The rules for copywriting have changed!
Welcome! In the new world of the web, good online copy is rare. Most online copy, whether on a web site or in an email, is merely recycled copy from print sources. And it does not work.
People are flooded by more information than they can handle. They don't have the time for it. If you're selling, informing, or entertaining online, your online copy will either make or break your relationship with your customers.
The web affects everything in your business. Are you keeping the promises made on your web site? Are your stewarding your brand effectively online? Are you getting new customers? More importantly, are you keeping them for the long term? Web copy must be strategic, and vigilantly so.
Enter re:ingenuity. I created re:ingenuity to reimagine, and ultimately, reinvent your online copy. If you need new copy, I write with the voice of you and/or your company and brand and carefully tailor it to online reading.
If you have existing copy, I will rework it to make it more readable and effective for your users. The goal? Get more sales, registrations, supporters or whatever - hopefully for the long term.
This site will introduce you to some of my samples and other resources. It will help you think more intentionally about what you communicate online. You may see that your online or print copy needs help. If so, give me call or shoot me an email. I'd be happy to help.
Want snappier web copy? Email me with your questions.
Tip of the Day
5/14/2009 - Honor Your Readers - Your customers, followers, fans? They are smart. Give them what they need. And they are busy, so give them what they need right up front.
Your homepage should state clearly, without a bunch of mumbo jumbo, what you are selling or offering. Or what you are encouraging people to follow. Once snappy sentence that says it all. And then give them links to get any information they need to their hearts content. No, don't splurge it all in one place in big chunks of text. Treat 'em right. Give 'em clear links.
People are busy. They don't need their intelligence insulted, or a vague, wordy impression of what you do. So give it to them straight. Talk to them like trusted friends and give them your story while honoring their minds and their time. They'll be pleased and might even stay at your site to benefit from what you are offering them.
Your homepage should state clearly, without a bunch of mumbo jumbo, what you are selling or offering. Or what you are encouraging people to follow. Once snappy sentence that says it all. And then give them links to get any information they need to their hearts content. No, don't splurge it all in one place in big chunks of text. Treat 'em right. Give 'em clear links.
People are busy. They don't need their intelligence insulted, or a vague, wordy impression of what you do. So give it to them straight. Talk to them like trusted friends and give them your story while honoring their minds and their time. They'll be pleased and might even stay at your site to benefit from what you are offering them.
Word of the Day
- vilipend: Dictionary.com Word of the Day
- vilipend: to regard or treat as of little value or account.
Quick Poll
Loading poll. Please Wait...
8 Immutable Principals For Better Web Copy
Dispense with the corporate speak - What the web needs now, is less PR. We've all read it: that completely contrived blather that is aimed to create synergies, economies of scale, and best practices. Uh, did I just say that?
Ignore your organization - The last thing your users want to hear about is your business or organization. They want to hear about what they can get out of a relationship with you.
Think rapport - Imagine a personal meeting with a business contact, potential constituent or investor, or customer. Now think about what you read on the web. Do people really talk this way? What about using the web to create a personal connection with you users.
Give users what they expect - Users expect to get a need met, whether for information, fulfillment or a product/service. Don't dance around what you are offering them. Don't obsure it. Get to your point.
Start with the minimal; link to the maximal - The web is a stateless environment. So it is easy to spew everything about your product or service onto your site. That's ok, but it can get messy. Just provide the obvious value you are providing your customer first, top level. Then provide clear links to any level of detail your users might want, regardless of how esoteric it might seem.
Show value with story - You have a great product, service or mission. Why not demonstrate how great it is through real-life case studies, testimonials, and positive impacts? Users will respond when they see how you can positively impact them.
Remove every hurdle - Provide every way you possibly can for users to buy your product, engage your services, or partake in your mission.
Assume untechnical - Believe it or not, most users don't care about the fact you use Java, Flash, Linux, or whatever. Politely assume your users are complete neophytes, and then provide them with what they need with minimal technical tchotchkes or mumbo-jumbo.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
Ignore your organization - The last thing your users want to hear about is your business or organization. They want to hear about what they can get out of a relationship with you.
Think rapport - Imagine a personal meeting with a business contact, potential constituent or investor, or customer. Now think about what you read on the web. Do people really talk this way? What about using the web to create a personal connection with you users.
Give users what they expect - Users expect to get a need met, whether for information, fulfillment or a product/service. Don't dance around what you are offering them. Don't obsure it. Get to your point.
Start with the minimal; link to the maximal - The web is a stateless environment. So it is easy to spew everything about your product or service onto your site. That's ok, but it can get messy. Just provide the obvious value you are providing your customer first, top level. Then provide clear links to any level of detail your users might want, regardless of how esoteric it might seem.
Show value with story - You have a great product, service or mission. Why not demonstrate how great it is through real-life case studies, testimonials, and positive impacts? Users will respond when they see how you can positively impact them.
Remove every hurdle - Provide every way you possibly can for users to buy your product, engage your services, or partake in your mission.
