3 Website Copywriting Mistakes You’re Making Right Now (Part 2)

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As a continuation of our three part series “3 Website Copywriting Mistakes You’re Making Right Now,” let’s dive right in to common mistake #2, shall we? (for a recap of part 1 of our series, check out this post).

Mistake #2: YOU’RE LACKING A CONSISTENT BRAND VOICE

Now that you’ve gained a deep understanding of your target customers and have whipped up corresponding customer personas to guide your future website copy strategy and creation (see this previous post to learn how), it’s time to consider your brand’s voice and whether its inconsistency is discouraging sales.

But before we talk specifics, let’s take a step back and define what a brand voice is.

WHAT IS BRAND VOICE?

In essence, brand voice is the the expression and personality of your brand developed through written words, phrases, and sentencess. It should seamlesssly compliment your visual identity and design and be one component of your overall brand and marketing strategy. From my experience, the most beloved brand voices also contain another extremely important element: consistency.

What do I mean by this?

For a brand voice to be consistent, each piece of writing associated with your brand (for instance, “About Us” copy, blog posts, email sequence content, you name it.) must have a similar tone, expression, and overall personality. By weaving these common threads throughout all of your brand’s writing, you’re creating a clear sense for who your brand is and what you stand for.

And when audiences KNOW who you are, they’re more likely to buy into your business and brand and purchase your products or services.

On the flip side, brands with conflicting tones and expressions, the ones with Home pages that give off entirely different vibes than their Services pages, the ones that come across formal and reserved in one blog post and conversational in the next, confuse customers immensely.

Loosey-goosey brand voices signal that a brand doesn’t have a firm grasp of who they are and what they stand for. As a result, neither do their customers. Without a clear, consistent voice, your customers simply won’t rally behind your brand, they won’t buy your products or services, and your sales will likely be ho-hum, at best.

Think of it this way. Imagine your brand as a person. Just like people, your brand would likely speak and express herself in a certain way. Her word choice and phrases would be all her own and would reflect her unique personality. As such, her overall vibe might be more formal or casual. To-the-point or conversational. Reserved or quirky. She might have a sense of humor and, if so, it may air on the sarcastic and snarky side or be goofy and light-hearted. Make sense?

To summarize, in order to create a brand that customers understand, relate to, and, most importantly, BUY INTO, all copy and content associated with your brand must have a consistent voice.

HOW TO ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT BRAND VOICE

Now, with all this in mind, let’s take an honest look at your own brand’s voice. Do the words, phrases, and sentences of your website copy and content create a consistent brand voice? How about the tone, expression, and overall personality? Do these elements give customers a cohesive, clear sense for your brand and what it stands for? If the answer to these questions is a resounding “no,” relax!

The remedy to an inconsistent brand voice is simple. It starts with pinpointing your brand’s unique voice and creating a supporting brand style guide to regulate all future copy and content creation. This guide should be a short, 1-3 page document that summarizes how your brand should be expressed across all digital and print communication channels (social media, email, direct mail, etc.).

Let’s start by nailing down your brand voice. To do this, I recommend picking 3-4 words that best describe and characterize your brand. Is it passionate, quirky, creative, snarky?  Be selective!

Once these are chosen it’s time to draft your brand voice style guide. Create a chart with 3-4 rows (one for each of the descriptive words you selected above) and 3 columns. Your columns should look something like this:

Column #1: This column should flesh out your descriptive words a bit more. For instance, if you selected the word “light-hearted” to describe your brand, you might include “fun-loving, cheerful, animated, and witty” in this column. This context will provide additional guidance for your brand’s writing team.

Column #2: Let’s call this your “Do” section. It should outline words and phrases that align with each of your descriptive words, specific copy and content guidance for writers, and examples of writing that properly depicts your brand voice.

Column #3: This is your “Don’t” section. It should highlights words, phrases, and styles of writing (for each descriptive word) that SHOULDN’T be part of your brand’s voice. Remember to share examples, if available, of writing that fail to properly express your brand’s voice. The more detail you can provide to your writing team, the more consistent your brand voice will be!

