The hot shot ad agency types will tell you it’s about something gimmicky, shocking or what’s hot today. They’re only partly right. There are many reasons people ‘get it’ – and plenty of obstacles that stop them getting it! Here are 7 tips that will help your copy to be read:

1. I don’t want to know what you do, I want to know what I get so write about what’s in it for ME (your reader).

2. If you give me lots to read I might not bother, keep paragraphs and sentences short and to the point.

3. When you start writing you MUST know why people buy you and tell your readers that’s what they get.

4. Most people don’t read online, they scan, so put easy-to-read devices like bullets and subheads to help them get your message – and whilst people tend to read more from paper, it’s a good way to draw their attention to the key points.

5. What do people REALLY want to know? Not lots of detail. Tell them what they want, not what you want to say.

6. What do you want people to do when they’ve read your message? Don’t forget a call to action.

7. Don’t make people work hard; tell them what to do and make it easy for them to do (i.e. make the words a link) or put the phone number right there (don’t expect them to search around for it).

There are many more reasons people stop reading – but just getting these right will make a real difference.

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When you present your business in writing there are a few critical things to remember:

Whatever else you do your website is usually the place people go to follow up or check you out. It needs to connect with people quickly and to be easy to navigate in order to keep people interested for long enough to get them to take action.

If you’ve got obstacles in their way, some of them will leave. So your website needs to be usable and readable.

If you’ve got a strong message it needs to be on everything you publish. You need to be consistent, clear and concise.

Finally, use your social networks, Twitter and your lists (you have got a list, haven’t you) to keep in touch.
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Ted Nicholas (the guru of copywriting) says you should spend more time on your headline than on the rest of your copy, I’m not sure I totally agree, but it’s definitely the top of my list of things to get right!

If your headline does its job properly it will:

If it doesn’t work people will:

If it’s missing completely it’s as bad as not having a headline at all.

Remember that ‘Welcome’ is not a headline and neither is ‘Home page’. If your web designer is any good they will be able to arrange for the page the user is on to show up in a different colour on the menu so you don’t need to waste prime real estate telling people where they are!

How do you create a good headline?

Brainstorm as many headlines as you can without worrying about how readable they are. Then when you’ve run out of ideas review the lot and you’ll almost certainly have one or two – or two that can be amalgamated – that stand out and have energy and engagement.
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If you are the company owner you’re probably the worst person to write your website copy – you simply know too much!

Most of us are so passionate about what we do (or why are you doing it?) that we want to tell our readers EVERYTHING. The trouble is that they simply don’t want to know.

When people arrive on your website they are there for a reason – they’re either looking for information or trying to find a specific product or service and probably comparing offerings. All they are interested in is:

That means that every word on your site needs to address those two questions.

Here are 7 key things to avoid:

1. Don’t start with ‘Welcome’ or the page name – start with a big bold headline that tells them the site is will address their needs.

2. Don’t use the home page to tell them how wonderful you are, how long you’ve been in business and all your qualifications and experience. The home page should be about your visitor and what they’re looking for.

3. Don’t assume that they’ll arrive on your home page – every page should stand alone; strong headline; content that supports that and outlines clearly what it’s about.

4. Don’t imagine that people will rush to your testimonials page and read them all avidly. Scatter your testimonials throughout the site on relevant pages.

5. Don’t put too much information on the pages – people don’t read it anyway; they just scan for key bits of information. Put key words in bold (but not too many); use bullet lists (no more than 5 to a list); keep paragraphs short and the page should not be more than 2 screens to scroll down. Aim for 200-250 words max.

6. Don’t forget to put page titles that go in the blue bar at the top – or get your web designer to do it; it helps people to know what the page is about – especially the bots!

7. Don’t write a dry fact based About page – give it some energy! Quotes from the founder, MD, CEO, Owner, that bring their passion, beliefs and values to life – you might find that real people are the deciding factor in whether someone ‘buys’ your organisation or a competitors!

Over to you!
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English is one of the richest languages in the world – the multitude of words with nuances of meaning is awesome. It’s astonishing that it’s become an international language, simply because there’s so much vocabulary to learn – and let’s not get started on the irregularities in English grammar!

Talking to a client we got on the subject of ‘understanding’. I think that the word ‘understand’ means that the person gets the message correctly and clearly. He says they may understand something, but not understand it correctly.

This all ties into the issues of whether the accurate understanding of your message is the responsibility of the receiver, or the responsibility of the sender (that’s you).

When you say something to someone else, it’s hard to say ‘did you understand that?’ without sounding as though you’re also saying ‘I think you’re a bit thick, so I’m checking up on you.’

Of course, even so, they will probably say ‘yes’ in any case. This might mean:

Professional speakers are taught to repeat their points three times – just to make sure we all get it. It’s a good rule of thumb to follow.

So, now you’ve read all this, did you understand what I thought I’d said, which was …

Be clear, be concise and, if in doubt that you’ve been understood, say it again in different words!
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A couple of posts ago I promised more about how people read different kinds of document. Here it is!

