Last Updated on 16th February 2024
Driving traffic to your website takes patience and hard work. Converting buyers into browsers takes skill. If your website is not graced with copy that sells, there is little point having a website.
It can sometimes be the case that striking the right balance with your copy is a matter of trial and error. Should you have short or long copy? Do you need landing pages?
It used to be the case that long copy was stronger, but mobile handsets are changing the way people surf the web and make purchasing decisions. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, it’s the best way to learn.
Even professional copywriters sometimes have to revisit copy and try a different tactic. To point you in the right direction, this article will give you some firm pointers of what your copy should include to increase your chances of converting and how to get the information you need.
Know your audience’s needs
Know your audience has become a marketing cliché, and it doesn’t always help to know the profile of your audience. You need to know what they want. Before you write sales copy, get feedback from your customers and prospects.
Online questionnaires social media accounts enable you to ask specific questions that could prove useful. Make the enquiry casual rather than salesy, and if possible put a fun spin on it.
The most effective sales copy you write will come from the words of your audience.
Conduct extensive research
Before you start writing your copy, you need ideas. Surf the web and look at the copy of your competitors. What do you think works, and want doesn’t work. Don’t steal the copy that works, but draw inspiration from it.
Also look on YouTube and other video sites for companies that have made videos advertising posts. Motion pictures are the best form of advertising, and can give you inspiration in terms of images with words.
You should also be checking out your analytics to determine which pages are converting and which are not. Is there anything different about the content on the page that may harm conversion rates?
Prioritise potential
If you are giving your website a complete overall, write the copy for your best selling products first, or the products you think will sell the most.
You also need to consider a sales funnel and how the product page fits into your entire purchase path. Do you anticipate using a landing page? If so, write the sales copy on the destination page first.
Your landing page should be product specific, rather than a generic list of contents. Therefore you will need a landing page for each individual project if you intend to use that sales funnel as a marketing strategy.
Give prospects an option
Not every visitor to your website will be ready to buy there and then. Some browsers may just be in the early stages of research and checking out their options or comparing prices.
You can improve conversions by installing a virtual assistant on your website. Therefore, in your copy encourage browsers to get in touch and ask any questions they have.
This tactic then gives you access to their email address so that you can stay in contact for future campaigns. Be careful not to send ads they are not interested in however.
Writing copy that converts is trial and error, but if you have the right information to start off with you increase your opportunity of getting your pitch write first time – with maybe only a few tweaks required later.
