Copywriting Secrets and Tips: Copy in the Audience
‘Copywriting Secrets and Tips’ is a guide for website owners, authors, and web designers on creating engaging SEO enhanced copy. Over the coming months I’ll carve out a quintessential source of information on the subject of online copy. So sit back and prepare to embark on an epic tale of copywriting in a virtual age…
The rules of engagement…
Let’s set the ball in motion by saying there are no rules – as with any creative venture, the end result should always serve the subject!
Does this mean adopting a Dirty Harry-like approach of shooting first and asking questions later? Perhaps not. But instead of talking in absolutes, it’s best to think of writing for the web as an organic process.
As such, I’ll share with you a set of interchangeable guidelines, tips, and points of contention when tackling web copy.
Where to start…?
If you’re planning a road-trip this year you might be advised to map-out the route prior to departure. The same applies to web copy. Don’t be lured into putting pen to paper until you’ve developed a firm understanding of how people read online – resist the temptation!
Instead, step into the mind of your reader and learn the ways of web copy. Seeing things from an audience perspective will help inform all aspects of your project from layout, to content, headings, pictures, and beyond.
So is this really necessary? You betcha it is.
Online reading is a distinct animal that requires a special diet of tailored copy.
When it comes to the internet, for instance, research shows people are prone to scanning content and deterred by heavy-blocks of information. Your copy might be on par with the work of Shakespeare, but if people aren’t willing to give it a chance, then it’s bound to fall short.
Reading on the web is a very particular process and successful copy projects are shaped to suit this need. Consider for a moment: it’s raining outside, rolling winds spark an overhanging tree into life, its branch-like tentacles reach forward and rat-a-tat-tat on the window; you’re perched on the couch – a warm cup of coffee in one hand, War and Peace in the other – you take solace in your surroundings.
Now consider the same scenario sitting upright at your desk, a searing computer screen locked in battle with your waning eyes – it’s different right?
On a computer, the reader often wants quickly digestible facts, a swat-team style in-and-out approach, whereas with a novel, the reader is prepared to inject a different level of commitment.
Easy rider, easy reader…!
Reading on a screen is undoubtedly hard on the eyes, so use the tricks of the trade. Things like short sentences, plain English instead of jargon, paragraph breaks, lists, headings, sub-headings and keywords are integral to the online reading experience.
Such measures will distill overlong paragraphs into content pleasing to the eye. Avoid drowning the reader in a torrent of words; massage the visual layout of the webpage, and write with a mind to the reader.
And therein lies the key message of this opening post: begin any web copy project by developing a grasp of your readers’ needs then build them into your content.
So remember, where possible, keep it simple.
Anthony
2:57 pm, January 24, 2010
Love your no holds barred approach, great point about segmenting the copy, a long paragraph is hard to read.
Cammie Cechini
2:06 am, August 15, 2010
I’m loving these posts, keep ‘em coming! bye