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Common Mistakes That Can Kill Your Web Copy
By Karon Thackston
by Karon Thackston © 2005
http://www.copywritingcourse.com
Sometimes learning what not to do is as important as learning what to do. Copywriting is no exception. I oftentimes see copy that is well written, but obviously created by an amateur. How do I know? One or more of the following five mistakes was made and that killed the copy… dead.
Once you understand why these mistakes are, in fact, mistakes, you can easily avoid them. It isn't like they are complicated concepts. It just takes someone to bring them to your attention so you can guard against them.
Pull up your site in a browser and follow along. See if you've made any of these mistakes on your site.
#1 - Writing Without Knowing Your Target Audience
This is, without a doubt, the biggest mistake of copywriting and the #1 killer of conversions. Why? I'll answer with a question.
When you write a letter (or email), do you just start writing and decide afterwards who you're going to send the letter to? Of course not! So why, then, do so many people just jump in and start writing website copy without having a clue about who they are writing to? It makes no sense to me.
How can people possibly communicate with their site visitors if they have no idea who they are, what they are looking for, their preferred communication style, what problems they face, how they hope to use the product/service to solve those problems and countless other information? Truth is, you can't.
Take knowing your target customers to the extreme. Find out everything you can about them. Then combine all that info to create an imaginary person (or imaginary people) who fit the profile of your target audience members. You can even name them if you want to. Then - with every
Performance Marketing Alliance (PMA) Q&A at Affiliate Summit East 2008
I walked out the Performance Marketing Alliance (PMA) Q&A session at Affiliate Summit East 2008 in Boston, MA just a few hours ago, full of frustration and a bit of anger. I had to calm myself down first before I started writing this post. The subject is important and emotional for most of us, but emotions will not solve our problems and only make it harder to come to agreements and finding solutions that benefit every single one of us.
PMA and the New York State Law Issue
I realized that
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Affiliate Marketing: The Shirt Off My Back
Here I am at the end of day two of AffiliateSummit East 2008, back in Boston after quite a number of years and the keynote is not even for another eight hours. Yes, the show really does start two days before the keynote kicks off. Actually, it might be three days. I arrived early Saturday morning and I missed a few unofficial gatherings on Friday. Note to self: arrive in Vegas extra early for ASW ‘09.
I can’t really talk about the show because it has not really started. To
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Affiliate Marketing Survey Completed
We are pleased to announce that our Affiliate Survey effort was a huge success. NETexponent created and distributed a 23-question survey designed to collect information about affiliate?s wants, needs, and experiences in the affiliate marketing space. We received over 500 responses from a diverse mix of affiliates across different affiliate networks such as CJ, Performics, LinkShare, ShareASale, and others. The questions these affiliates answered are listed below. Special thanks to all of t
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Lack of Innovation and the Rejection of the unwanted Child called Affiliate Marketing
Jeff Molander wrote a post for the new blog of the Advaliant affiliate network that is pure dynamite.
I agree with Jeff on many points, including the lack of innovation in the industry during the past five years. Why was there not much innovation you might ask yourself? In my opinion networks and also many advertisers did shift their focus and priority towards affiliate publishers who are not traditional affiliates in the first place. Those publishers use the affiliate or CPA tracking platform
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New York Affiliates Provide Guidance on Compliance with Amazon Tax
Sometimes it takes a small dedicated group to successfully take the initiative when large corporations have failed to do so. The Affiliates of New York are proof of what small groups can accomplish. In the face of what has come to be known as the Amazon Tax, a rather short sighted law instituted by New York state, and the combined lack of guidance from many of the networks and merchants in the industry, this group has put together an excellent set of recommendations.
These recommendations provi
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sentence - write to that person (or persons).
#2 - Writing Without Knowing the Product/Service
Like it or not, you're a salesperson. That means you have to know all the details of the product or service you're writing about. How else can you convincingly convey the information to prospects who visit the site?
Ask your client for samples of products, use of the services or access to member areas of a site. Using or taking part in what your client is offering to his/her visitors will make a huge difference in the quality and persuasiveness of your copy. Nothing comes across as well as copywriting that has been created from experience.
#3 - Writing About the Company Instead of To the Site Visitor
They don't care. Who? Your site visitors. They don't care about your company. Rather than hear about how long you've been in business and that you're the specialists in this, that or the other thing, they'd rather find out how your product/service can benefit them.
If your home page starts with something like this, you're in trouble: "ABC Company is the specialist in [insert industry here] with over 20 years experience. We provide [fill in the blank] with our extensive knowledge and helpful service. Dedicated to providing the highest quality, we guarantee our work with a 100% money-back promise."
You're we-ing all over yourself! The customer has the money. Don't you think the copy should at least acknowledge him/her at some point? Rather than using we, us and our so much, turn it around.
Talk to your site visitors instead of about the company. Let them know you understand their needs and have answers to their problems. Don't ignore them by talking only about yourself.
#4 - Outlining Features Instead of Benefits or End Results
Features are nice, but benefits and end results make the sale because they clearly explain why the customer will be better off after buying your product or using your service. One of the biggest selling factors in copywriting is the ability to tell the customer what he/she can do with a product or service.
Take a tip from the infomercials. They don't simply tell you that a rotisserie cooker rotates as it cooks a chicken. No! They tell you that this rotisserie cooker can bake a whole, marinated, Italian herb chicken that's juicy, moist and succulent. That the seasonings slowly seep into the meat so you get bite after tender bite of flavorful chicken so good you'll beg for more. Who cares that the thing has a pointed, metal prong that rotates a chicken while it cooks? You're buying it because it can deliver that wonderful whole, marinated, Italian herb chicken!
#5 - Neglecting the Medium
Does it make a difference as to where your copy appears online? Isn't all Web copy the same? The answers are "Yes" and "No." Landing pages are not the same as home pages, which are not the same as catalog pages, which are not the same as sales letters, and so on and so on. Don't neglect to find out the differences between these and the other types of Web copy. They all have special considerations that should be studied before you begin writing.
Now you can add these five "don'ts" to your favorite copywriting checklist. Avoiding these mistakes will give you a better shot at reaching your visitors on their level and converting them into repeat customers.
About the Author
Copy not getting results? Let Karon teach you how to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Having trouble working keyphrases into your copy? Check out “How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)” at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.
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