The Website Copy Guide by Studio Illicit

E-BOOK

WEBSITE COPY GUIDE THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR WRITING WEBSITE COPY!

WHAT TO EXPECT HAVING A WEBSITE THAT LOOKS THE PART IS GREAT. BUT DOES THE CHAT LIVE UP TO ITS LOOKS? OTHER THAN A POORLY MADE COFFEE THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN SEEING A KICKASS WEBSITE RUINED BY BAD COPY. NEGLECTING YOUR WEBSITE COPY IS SIMPLY OUT OF THE QUESTION. IT'S TIME TO WHACK THE LIGHTS ON AND START WRITING WHAT YOUR READERS WANT TO HEAR: SOMETHING RELEVANT AND EXCITING.

Did you know? On the web, you have less than 15 seconds to grab somebody’s attention when they first arrive on your website ... In this ultimate copywriting guide, you will discover the importance of writing great copy for your website and how to do it.

CONTENTS AUDIENCE THE THREE C'S BALANCE DON'T COPY, COPY CUT THE JARGON IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU CALL TO ACTION FAQ'S SEO THE EXPERTS YOU'RE NOT ALONE

AUDIENCE KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE BEFORE PUTTING YOUR PEN TO PAPER - OR FINGER TO KEYBOARD - YOU MUST FORENSICALLY RESEARCH YOUR AUDIENCE: KNOW WHO THEY ARE, HOW OLD THEY ARE, WHAT THEY NEED, WHAT PROBLEMS THEY HAVE, AND ABOVE ALL, HOW YOU CAN SOLVE THEM. WE CAN'T EMPHASIS ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT IT US TO GET INSIDE YOUR CUSTOMERS' HEAD. THIS IS THE NUMBER 1 TRICK IN WRITING MEANINGFUL COPY THAT RESONATES SPECIFICALLY WITH THE AUDIENCE YOU'RE PITCHING TO. GETTING TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE WILL NOT ONLY ALLOW YOU TO IDENTIFY - AND RESOLVE EVERY PROBLEM YOUR CUSTOMERS MIGHT DREAM UP, BUT IT WILL ALSO HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE TONE IN WHICH YOU NEED TO USE - DO YOU NEED TO BE UBER-PROFESSIONAL OR CAN YOU BE A BIT MORE LAID BACK? MAKE THE LANGUAGE MUTUAL.

BE RELATEABLE GOT TO KNOW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE? GREAT STUFF. NOW, ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS MAKE YOUR VISITORS FEEL AS IF YOU'RE SENT FROM THE HEAVENS TO ANSWER ALL OF THEIR PROBLEMS! EXPRESS HOW WELL YOU UNDERSTAND THEIR NEEDS, EMPATHISE WITH THE SOLUTION THEY'RE LOOKING FOR AND THEN SPELL OUT EXACTLY HOW YOU CAN CATER FOR THEIR EVERY WISH. WITHOUT MAKING THE PURPOSE OF YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE RELATABLE TO YOUR CUSTOMER'S NEEDS, GOOD, SOLID CONVERSIONS WILL BE DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE.

THE THREE C'S CLEAR. KEEPING YOUR WEBSITE COPY CLEAR AND DIRECT WILL GIVE YOU THE BEST CHANCE OF DELIVERING IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO YOUR AUDIENCE. IT WOULD BE SUCH A SHAME TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS WITH A KILLER DESIGN, TO THEN SCARE THEM AWAY WITH BUNDLES OF ADJECTIVES OR HYPERBOLE THAT ONLY PROLONG YOUR READER'S JOURNEY ... WE BEG YOU, PLEASE DON'T LET THESE ROB YOU FROM A POTENTIAL SALE!

CONCISE. SINCE ENTERING THE WORLD OF HASHTAGS, TWEETS AND ALL THE OTHER INFLUENCES OF MODERN-DAY LIFE, IT HAS BEEN DISCOVERED THAT THE AVERAGE ATTENTION SPAN HAS DROPPED TO JUST 8 SECONDS. AS A RESULT, WE HAVE SEEN TIK TOK, INSTAGRAM REELS AND YOUTUBE SHORTS TAKE OFF DRAMATICALLY ... COINCIDENCE? WE THINK NOT. IT WOULD BE NAIVE OF US TO THINK THAT THIS HASN'T AFFECTED THE WAY WE DESIGN AND USE WEBSITES, SO IT'S TIME TO SCRAP THE WAFFLE AND GET STRAIGHT TO THE POINT. ASSUME THAT YOUR READERS WON'T READ EVERYTHING AND START WRITING FOR A NEW GENERATION OF SKIMMERS.

