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WORKBOOK FOR HOW TO WR ITE SEDUCTIVE WEB COP Y

Copyright © 2013 by Henneke Duistermaat

Picture your ideal reader

Create your value proposition

Edit your text to make it more appealing and persuasive

Translate features into benefits

Imagine your ideal reader while writing

Optimize your text for search engines



Writing for one ideal reader makes your web copy more vivid, more engaging, and more persuasive. Name of your ideal reader: Age:

Education: Profession:

Income: Car:

Family circumstances:

Favorite reads or movies:

Favorite websites:

Social media usage:

Dreams about:

Keeps awake at night because:

What’s important in life? How does your ideal reader make decisions?

PS If you have more than one ideal reader, create two sets of sheets. Be careful – copy that’s written for two ideal readers becomes wishy-washy. You need separate areas on your website for each ideal reader.

Add a picture of your ideal reader here



Imagine your ideal reader, and consider why this person buys from you. How do you make your ideal reader happier, healthier or more productive? Which problems do you help to avoid?

Features are facts about your products. Benefits are what the product does for your ideal reader. If you provide a service, remember to think about your personal “features” like attitude, work experience, and way of working.

Feature: Benefit: Problem you avoid:

Keeps your eyes on the road Cruise control Fewer accidents

Action plan to improve time management A more balanced life Burnout, feeling of overwhelm



Feature: Benefit: Problem you avoid:



Why does your ideal reader hesitate to buy from you? Consider how you address each objection to buying from you. Objection: How to address this objection:



Objection: How to address this objection:



Your value proposition is the first impression you make on your ideal reader when he visits your site. Your value proposition comprises a headline, possibly a subheading, and a few bullet points. Write a series of headlines first. Then pick your three favorite headlines and combine them with bullet points on the next sheet. Headline options that simply state what you do:

Headline options that highlight a key benefit:

Headlines that mention a problem you help avoid:

Now split a few headlines into a headline plus subheading: Headline:

Subheading:

Headline:

Subheading:

Headline:

Subheading:



Combine your three favorite headlines with three to five bullet points before making a final choice.

Headline 1:

Bullet points:

Headline 2:

Bullet points:

Headline 3:

Bullet points:



On the next few pages there’s some space to start writing your web copy. Feel free to ignore these boxy pages and use your favorite writing program instead. Print your list of features, benefits, and problems; and your overview with objections out to decide which information goes on which page. Remember, this is only a first draft. Just write down what needs to be written, and worry about how you’ve written when you edit in Step 6. Home page text:



Service or product page 1:



About page:



Use the checklist below to edit your text. Don’t attempt to do all your editing in one go. You catch more mistakes if you edit step by step. Be comprehensive Your first editing task is to check that your text is complete. Don’t miss any important sales messages:

Go back through your lists of features. Have you covered everything?

Review whether you’ve matched features with the benefits you offer or problems you help to avoid. Remember: Your readers are not interested in your products. They want to know what’s in it for them.

Check your list with objections. Have you addressed them all?

Examine your captions. Do they contain sales messages that entice your web visitors to

read on?

Does each page have a call-to-action? Fuzziness kills conversion rates. Ensure your web visitors know what to do next and why.

Make your text scannable Remember your web visitors behave like hungry animals. They don’t take the time to read your text. They glance at your web copy before deciding whether to click away or not. Follow these tips to edit your web copy for scanners:

Ensure each page has a headline in a large font that indicates to your web visitors they have arrived at the right place.

Check that your subheadings entice scanners to start reading.

Try to convert more sentences to short lists of fascinating bullet points because these

are easier to scan.

Make sure your headline and subheadings convey your most important messages.



Boost your credibility Your bullet points and subheadings have tempted scanners to start reading. It’s time to make your text more credible and persuasive with the following simple tricks:

Check your engagement level. Is your content focused on your ideal reader? Count the number of times you’ve used I and me versus you.

Imagine you’re having a conversation with your ideal reader. Is your text written in a

way you would write an email to him?

Can you include more specifics? Specific information increases your credibility, so try to include numbers, percentages, dates, names, and specifications.

Can you add further proof to your statements? Put on your devil’s advocate hat and

read through your text. Where do you slightly doubt your content? That’s where you need to add further proof, e.g., a quote from a customer or figures from a test report.

Kill blandness in your copy. Choose sensory and emotional words because they’re more

memorable and persuasive.

Use the word because. Because it’s one of the most powerful words of the English language. Give people a reason why they should do something and you have a better chance that they’ll follow.

Boost readability Tight, simple text engages and delights. But first drafts are usually unwieldy. Too long, too wordy, and too complicated. Don’t chase your web visitors away with sloppy writing. Simplify and tighten your text. Boost your web copy’s readability:

Cut all ideas that are irrelevant to your ideal reader.

Scrap redundant sentences. If a sentence doesn’t add to your sales message, it’s unnecessary. Saying the same thing twice in different ways is needless. Don’t repeat the same thing using different words. (See how boring and irritating that is?)

Cut excessive words. Read each sentence carefully and delete each word that isn’t

necessary. Words you can almost always delete: ought, perhaps, in my opinion, just, actually, truly, and very.

Scrap vapid clichés. Each word should have a meaning that adds to your readers’

understanding. Scrap words or phrases without real meaning, such as synergistic, best-in-class, and too good to be true.

Replace complicated words with simple words. Do you want your content to be difficult

to read? Cut long words and replace them with shorter ones. Only use jargon if you’re sure your ideal reader understands it. Are they the words your ideal reader uses?

Avoid the passive voice. We appreciate your email sounds much more personal than

your email will be appreciated.



Proofreading Don’t lose sales because of silly spelling and grammar goofs:

A spellchecker doesn't catch all spelling mistakes. To spot typos, read your text backwards or ask someone else to proofread your text.

Know the common mistakes that make you look silly. Check your there, they’re and

their, your complements and compliments, and your then and than.

Proofread on paper. You’re less likely to skim the text and miss errors.

Read your text aloud. Rewrite the text where you stumble. One more important step:

Review your ideal reader profile again (the one you prepared in Chapter 1). Picture your ideal reader and re-read your web copy. Does your ideal reader understand it? Does he like it? Does it persuade him to take action?



How can you seduce the almighty search engines to send you some extra traffic? Your last step is to optimize your web copy for search engines. Consider adding your keywords to: 1. Your headline and page title (The page title is the text that appears in blue at the top of

each search result in Google.)

2. One or two subheadings (There’s no need to introduce subheadings if you don’t have any.)

3. Your image name, alt text and image description (Alt text is the text you see when you

hover over an image with your mouse.) 4. Your opening paragraph plus every 300 words or so Please note: These recommendations are based on information available at the time of this writing. Google regularly changes its advice. For the latest advice, check websites like moz.com or seobook.com, or ask an SEO specialist. Do you have any questions or comments? Please email me: [email protected] I look forward to hearing from you!

http://www.moz.com/

http://www.seobook.com/

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