Picture this…
You’ve landed on a plumber’s website.
The first thing you read is…
Welcome to Nathan’s Plumbing Services.
We’re Sydney’s best plumbing and gas-fitting tradies.
Contact us now for a free quote.
Your reaction?
I’m betting it’s the same as mine…ZZZzzzzz
We see so many exaggerated claims now…the best, the biggest, the cheapest, etc…that we glaze over.
If your website uses words or phrases like…
“Welcome to” or “Sydney’s best” or we, our, we’re or us…
Rewrite it!
Your website is an ad for your business…but it should be promoting how your business can help your customer. How your customer will benefit from your offer.
Remember, many companies say they are “the best” or “the cheapest”. You just need to have the “best” offer that your customers will get the most “value” from.
You, like everyone else, just want to know…
- What’s in it for me?
Your customers want…
- To know your business can help them
- You to address their needs
- You to talk to them…about them
Have you ever had a conversation with someone and they say…
- I do this
- I can do that
- I’ve done this
- I want to do that
- I did that
How long did you stay in the conversation?
How many times did you look around hoping someone would save you?
Websites that do not address their customers needs or have no clear value proposition will usually loose the customer to their competitor.
Remember, you have 3 seconds to “Wow” your website visitor. If it’s all about you then you’re not talking to them…about them.
There are 2 things you must focus on with writing website copy…
-
Benefits
-
Direct response
I’ll explain each of these.
Benefits are the value your product or service brings to your customer.
It is the end result for your customer. This is what will make your customer buy from you.
Benefits should not be confused with features. This is a mistake many businesses make.
Features are descriptive attributes for a product or service.
Many businesses list features as reasons why people should buy.
A popular example of this is the Apple Ipod.
Features…
- 32GB or 64GB
- 802 11b/g/n wifi capabilities
- Safari web browser
- Click wheel
- Menu button
- Dock connector port
Benefits…
- Plays over 1000 of your favourite songs whenever you want, wherever you are.
Brilliant! I’ll buy one!
People aren’t interested in features…they’re interested in what’s in it for them.
How does this benefit me?
How can you include more benefits in your website copy?
The easiest way is to make a list of all the features of your product or service.
Now, make a list with as many descriptions for how this feature will benefit or help your customer and how they will feel about it.
Using the Apple Ipod example…
- The feature is “64GB”
- The benefit is “you can load 1000 of your favourite songs and still have room for another 1000.”
Can you see the difference?
Copy that focuses on benefits will always get more response from people.
They can see “What’s in it for them”.
Next is direct response copy.
Basically, this is designed to lead the reader to do something there and then.
You may have also heard it referred to as a “Call to action”.
It is typically used to try and generate a sale as it is read.
As covered previously, if you are selling a higher priced product or service you really don’t want to push for the sale immediately.
However, you can use direct response to get your visitor into the sales funnel.
The idea with direct response is to use powerful emotional and psychological triggers.
Examples of these triggers are…
- Urgency
- Trust
- Fear
- Scarcity
- Flattery
Direct response uses “selling” words. Words that encourage a response in the reader.
For example, something that is “appealing” could be “never to be forgotten”.
Do you offer a comprehensive service…for example, a building report or a meal delivery service? Use words like, “meticulously prepared” or “attention to detail” or “everything you need in a…”
Be descriptive in selling to enhance your customers benefits.
All successful direct response copy tunes into our personal need for…
- Enjoyment and life improvement
- Freedom from pain, fear and danger (note here that financial freedom is a biggie)
- Protecting our loved ones
- Social status and approval
- Winning and belonging
If you can craft your copy to appeal (…never to be forgotten) to the above triggers and also highlight the benefits to the customer, you will have very persuasive material.
Lastly, there are a couple of other key points that are important to consider.
The first one is storytelling.
Everyone loves a good story told well.
The more relatable the story, the more likely people will read it.
Secondly, how does the reader perceive you? Does your audience know, like and trust you? Do you have the credibility and good character to persuade people to interact with you?
This can be difficult to get across for some business owners – particularly if they are naturally shy and reserved.
The majority of businesses are not using direct response or benefit driven copy to communicate with their customers.
The successful businesses are.
Sometimes, all it takes is a little effort to make a big difference.
Strathfield Web Design can help your business make a difference. Call us on 9742 5635 to find out how.