CONSISTENT. THE LAST THING YOU WANT IS PEOPLE LANDING ON-SITE ONLY TO LEAVE WITH THE IMPRESSION YOU’VE SHUT UP SHOP. NOTHING SAYS A BUSINESS HAS CONKED OUT QUITE LIKE A BLOG PAGE FULL OF OUTDATED CONTENT. IN THOSE FIRST FEW SECONDS WHEN A READER LANDS ON YOUR SITE, YOU NEED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOUR BUSINESS IS NOT ONLY ALIVE BUT THRIVING. IF YOUR WEBSITE DOESN’T MAKE THEM FEEL LIKE ROYALTY, THEY’LL CLICK OFF AND FIND SOMEWHERE THAT DOES.

BALANCE COPY IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PART OF CREATING ANY GREAT WEBSITE, BUT COPY ALONE WON'T GET YOU THE CONVERSIONS YOU WANT AND NEED. THERE NEEDS TO BE A PERFECT BALANCE BETWEEN DESIGN, IMAGERY AND COPY.

DESIGN COPY WON'T SAVE YOU FROM BAD WEB DESIGN! HAVING FANTASTIC WEB DESIGN IS THE INITIAL DRIVER IN ATTRACTING VISITORS FAR AND WIDE TO YOUR WEBSITE AND WILL HELP TO KEEP THEM STIMULATED AS THEY SCROLL THROUGH THE PAGES OF YOUR WEBSITE.

COPY KILLER COPY IS THE NEXT STEP IN 'WOO-ING' YOUR VISITORS. WITH WELL-WRITTEN SENTENCES THAT TELL YOUR VISITORS EXACTLY WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THEM. BY ADDRESSING CUSTOMER NEEDS, YOUR AUDIENCE WILL BE INSPIRED TO TAKE ACTION THROUGHOUT YOUR WEBSITE.

IMAGERY HIGH-QUALITY IMAGERY IS NOT ONLY IMPORTANT FOR REFLECTING THE CALIBRE OF YOUR BRAND, BUT A GREAT WAY TO BREAK UP LARGE SECTIONS OF COPY - SAVING YOUR READERS FROM OVERWHELM AND BOREDOM.

DON'T COPY, COPY IT MAY BE TEMPTING TO COPY AND PASTE SECTIONS FROM YOUR FAVOURITE WEBSITE BUT TAKING CONTENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE'S WEBSITES IS A WHOPPING BIG NO-NO. NOT ONLY CAN THIS HURT YOUR SEO EFFORTS (GOOGLE DOESN'T TAKE COPIED CONTENT LIGHTLY), AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGE YOUR BRAND REPUTATION, BUT IT IS ALSO VERY MUCH ILLEGAL. THE CONTENTS OF A WEBSITE SHOULDN'T BE TREATED ANY DIFFERENTLY THAN NON-DIGITAL CONTENT. THANKFULLY WE LIVE IN A DIGITAL WORLD WHERE IT HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER TO GET YOUR CREATIVE CAP ON AND EXPRESS YOURSELF IN WHICHEVER MEDIUM YOU SEE FIT - AUTHENTICITY HAS NEVER BEEN SO IN FASHION, SO LET'S EMBRACE IT!

What is copyrighted on a website?

Copy

Source Code

Any TEXT USED within A WEBSITE HAS THE SAME COPYWRITING RIGHTS AS A PHYSICAL BOOK - ink or pixels, it makes no difference.

Source code is the unique code that is specific to a website. this doesn't apply to off-the-shelf templates that use similar/the same code.

Graphics Graphics, logos, illustrations ... you name it, it's protected!

Colour Palettes brand colour pallettes that are specific to a brand/business can be trademarked - take the iconic tiffany blue or Cadburys purple as an example!

Imagery

Design/Layout

all photos and videos are protected by copyright laws. even if you are using stock imagery, you need to pay for the rights to use it!

this counts for original and unique designs that aren't off-the-shelf templates.

