No matter where it’s found marketing copy is written to sell. So there are certain standards that are universal to copywriting whether it’s done for online or offline purposes. Internet copywriting has some of its own unique requirements as well. Here are some of the most important “dos” of Internet copywriting.
1. Do include information that is useful to the reader. Whether you are writing a sales page or articles to market your website, your readers want to read things that are beneficial to them. It’s true that the underlying intent is to sell something but in order to do so you need to provide value to the reader.
How this is best accomplished depends upon what you are selling. If you are selling a tangible product, articles that show readers ways that they may use that product give them both useful information and an incentive to learn more about the product and buy it. A sales page for an information product may include information that is supplemental to that offered in the product for sale or short snippets from the info product itself. I find that quick snippets work well because they can see part of what they are actually getting.
2. Do write as though you are writing to someone you know personally. The Internet is a rather impersonal medium and anything you can do to make your writing feel more personal will make your readers feel more comfortable purchasing from you. Pretend that you are trying to sell something to your best friend if it helps.
3. Do use action words and phrases. This type of language will excite the reader and compel her to buy. Instead of “If you would like to purchase this product and get a free gift, you may do so by clicking this link,” try “Click here to order now and receive your free gift!” Always tell them what you want them to do. If you don’t they are more likely to leave the site empty handed.
4. Do include testimonials. Seeing that other customers have tried your product and found it useful will lead readers to expect the same if they purchase it. If possible get testimonials from high-profile people or experts in a field related to yours. Include the person’s name (at least the first name and last initial), location and picture if you can get permission to do so.
The best testimonials include quantifiable results. If you have testimonials but they do not include any concrete evidence of your product’s benefits, ask the people providing them to elaborate. Buyers respond better to numbers and percentages than to a generic statement that a product is good.
5. Do utilize keywords. Choosing the best possible keywords and using them in headlines and text will increase your search engine rankings. Search engines look at each page separately so you need to hit your info page with term life insurancekeywords and not just insurance. When you link and use keywords with just insurance it will bring in less clicks from your buying target market. A well-ranked page could potentially get a large number of visitors from the search engines without requiring pay-per-click campaigns. If you’ve done everything else correctly a significant percentage of these visitors will convert into customers.
Successful Internet copywriting involves getting readers, keeping them interested and enticing them to buy. Taking these things into consideration will help you get visitors to your pages and turn them into customers and subscribers.