On screen people scan in an F shape with the top bar of the F starting about 2/5 of the way down the screen. On paper the scan pattern changes, depending on the document.

On a flat piece of paper most people scan in a Z pattern. This means that they get the headline, then their eyes run diagonally from top right to low on the left hand side. Anything on the right hand side is pretty much ignored and, to get attention on the left you’ll need to use devices such as subheaders and bullet point lists. Contact details across the bottom or in the bottom right corner work well. Bear in mind that a low percentage of people actually turn an A4/letter size sheet over – so think carefully whether you need a message on the back!

A trifold – an A4/letter sized sheet folded in on both sides to a standard envelope sized document. This is where you can use both sides very effectively, if you get the information in the right places. This is what needs to go where:

A postcard is a small area so don’t stuff it with information, however, use the front for attracting attention – a bright visual and a strong bold headline. The back can carry a few ‘what you get’ bullets and your contact information with a strong call to action, people do turn postcards over as we’re conditioned to expect a message on the reverse.

There are many more documents – the secret of success is to watch people handling them and see where they stop and read – then use that information to put your key messages in the right places.
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This isn’t about web copy – but it is about readability and it uses some of the same ‘rules’.

There are many different varieties of flyer; there’s the letter/A4 sized sheet, the A5 (half letter size), the trifold, the DL (compliments slip size); the postcard – and many others. Today I’m going to talk about content – and tomorrow about where the content needs to go.

Finally, when you’ve assembled those pieces of information – don’t be tempted to fill space with additional information! Stop right there!

Read the next blog to find out how to assemble the various types of flyer so the key information is in the right places.
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Before I launch myself on the issue of keywords and phrases, please be aware I’m not an expert in search engine optimisation. I know lots of people who are, but wouldn’t begin to try and teach anyone the finer points of SEO! What I do know about is how to create SEO friendly copy.

Firstly, you need to know what people are searching for. The experts have lots of means of working that out – however, a good place to start is to ask a few people what they would type into the search box to find the sort of products or service that you offer.

Remember that people don’t search for ‘professional IT services’, they search for ‘how do I get my computer working properly?’ They won’t put in ‘Advanced Time Management Training programmes’, they’ll put in ‘Getting better organised at work’.

When you’ve got two or three likely phrases (and maybe a few less common, but interesting ones) you need to write copy that uses these between 2-4 times. Don’t contrive the copy – it has to work for the human being reading as well as the search engine.

Bear in mind that today’s search engines tend to ‘read’ the overall content and assess whether it relates to the subject being written about, so a string of keywords just doesn’t impress them at all!

Make sure that the content on the page is all about the subject of the page and makes sense, include your keywords and relate the content to them.

If you want to create more than one landing page for more than one set of keywords, the same applies – and you can’t simply write the same copy with the words changed; Google doesn’t like that and dumps your page! There’s an art to creating alternative copy.
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It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a book, a letter, a website, or a marketing email – there is one thing they all have in common – a plan!

I know of writers who suffer from ‘writer’s block’ – and they claim that they need inspiration to write. I don’t buy that!

Even for fiction – where creativity might be said to be rated higher (although I don’t agree with that either) – a plan makes writing easier.

If you know what the purpose of your written document is and brainstorm all the key elements that must be included:

and so on, then organise all the information into a logical order – you’ve got your plan!

Of course, part of the issue will be about length – how much information do people want to read on this issue? There will be items of information that are essential and some that are desirable, and some that are purely an ego trip for you. Time to do some weeding!

Now you have all the essential information and information that helps people to get your message in the right order, writing it should be really straightforward.
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If you’ve got visitors to your website you want to keep them! This is all about readability. Reduce your bounce rates and improve retention by paying attention to these five things:

1. Put the headline in the right place – it needs to be in prime real estate – usually around two fifths of the way down from the top of the screen (that’s the actual physical screen, not the webpage) and about 4-5 cms in from the left hand edge. That’s where people’s eyes generally connect with the screen.

2. Make sure that your headline is the biggest font on the page – it needs to be at least 18pt and should not be overpowered by fancy graphics and page names.

3. Do not include the word ‘we’ in your headline. If possible use the word ‘you’. Make sure it addresses the reader’s pain or gain, it must hit an emotional trigger to keep them reading.

4. Don’t write loads of ’stuff’ (web copy) about your services – focus on what the reader gets, what it will do for them and how much better life will be with your product/service in place. Stick to the point, short words, short sentences and short paragraphs. A good web page is no more than 2 screens – even better if you can get it on one!

5. Don’t put anything on the page that moves more than once. Moving images distract the eye and they never get to read your message.

6. Don’t present your copy where the web copy is in a lighter colour than the background – this will create ‘dazzle’ and make reading hard work. Many people just won’t get what you’ve got to say.

7. Paragraphs should be left aligned, not justified and not centred. This is the easiest format for people to read. They don’t get ‘lost’ and reread lines or skip lines as much so no frustration factor to overcome!

If you really want people to get your message – take action and you’ll improve your visitor retention rate.
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