CUT THE JARGON YEARS AGO WEBSITES WERE EXPECTED TO EXHIBIT CORPORATE LANGUAGE, PROFESSIONAL PHRASING AND PROPER GRAMMAR IN ORDER TO PROVE THEIR INDUSTRY STATUS. NOW? USERS FAVOUR AUTHENTIC LANGUAGE THAT DISPLAYS CHARACTER AND THE MORE HUMAN SIDE OF A BRAND OR BUSINESS. BUT LIKE ANYTHING, THERE'S A LIMIT. WE ALL LOVE THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO BE A BIT MORE PLAYFUL WITH OUR COPYWRITING BUT SOMTIMES IT CAN BE A LITTLE TOO MUCH AND HAS AN ADVERSE EFFECT. USERS DON'T LIKE A TRY-HARD. YOUR WEBSITE COPY NEEDS TO BE NATURAL AND MATCH THE TONE OF VOICE THAT RESONATES WITH YOUR AUDIENCE AND REFLECT LANGUAGE YOU WOULD USE ON A DAYTO-DAY BASIS. CROSSING THIS LINE COULD RESULT IN YOUR WEBSITE/BUSINESS BEING PERCEIVED AS INAUTHENTIC. TO PUT IT NICELY, STOP TRYING TO BE ONE OF THE COOL KIDS.

IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. WE HATE TO BREAK IT TO YOU, BUT ABOUT PAGES ARE NEVER ACTUALLY ABOUT YOU - AT LEAST THEY SHOULDN'T BE. IT REALLY IS TRUE WHEN THEY SAY THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS COMES FIRST! SO RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO REGURGITATE SOME CORPORATE JARGON WHICH MEANS NOTHING TO YOUR CUSTOMER OR TO TELL THEM ABOUT YOUR FUN-FILLED OFFICE WHERE YOU DO TEAM YOGA EVERY MONDAY, AND THINK ABOUT WHY YOUR COMPANY HAS THE BEST PRODUCT OR SERVICE IN YOUR INDUSTRY. YOUR ABOUT PAGE SHOULD TELL YOUR STORY IN A WAY THAT EXPLAINS YOU'RE THE BEST PROVIDER IN THE MARKET - AND CONVINCE YOUR CUSTOMER THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO GO ANYWHERE. PERSUADE THEM YOU'RE THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS!

CALL TO ACTION DON'T SPEND HOURS WRITING GREAT COPY AND FORGET ABOUT YOUR CALLS TO ACTION (CTAS) AT THE LAST HURDLE. CALLS TO ACTION ARE THE ICING ON THE CAKE THAT WILL MOTIVATE YOUR USERS TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP IN THE USER JOURNEY OF YOUR WEBSITE. TO BUY. TO LISTEN. TO GET IN TOUCH. TO SIGN-UP. WITHOUT STRONG CALLS TO ACTION STRATEGICALLY PLACED AROUND YOUR WEBSITE, A USER COULD FEEL CONFUSED OR OVERWHELMED AND HEAD ELSEWHERE, WHERE THEY ARE ENCOURAGED TO TAKE ACTION. YOU CAN INCORPORATE CTA'S IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT YOUR WEBSITE - TRY AND THINK STRATEGICALLY WITH THE PLACEMENTS OF YOUR CALLS TO ACTION SO THAT THEY NATURALLY FLOW WITH THE USER EXPERIENCE OF YOUR WEBSITE. SOME EXAMPLE WAYS TO INCLUDE CTA'S IN YOUR WEBSITE ARE: AT THE END OF A PAGE, BELOW A HEADER, A POP-UP MESSAGE OR WITHIN THE SIDEBAR.

NEED SOME INSPIRATION? WHY NOT TRY SOME OF THE CTA'S BELOW? JOIN US

LET'S TALK DOWNLOAD NOW

TRY FOR FREE

SIGN ME UP

GET STARTED DISCOVER MORE GET MY DISCOUNT

FAQ'S WE KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. IS MY FAQ PAGE REALLY THAT IMPORTANT COMPARED TO THE REST OF MY SITE? THE ANSWER IS YES, YOUR FAQ PAGE IS SO POWERFUL FOR CONVERSIONS. SINCE YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE INSIDE AND OUT, LEAVE NO QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS UNANSWERED. WHETHER THIS IS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE COPY ON YOUR WEBSITE, OR YOU DEVOTE A FULL PAGE TO FAQ'S, MAKE SURE YOU COVER EVERYTHING A POTENTIAL CUSTOMER MIGHT WONDER ABOUT. ON A SIDE NOTE, AN ENTIRE FAQ PAGE IS ALSO A GREAT WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR SEO AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, USER EXPERIENCE. AN FAQ PAGE CAN HELP YOUR USERS TO FIND THE EXACT ANSWER THEY COULD BE LOOKING FOR ... AND FAST! MUCH BETTER THAN HAVING TO HUNT THROUGH YOUR ENTIRE WEBSITE TO FIND THE ANSWER. (AND LET'S FACE IT, NOT MANY WILL BOTHER)

