Thursday, October 2, 2008

Cataweb Online S.L. Tips On Writing Web Copy That Works

Optimizing your website's design and code for better rankings in the search engines is just the first step to getting customers to patronize your products online. Once you get them there, you want to keep them there, and you want them to stay there because they're interested in what you have to offer. That means writing good copy for your website, and there's just no SEO trick for that, even from Cataweb Online S.L.

What you have to do is go old school and just write something engaging and appealing. You've got to go for your surfer's emotions to get them to patronize what you've got, so advice from someone like legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz is still solid gold. Now I don't really know who Eugene Schwartz is, but he passed away in 1995, when the internet was still in its infancy, but his advice on how to write good copy still holds true. Personally, when I read his tips, I always picture Jerry Maguire's mentor in my head, old-fashioned office and all, what can I say, the lessons stick in my head better that way!

The first thing he advises is to know your audience's concerns. You don't need to have an instant connection with them, like some natural empath. You can research on current trends by just talking to people like cab drivers, or even watching the Top 10 movies of the season, just to see what people like at the moment.

Once you know what they're into, you can take the next step, which is making a promise that will appeal to those people. If visitors to your site are busy and thrifty mothers, for example, you can write an article there detailing "10 Quick and Affordable Lunches To Pack For Your Kids". What young, harried single mom wouldn't want to read something like that? And once they click on your article and read it, that's a victory for you.

So once they're interested, you've got to tell them a story. And what is that story about? You need to show them how your service or product or whatever it is you're offering on your website will fulfill the promise you made in your article. Use your copy to engage their five senses through words, making them feel as if they had the product right there with them, physically.

They're halfway ready to using it already if you do the job right, and don't even think you need to be very detailed and technical about it. KISS is still an old school lesson no one should forget -- Keep It Simple Stupid. Write your copy as if you were explaining your product to one of your pals. Eugene Schwartz used to say you should "write to the chimpanzee brain - simply and directly." And with some direct marketers saying that you should write your text as if you were expecting your audience to be composed of eight to fourteen-year olds, then you know you don't need a fancy writing degree to produce the copy that you need.

The final piece of advice Mr. Schwartz would probably give you is to avoid BS as much as possible, because a lot of people have good BS-meters nowadays. Don't make any outrageous claims, and focus on telling your audience what your product DOES instead of what it IS. As mentioned earlier, it's about telling a story, and hopefully, this Cataweb Online S.L. article did just that for you!

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