I have come across many heated debates on the Internet, between online marketers who support long marketing copy and those who maintain that short copy converts better. I agree that each has its own merits, but from my experiments in the inbound marketing area, I find that the best ever conversion tweak for an online copy, is to keep it short and sweet.
Businesses rely on long sales pages, because it offers all the information that the customers would ever need in a single page, provided they are patient enough to read all that text. In reality, an online visitor, who is looking for a product or service, would spend at the most five to ten seconds on a website before clicking back to view other links on the search results, unless the visitor finds the content really gripping enough. Even if you manage to get hold of a few visitors with your long, yet fascinating sales page, the majority of potential customers would choose to ignore the tiresome textual details.
With the viral videos and smartphones taking over the center stage in Internet marketing, time is no longer a luxury for online marketers. To get your visitors to sign up for your offer, you should present it in a short and fascinating way, inspiring curiosity in them to seek more information. The trick is in putting all information out to the visitors in as little words and space as possible on your web copy’s real estate. I am going to explain how you can say a lot with a few words, consuming as little time of the visitors as possible, and in the process create a successful web copy for your business.
Focus on the Click
The focus of your online copy should be to get the customer click through to your ordering page or a sign up form. It is tempting to put across all the features and benefits of your products or services on the copy, but never give into it, because too much details takes the curiosity away and the customer would no longer feel the need to click through for more information.
An ideal online copy presents an attractive teaser about your business, highlighting the unique features of your products and service, and tempting them to seek more information. The content of the copy should lead the readers to the button that takes them to another page in your website that offers further information. Getting them to click should be your primary goal when you design a web copy.
Write Messages that Suit your Audience
When you write a copy, keep in mind to whom you are writing. The secret of any successful advertisement lies in its approach to its target audience. The language you use has a great impact on how people view your brand. With the dwindling patience of online users these days, you should find ways to build rapport with the reader right away. Research your target market, and gather the demographic information before you begin writing your web copy. Also, visit online forums and social media websites where your potential customers frequent and observe their conversations and study their attitude. When you know their likes and dislikes, you will have enough ammo to create the content of your marketing copy.
Compress your Marketing Message into a Video
Video is an effective medium to get your message to the customers, especially when you a have a lot to say. So, instead of writing it all down on your copy, make a video explaining your services to the customers.
It is found that people readily spend more time in watching a video than reading an article. Videos impart more knowledge in limited time to a vast number of viewers, while at the same time giving your website a human face.
When you create your video, you should begin with the explanation of what you are offering. Introduce each feature of your product or service as a solution to a prevailing problem. Support your claims with factual and statistical data, and include short clips of testimonials from your customers to build trust.
Finally, lead your viewers to the call-to-action that prompts them to click through to order or sign-up for more information.
Finally, lead your viewers to the call-to-action that prompts them to click through to order or sign-up for more information.
Use Bullet Points and Subheadings
Online visitors are more likely to skim through the content rather than read all the text, so convey your message through subheadings and bulleted points.
Bullet points help in improving the readability and reducing bounce rate considerably, because these are short and to the point unlike paragraphs that are often quite tiresome for the readers.
Subheadings can help in keeping the message fluid so that the reader can identify the different thoughts mentioned in the content and keep with the flow.
Use Active Voice
A copy should be written in active voice, so that it is more conversational and lends a human voice to the page.
Instead of saying, “Quick and Effective Social Media Solutions are offered at XYZ Company”, you can say, “We offer Quick and Effective Social Media Solutions” for a deeper impact on the reader.
You can also start an active voice sentence with the verb for a more persuasive messages like, “Learn how to use Social Media to triple your Online Traffic.”
Active voice keeps the message shorter and clearer for the reader to understand.
Check out the web copy by Crazy Egg shown below for inspiration. You can notice that the web copy begins right away with the core of the offer and uses active voice in its sentences.
Signal Scarcity
In your calls-to-action, also include a phrase or sentence that urges the visitor to act quickly. Scarcity is the best trick to get a customer make his or her purchase decision quickly.
Phrases like “Limited offer”, and “Hurry!” can make the customers feel that your product is in great demand, which in turn motivates them to make the ‘click’. This tactic can have a great effect in improving your conversion rates.
The Final Edit
Now, when you have your web copy ready, it is time for the final edits. Skim through your copy like an online visitor, and look for sentences where your eyes stop longer to understand. Remove long and complex sentences as much as possible, and use active verbs to convey the idea in a much shorter form.
A copy should take the visitors right to the offer, instead of taking them through formal introductory sentences. Look for such introductions, and replace them with sentences that take the customer straight to the heart of the copy.
Look for subheadings that can be avoided without affecting the integrity of the message. The lesser the sections, the shorter the web copy.