SEO SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION MAY SOUND DULL, BUT DOING IT WELL CAN REVIVE DEAD SITES, BOOST READERSHIP AND MAKE YOU ALL WARM AND FUZZY INSIDE WHEN THE SALES START ROLLING IN. YOUR WEBSITE CONTENT STRATEGY NEEDS TO KEEP SEO IN MIND. KEYWORDS SHOULD TRUMP YOUR COMPETITORS, TITLES SHOULD REFLECT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING FOR, AND CONTENT SHOULD MAKE THE READER THANKFUL THEY FOUND YOU. ONCE YOU START PERFORMING WELL ON THESE ASPECTS, SEARCH ENGINES WILL LOVE YOUR SITE, EVEN MORE, GIVING YOU A HUGE ADVANTAGE OVER YOUR COMPETITORS.

*DISCLAIMER* INCLUDING KEYWORDS IN YOUR WEBSITE COPY IS GREAT PRACTICE AND WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THIS, BUT LIKE EVERYTHING, THERE IS A FINE LINE BETWEEN SMASHING IT OUT OF THE PARK AND SIMPLY OVERDOING IT. STUFFING KEYWORDS INTO YOUR COPY COULD RESULT IN GOOGLE LOWERING YOUR SITE'S RANKING AS THIS DEFIES GOOGLE'S EFFORTS TO CREATE A MORE NATURAL AND AUTHENTIC ALGORITHM THAT FAVOURS USER EXPERIENCE.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BAD PRACTICES THAT COULD HARM YOUR WEBSITE? READ OUR FULL SEO GUIDE!

THE EXPERTS THERE ARE MANY BENEFITS TO TAKING A STEP BACK FROM WRITING YOUR OWN WEBSITE COPY. LET'S TAKE A LOOK:

EXPERTISE GREAT WRITING IS SECOND NATURE TO A PROFESSIONAL, SO YOU KNOW YOU'RE GUARANTEED TO GET COPY THAT IS SPOT ON.

INSIGHT GOOD COPYWRITERS WILL FORENSICALLY INVESTIGATE YOUR BUSINESS AND YOUR MARKET TO GAIN THE FULL PICTURE OF THE SECTOR YOU'RE OPERATING IN - THIS WILL GIVE YOUR COPY GREAT CONTEXT.

OBJECTIVITY THE SINGLE BIGGEST BENEFIT IS AN UNDENIABLE TRUTH: YOU CAN NEVER BE OBJECTIVE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS BECAUSE YOU ARE SITTING TOO CLOSE TO THE TABLE. A PROFESSIONAL COPYWRITER WILL BE ABLE TO BRING CUSTOMER-LIKE OBJECTIVITY TO YOUR COPY AND MAKE YOU QUESTION THINGS THAT YOU PROBABLY HAVE NEVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT. OUTSOURCING FOR YOUR COPY WILL GIVE YOUR WEBSITE A WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE!

GREAT PR WEIRDLY MOST PEOPLE FIND IT HARD TO BLOW THEIR OWN TRUMPET ... OR PERHAPS IT'S JUST A BRITISH THING! BUT FOR A COPYWRITER, MARKETING AND PR IS THE BOTTOM LINE SO THEY'LL HAVE NO TROUBLE SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS IN THEIR COPY ABOUT HOW AWESOME YOU ARE.

TIME IS PRECIOUS AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU'RE MUCH BETTER OFF ON THE FRONT LINE: SERVING YOUR CUSTOMERS AND MAKING YOUR BUSINESS THRIVE, THAN WORRYING ABOUT WEB COPY. IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO OUTSOURCE THIS SORT OF WORK IN THE LONG RUN. TIME IS MONEY AFTER ALL - WHERE IS YOUR TIME BEST SPENT?

YOU'RE NOT ALONE AT ILLICIT, WE’VE GOT A FANTASTIC TEAM OF COPYWRITERS ON HAND IF YOU JUST CAN'T HACK IT ... OR SIMPLY DON'T WANT TO! LENDING THEIR RESEARCH AND WRITING TALENTS, THEY CAN CREATE THE CONTENT YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS IN ORDER TO TAKE THINGS UP A NOTCH. NO SUBJECT IS TOO DIFFICULT, NO SITE TOO BIG, AND NO BUSINESS TOO NICHE. YOUR BRAND IS SAFE IN OUR HANDS.

BUT DON'T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT:

WWW.COSMETICALONDON.CO.UK

WWW.SEDGEMOORDOGGYSPLASH.CO.UK

WWW.SIDESHORE.CO.UK

WWW.ASPIRESOCIALWORK.CO.UK