This is a guest blog post by the talented, Jamie Jensen, professional copywriter and owner of Hot Copy. Jamie has some serious copywriting superpowers. She’s as sassy as they come and has loads of valuable copywriting lessons to share.
Do I Have All Day?
I think I might need it.
I LOVE answering this question because copy is SO important and so many people are doing it wrong, turning off their clientele, losing business and confusing potential customers that it just makes me wanna yell…
STOP THE MADNESS!
First things first, let’s define what copy is.
At it’s simplest, copy is literally: words that describe your business to people.
Web copy = the words on your website.
Direct response copy = the words on your marketing mailers.
And so on…It’s everything written in plain English anywhere about your business. Seems easy enough, right? It should be.
But here’s the part that’s hard (and significant).
Copy is how you are communicating with your customer on the page.
So if you want to build a loyal business relationship with your consumer, you’re going to have to step it up with your copy first.
Now if the internet didn’t exist and there was zero competition in your market, copy would be obsolete. You would be able to focus completely on the experience your customer was having on location in your business.
But now, things have changed.
Now, your customer can Google you and check you out before ever meeting you in real life. (Assuming you have great SEO set up! If not, they may never find you online!)
Your primary goal is to give your clients a memorable experience on your website; one that is consistent with your physical business and distinct and exceptional from your competitors.
Because ultimately your web copy is a direct reflection of you, your business and your brand.
It dictates how your customers see you, what they know about you, and most importantly: how they feel about you. So if your website has typos, is written poorly or just straight-up sounds robotic – your customer might assume you’re uneducated, or sloppy, or lacking personality.
Here’s What To Do:
Review your copy and ask yourself: are the words on my website true to my brand?
Do I communicate with my customer online in the same way I do in my store, restaurant, studio, or gym?
This customer experience should be exactly the same on your website as it is on location.
It needs to be consistent across all platforms.
Just like it in any relationship, this consistency builds trust.
The more trust you can build with your customer, the more they can rely on who you are as a company, and the more loyalty you’ll receive in return.
And we all know that loyalty and client retention, in all industries, is key to surviving in today’s economy.
Websites aren’t living, breathing, real live humans.
BUT with the right design and copy, your website can reflect your humanity and the personality of your company. And that – is good business!
Jamie Jensen is the award-winning writer and word-wing-woman behind Hot Copy. She spent a decade slinging snappy dialogue + pitching plots for Hollywood screenplays before turning up the heat with web copy. Jamie helps other sexy solopreneurs upgrade their business communication by adding volume to their voice and sales to their stories. You can find her cracking terrible jokes and making passes at strangers here. (Oh yea, she wrote and directed a movie too.)
