I talk about the importance of the words on your website a lot. That’s because I’m a copywriter, and, well… they are really, really important.
There is a reason why the best copywriters in the world get paid a fortune (I’m talking big six-figure incomes here). They can earn their clients millions of pounds and it is very difficult to write at this level.
So what do you do when you’re staring at the blank page? To make your life easier, I have compiled a quick shortcut guide to writing a web page that sells.
If you’re genuinely interested in learning how to write better marketing communications, then you can’t go wrong by following these ‘cheat sheet’ suggestions.
- Firstly list all the benefits of your product or service. The idea of communicating benefits is so fundamental to marketing, so if you’re not familiar with it go away and research the topic yourself. But you must make sure these are actual benefits, not things you think are benefits, or things that are really features masquerading as benefits. Quick reminder if you’re in a rush: an airbag in a car is a feature, not smashing your face on the steering column when you have an accident is a benefit. Make sure the benefits of your product or service are prominent and clearly communicated.
- Now list all the reasons people may not buy from you – the buying barriers. It’s too expensive, it’s too cheap (yes, this does stop people buying), they don’t trust you yet, they’re worried about returning the item if they don’t like it, they’re worried about credit card security. And on and on. Now simply make sure you address each and every potential concern.
- Spend much more time learning about and thinking about the headlines on your sales pages. They are so crucial to the success of a sales page that you are probably not spending enough time considering them.
- Plan out the structure of your page: the headline, the sub-headers, the bullet points, the call to action. This is you thinking about how to present your marketing message in a compelling and persuasive way.
- Write the complete page in a warm, human and engaging way. Be yourself and be real. The more honest and believable you are, the more sales you will make.
- Leave it for a day. Turn the computer off, take your partner out for dinner, get some sleep. Then come back to the page the next day and edit it further. Cut sentence lengths, use short words and short paragraphs. Don’t use cliches or the same tired language that every other business uses. And there can be no room for ambiguity.
Follow these steps and you’re going to be creating a web page that is better than most other web pages out there.
