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Online Copywriting Plan – 5 Steps to Writing Your Business Website

Guest post by: Chris Pracy

Article Overview: Getting people to find your website is one thing, but what do they do when they get there? If you've cobbled together some online copy and put it on your website, the chances are you've scored a massive own goal and are playing into the hands of your competitors. Why? Because there are 5 key steps to good business website copywriting that you've probably overlooked;

Online Copywriting Plan – 5 Steps to Writing Your Business Website

If you've cobbled together some online copy and put it on your website, the chances are you've scored a massive own goal and are playing into the hands of your competitors.

Why? Because there are 5 key steps to good business website copywriting that you've probably overlooked;

· Who are you writing for?

· What does your product or service do? i.e. features

· How does it solve a problem?

· Why should people use your product or service i.e. what are the benefits?

· What should they do next?

Who are you writing for? Before you write even a single word of copy, you should know exactly who you it's aimed at.

Writing without a target market in mind will deliver just one thing; poor results.

By focusing on this question as you write, you will automatically avoid making the fundamental mistake that many business owners make; writing about themselves.

Your potential customers want to feel special, they're not interested in how good you think you are; they want to know how your product or service will help them.

What does your product/service do? You need to provide some information on your product or service offering before people will even think about buying it.

What features does it have? How does it compare to other products or services in the market? and what's unique about it? All these points should be considered when writing your web copy.

How does it solve a problem? In order to solve a problem, you first of all need to highlight it to your website visitors.

Many people may not realise that something in their lives is a particular problem or that there is an alternative to what they're doing at the moment.

By describing the problem that exits and detailing a solution, you'll begin to make to tap into the reader's desire to do something about it, which is crucial if you're going to sell online.

Why should people use your product/service? Whether you're in a very competitive market or have no competition at all, people will still want to read about the benefits your product/service can bring to their lives.

A common mistake when writing benefits is to confuse them with features. For example, if you were selling golf clubs, a feature may be that your brand of golf clubs has larger than average heads, but the benefit would be that beginners would gain more control over their golf shots and increase accuracy.

You also need to think about how your product/service is different to others on the market and then communicate this to your customers in a clear and simple way.

What should they do next? It's no good following all the steps above and then missing out the all important call to action.

A call to action is simply asking people to do whatever it is you want them to, whether it's buying your product online, calling you for more information, or completing an email newsletter signup form.

One of the golden rules of offline selling is to ask for the sale and it's no different online.

You should make your call to action prominent, either using bold text or graphics that grab people's attention.

Business copywriting summary By following the 5 simple steps outlined above, you will make a big difference to how people behave on your website.

So, if people are finding your site and not doing what you want them to, it's worthwhile reviewing your website copy with this 5 step plan in mind, so you can look forward to improved conversion rates.

By taking your website copy seriously, you can gain an advantage over your competitors who don't appreciate its true value.

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Article Tags: online copywriting



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