Assume untechnical - Believe it or not, most users don't care about the fact you use Java, Flash, Linux, or whatever. Politely assume your users are complete neophytes, and then provide them with what they need with minimal technical tchotchkes or mumbo-jumbo.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
Web Writing and Usability
These links will give you perspective and a new motivation to revisit the effectiveness of your website. Oh, and you can check out some samples too.
- re:ingenuity Samples
- Check out writing samples of various formats here, including direct email and web copy.
- Be Succinct!
- A great primer on writing for the web by Jakob Nielsen.
- Scan? Or Read?
- 79% of web users scan rather than read. By Jakob Nielsen.
- F is for Fast
- What does eyetracking have to say about web reading? By Jackob Nielsen
- 10 Things Programmers Might Want To Know About Marketers
- Huge thoughts about tech and marketing. Has your web site been co-opted by software engineers? Have they created your marketing strategy? Written your copy? Might be time to revisit your site.
- How To Write for the Web
- OK, OK, I know... another piece by Jakob Nielsen. But it's good (and very well tested) info. Think about your web site, and then see how it meshes with Nielsen's principals.
- The Importance of Good Copy
- This blog posting by Andy Budd puts it well. He too, concurs that the state of web copy is "shocking" because it is merely recycled. And he believes that good web copy writers are "worth their weight in gold." Might be time to invest in some gold.
- The Plain English Campaign
- The home of Plain English, an independent pressure group fighting for public information to be written in plain English. Good stuff here.
- The Plain English Guide to Designing Clear Websites
- "A website is a means of communication, not a way of showing off your technical knowledge." You'd never know it, judging from what you see on the web. Is your site filled with gobbledygook?
- Web Design Sins
- We've all committed them. David Edelman, author of the sci-fi tome, Infoquake (which is excellent, BTW) shows us how to avoid committing the unpardonable.
The Six Senses of the Conceptual Age
New attitudes to master, courtesy of Dan Pink
DESIGN, not just function - Create something that is not only functional, but also beautiful, whimsical, or emotionally engaging.STORY, not just argument - There's enough data to argue positions over. It's time to create effective narratives.
SYMPHONY, not just focus - Demand is shifting from analysis to synthesis -- seeing the big picture, crossing boundaries, and combining disparate elements into an "arresting new whole."
EMPATHY, not just logic - Logic alone won't do. Understanding what makes people tick, ability to forge relationships and care for others? That's the new way of the future.
PLAY, not just seriousness - For the betterment of personal and business health, we need to integrate more laughter, lightheartedness, games and humor.
MEANING, not just accumulation - We have plenty. We can create abundance. Millions already have, but now pursue deeper desi
The Conceptual Age
We've moved from the Conceptual Age, dominated by left-brain thinking, to the Knowledge Age, dominated by right-brain thinking. Are you prepared?
- Right Brainers Will Rule the Future
- The author of Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind tracks the shift into the Conceptual Age. Compelling reading! A must for your business.
- Revenge of the Right Brain
- Logical and precise, left-brain thinking gave us the Information Age. Now comes the Conceptual Age - ruled by artistry, empathy, and emotion. - FROM WIRED MAGAZINE
Creative Thinking
- How To Be Creative by Hugh MacLeod
- MacLeod, an advertising executive and popular blogger with a flair for the creative, gives his 26 tried-and-true tips for being truly creative. Each point illustrated by a cartoon drawn by the author himself.
If you've ever felt the draw to do something creative but just haven't been able to pull it together, you'll love this manifesto. - What Kind of Genius Are You?
- A new theory suggests that creativity comes in two distinct types - quick and dramatic, or careful and quiet. - FROM WIRED MAGAZINE
Other Links of Interest
Not about copywriting or web, per se, but cool anyway.
- The Cluetrain Manifesto
- "we are not seats or eyeballs or end users or consumers. we are human beings -- and our reach exceeds your grasp.
Must-Read Resources
Web Writing and Marketing Jobs in Redmond, WA.
- Content Writer - Marketing Communications
-
Optify - Seattle, WA
write for a variety of web content including web page copy, email copy and social media marketing channel... writing and editing; specifically writing for the web... ... - COPYWRITER
-
University of Washington - Seattle, WA
the work of University Marketing by collaborating with the University Marketing team, External Affairs... on marketing communications with University Marketing... ...
by alexgs
alexgs
I'm Alex Seidel. And I love to communicate. Whether it's writing crisp and clean online copy or chatting about theology over a beer, or , communicating... more »
- 1 featured lens
- Winner of 3 trophies!
- Top lens » Write Great Web Copy
Feeling creative?
Create a Lens!
Explore related pages
- marketing dictionary: call to action marketing dictionary: call to action
- Sales Training Sales Training
- Create Effective Print Ads Create Effective Print Ads
- Yellow Pages Advertising Yellow Pages Advertising
- Lucrative List Building - How to build a profitable opt-in list fast! Lucrative List Building - How to build a profitable opt-in list fast!
- A Creed for Email Marketing A Creed for Email Marketing
