my report or Sign me up or Try it for free now (Location 522)
The question your about page should answer is this: Which problems do you solve for your customers? (Location 531)
Let’s go through your actions step by step: (Location 538)
In this chapter you will learn: (Location 556)
Write as if you’re writing for a 12-year-old because that makes your copy easy to read. (Location 579)
A few more tips to make your copy easy to read: (Location 581)
6 web copy mistakes you must avoid (Location 586)
Sound like a human. Don't use words that make you sound like a company or a robot. Quit management speak. Cut MBA talk. (Location 607)
Don’t rely on your navigation bar to tell people what to do next. Include a button or link to guide people to take the next step. On each page. (Location 625)
26 ways to make your text more engaging, credible, and persuasive (Location 643)