Once your brand style guide is complete, it’s time to put your new tool to use! Distribute it to all team members who create copy or content for your brand and ensure that all future writing adheres to your guide’s outlined do’s and don’ts.

When all writing is measured through the lens of your style guide, your brand voice is bound to be clear, consistent, and sales-optimized!

Key takeaway here: If your brand is lacking a consistent brand voice, identify 3-4 descriptive words to characterize your brand and create a supporting brand voice style guide to regulate all future copy and content creation.

Could your business use a little extra help bringing your brand voice to life? Contact me today for a free, 30-minute consultation!

Stay tuned! Part 3 of this series will be coming your way shortly!

3 Website Copywriting Mistakes You’re Making Right Now (Part 1)

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(This is part 1 of a 3 part series on common website copywriting mistakes. Stay tuned for part 2, coming at you shortly!

Picture this: you’re a fitness newbie on the hunt for the perfect gym membership. Naturally, you whip out your trusty laptop (because, let’s be honest, the vast majority of consumers search for products and services online) and start typing keywords into Google. Your search for “beginner, fitness classes” turns up a smorgasbord of hits, and you skim 10+ local gym websites looking for a judgement-free environment to get your workout on.

Unfortunately, though, you don’t make it past the home page of most of these sites. The reason?

While there are many factors that cause potential leads (or consumers who show interest in your products or services) to leave your website, one of the most common is a lack of customer-centric, impactful, sales-driven copy seamlessly integrated throughout your site.

As a copywriter, I’ve talked with a slew of business owners plagued with website copy that isn’t optimized to sell their products or services to their target audiences. As a result, they aren’t attracting leads through their website and, most importantly, they aren’t generating online sales.

IS YOUR WEBSITE SALES COPY OPTIMIZED FOR YOUR TARGET CUSTOMERS?

How can you assess if your website copy is optimized for selling to your ideal consumers? I’ve got you covered, friend! Below, I’ve shared the first of 3 common website copywriting faux pas (with 2 more coming at you in the next blog posts!) and how to painlessly fix them so that your copy resonates with your dream customers and generates sales. Read on!

Mistake #1:  Your website copy speaks to fictional customers

This is a big one! It’s easy to whip up website copy that you think will resonate with your target customers. By putting yourself in their shoes, you can imagine what activities excite and energize them, what their greatest business challenges are, and what their definition of success looks like. Then, you can use these conclusions to create beautifully tailored website copy.

But that’s not the same as knowing.

While it’s important to think deeply about the feelings, thoughts, and desires of your customer, one of the greatest marketing mistakes that you can make is to develop a customer persona based purely on guesswork and corresponding website copy that speaks to a fictional audience.

The remedy to this requires some upfront elbow grease but pays dividends in the long run.

First, reach out to your customers (or your dream customers). Over a phone call or coffee date, ask them about themselves, what drives them personally and professionally. Learn about their business wins and failures, their daily struggles, what they stress about each night before falling asleep. Ask them to describe their ideal, balance-enhancing service or product. I recommend speaking with at least 5 people, but ideally 10 or higher, in order to gain a variety of perspectives and a robust customer profile.

Afterwards, summarize this information (many businesses like to do this in the form of a ‘customer persona’), and use your insights as a guidepost for all future copy creation. Now that you truly “get” your audience, your website copy can reflect that understanding by addressing their unique thoughts, desires, needs, and feelings.

Key takeaway here: a true understanding of your customer is the cornerstone of tantalizing, high-converting website sales copy. 

Itching for more? Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 of this series, coming your way shortly!

Which Social Media Platforms Should Your Business Use?

If you’re like so many business owners, determining which social media platforms (out of dozens!) best align with your company’s needs and target audience can be a daunting task. Even more challenging is the day to day maintenance of those platforms, which, in itself, can be a full-time job.

While having an online presence is key to business success today,  there’s good news for those who are experiencing social media burn out: managing a smorgusboard of online platforms won’t engage your customers, attract new ones, or drive sales.

