So, you’ve got an online store but don’t seem to be making much headway when it comes to picking up customers, website hits and signups for your newsletter. You’re selling the products people are buying – albeit elsewhere – and your interface is user friendly and intuitive, so what exactly is the issue?
Your copy is falling flat.
Copy is more than the words used to fill up space beneath product pictures; it is an invitation to Google’s bots to witness the unique experience your website offers. It’s a blank canvas to prove to your potential customers that you’re far more than the sum of your inventory. It’s a chance to leave your competitors quaking in their boots, and if you’re copy-pasting manufacturer text from your distributor website, you’re blowing it.
Copy Yes, Paste No
Booking online copywriting services is not a simple style choice, it’s as vital a digital business component as your shopping cart or credit card processor. If you’re selling widgets because they’re popular, chances are you’re in a very good company. Trouncing a healthy chunk of your copy-pasting competitors is as easy as a brief chat with your shiny new copywriter. He or she will bring your tone and “feel” to life in welcome pages, product descriptions and even email campaigns, leaving your competition wondering what the heck just happened to their sales numbers.
Daily deal site Woot.com puts a lot of thought into their copy, making it playful, engaging and smirk-worthy – a powerful trio of engagement that keeps the customers coming back to this daily deal site. Taking a page of the irreverent approach embraced by Groupon and their ilk, Woot isn’t afraid to provide a humorous post that has little or nothing to do with the product. This adds entertainment value for the customer and gives the Google bots something meatier to chew on as well. Woot’s email campaigns are similarly noteworthy, with themed rollouts, flash sales and other “act now” type call-to-actions that get the clicks they need to get eyes on their site. Even their subject lines are attention-grabbing while still communicative – a clever distinction mastered by their copywriters.
Forge Copy Connections
Much like painters and musicians, copywriters tend to possess their own style and tone when it comes to their craft. Take the time to find a writer that brings the proper voice to your vision, and be sure to bookmark them when the project is done. Copy needs to be refreshed every once in awhile – think of it as changing oil in a car – and sticking with a tone that works is the kind of consistency that reassures customers. Even if your products stay the same year to year, getting new descriptions and copy written up annually or bi-annually keeps you fresh and topical. Offerings like how-to guides and shopping tips are all opportunities to connect with your customers and add more indexable content, and they’ll all look stellar under the pen of your chosen wordsmith.
Delany M is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
