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How you write your copy really makes a huge difference to your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and online sales. And even if you don't sell products directly, good sales copy will help you persuade the user to make a donation, subscribe to your newsletter or complete an application form. Sales copy is not necessarily designed to sell something specifically, but to make the user perform a certain task. Such tasks might be: - Ordering a product
- Subscribing to a mailing list
- Filling out an application
- Making a donation
- Clicking on a link
- and so on.
Writing efficient sales copy will boost your Utah SEO and can significantly increase the amount of visitors you get to your site. Consequently, learning how to write good sales copy is perhaps the single most useful skill you can acquire as a webmaster, content manager or web editor. To make the user perform the task you want him to perform, you have three important tools at your disposal: - Your headline
- Your main copy
- Your action link
Of these three, the most important on a web site is the headline. The second most important is the action triggering link - especially if the link is visible immediately, without the user having to scroll down. The Sales Copy Headline 1. Identify the action you want the user to take (i.e. buy the product, make the donation). 2. Make a list of how this action is beneficial to the user. In other words, answer the user's natural question of "what's in it for me?" Remember to write down benefits and not features - talk about the user, not the product. 3. Identify the single most important benefit from the user's point of view. 4. State this benefit clearly in the headline. This will give you headlines like "Save a life today" (for making a donation to a third world charity) or "Get a university degree in just 18 months". The Main Sales Copy In your main copy you should outline the rest of the benefits, address any reservations the user might have and create desire by having the user see clearly how his life will be improved by taking the action you want him to take. One great way to maximize your Utah SEO is by facilitating vertical reading (also known as "scanning"). Some methods include: - Using bullet points
- Using captions at regular intervals
- Keeping paragraphs short
- Emphasizing key words and phrases in bold face
- Using relevant pictures or graphs when necessary
The more persuasion a product needs, the longer the copy needs to be. If the user already knows he needs the product, or already knows and trusts you as a supplier, you can afford short copy - which is usually a better option on the web. The Sales Copy Link If you can afford short copy you may want to put the link in the first part of the screen so that it's possible for the user to click without scrolling. Remember that the action you want your user to take should involve clicking on a link (to make a donation, order a product, subscribe to your newsletter etc.). The way you make the link will then be crucial to your success. Search engines and Utah SEO love links with the following qualities: - Blue (or a color separate from your copy text color)
- Underlined
- Put in a separate paragraph
- Put in bold text
- 7-12 words long
The link text should describe (in very positive terms) what the user will get when he takes the action you want him to take. The more trigger-words you're able to include in the actual link text, the better your response rate will be. Marie Veloso. "How to write web copy that sells." Content Strategy. 7 Oct. 2009 [http://www.content-strategy.com/?module=Articles;action=Article.publicShow;ID=2235].
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