Spreading yourself too thin will keep you from devoting your energy towards crafting clever content, strategically engaging followers, and creating the results-driven, social media marketing plans that will actually help grow your business. How do you decide which social media platforms best suit you needs? Get to know your target audience and how best to reach them. Read on to learn about a few of the most popular social media platforms today and why you should utilize them.

Facebook – According to Pew Research Center, in 2014, 71% of all Internet users were also Facebook users, the majority between the age brackets of 18-29 and 30-49. In addition, most Facebook users were women (77%) followed closely by men (66%). Most businesses find Facebook a great tool to connect with current and prospective customers due to the sheer popularity of this social media platform across all age groups.

Twitter – With over 270 million active users, Twitter is a favorite tool for savvy entrepreneurs keen to keep their businesses at the forefront of the social media conversation. However, despite its growing popularity among consumers, three in ten small businesses don’t have Twitter accounts even though most users “follow” five or more businesses. In short, this platform is a entrepreneur’s paradise, particularly if you’re looking for an in with the 18-29 year old demographic. Though Twitter’s 140-character limit can be challenging to some wordy typists, it provides great incentive to craft copy that’s short, sweet, and to the point, which is precisely what audiences crave.

Pinterest – If your target audience is primarily women under 50 and your products or service visually appealing, Pinteret is a must-add to your social media repertoire. 31% of Internet users find themselves scrolling through Pinterest’s never-ending array of images regularly, and many businesses find this platform ideal for creatively engaging customers and strategically marketing new merchandise, offerings, and services. By allowing users to create organized “boards” that showcase photos pertaining to a specific topic, Pinterest provides companies with an easy way to connect with customers on a tangible level.

Ok business owners. What’s your go to social media platform and why does it work for you? Let me know in the comment section below. 

3 Tips for Crafting Clever, Sales-Driven Website Copy

Your website is visually stunning. You’ve taken pains to ensure that the layout is easily navigable, that your images are crisp and eye-catching, and that your social media icons are displayed front and center. But what good is a lovely website to your customers if the written content it houses is poorly structured, bland and unimaginative , or worst of all, doesn’t manage to actually sell your product or service. Written copy is the bread and butter of any businesses’s website. It’s what attracts new customers to your brand and keeps the old ones coming back. Most importantly, it’s what drives sales. Think your site could use a content facelift? Read on to learn 3 tips for crafting cleve, sales-driven website copy.

1. Sell your brand – not just your product or service – People aren’t just interested in what you do, they’re interested in who you are too. With so much competition in the consumer market today, customers can afford to be selective in where they spend their money, and they prefer to support businesses that they connect with and “know” intimately. How do you develop that kind of rapport with customers? Start with crafting captivating website copy. Establish a voice unique to your business, use it to craft an authentic and meaningful brand story, and share it with visitors to your “About Us” page. Draft product descriptions that capture how your product or service will help improve your customers’ lives rather than simply stating their physical or mechanical attributes. Write short, sizzling biographies for employees that highlight who they are in and outside of the workplace. Humanize your business and watch your customer base grow.
2. Differentiate from competitors – Do your research before you start writing. What are your competition’s main offerings? What do they do that makes them unique? Why do customers find them appealing (or unappealing)? Next, figure out ways to differentiate yourself from them. Does your company offer products that cater to price sensitive consumers? Let your customers know that! Do you offer an one-on-one, individualized in-store experience? Shout it from the rooftops! Are your products one of a kind and hand selected? You get the idea. Highlighting what makes you stand out always gives you a competitive edge.
3. Include a call to action! – Visitors to your site don’t come there to twiddle their thumbs. They come because they’re interested in what your business has to offer. And let’s face it: all the targeted, sales-driven content in the world won’t do you any good if you don’t convince customers to take an action when they get there, whether it be purchasing your product or service, calling for a risk-free consultation, or following your business on social media.  When crafting copy for your website, ask visitors (using persuasive, engaging writing, of course!) to act on at least one business enhancing request while there. The last thing you want is for potential customers to slip from your grasp as soon as they get within arm’s reach.
   
   Could your website use a copy overhaul? I can help! Send me a message to schedule a free consultation.