copywriting for startups and entrepreneurs
TRANSCRIPT
Here’s what we’ll cover today:
Agenda
1. Website Purpose & Goals
2. Understanding Your Audience
3. Creating a Simple Sitemap
4. Copywriting Secrets
5. Putting it All Together
Hello, My Name Is…
Introductions
• Name
• Business
• What You’re Hoping to Get Out of Today’s Workshop
House Rules
Important Info
• Ask Questions as We Go
• Eat When You’re Hungry
• Take Breaks When You Need Them
• This is YOUR Workshop!
Why Does Your Organization Need a Website?
Website Purpose & Goals
• Find New Clients
• Share Information
• Sell Things
• Collect Donations
• Cultivate Community
• Showcase Expertise
• Promote Events
• Curate Ideas
Write down the reasons your business needs a website.
What Activities Do You Want People to Do?
Website Purpose & Goals
• Contact
• Purchase
• Download
• Subscribe
• Donate
• Sign Up
Once you have your list, put it in priority order.
Who Are You Writing To?
Understanding Your Audience
“Your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out
one person — a real person you know, or an imagined person — and write to that one.”
- John Steinbeck
When I implemented this advice, people clamored for my writing.
How Do We Find That One Person?
Understanding Your Audience
Segments
Demographics & Psychographics
Archetypes
Personas
Ideal Customers
DataCollectionDescriptions
Don’t be scared by market research. Chances are, you’ve do it every day.
SegmentsBroad groups of customers that are defined by a specific characteristic.
Write down 3 - 4 segments for your business.
Understanding Your Audience
• Most profitable?
• Easiest to work with?
• Refers the most?
• Best feedback?
• Most loyal?
• Different uses?
DemographicsTraits that are easy to measure and fit into a spreadsheet.
Online surveys are a good way to collect demographic information.
Understanding Your Audience
• Age • Income • Location • Job Tile
• Gender • Education Level • Marital Status • Ethnicity
PsychographicsTraits that are more difficult to measure, but tend to be more useful.
In-person interviews are a good way to collect psychographic information.
Understanding Your Audience
• Feelings • Attitudes • Beliefs
• Interests • Lifestyles • Values
ArchetypesStorytelling patterns that help identify core motivations.
Use the book Archetypes In Branding for detailed descriptions on over 60 archetypes.
Understanding Your Audience
• Caregiver • Citizen • Creator • Explorer • Hero • Innocent
• Jester • Lover • Magician • Rebel • Sage • Sovereign
Empathy MapsA tool to help you quickly step into the shoes of a customer segment.
Complete an empathy map for each customer segment.
Understanding Your Audience
PersonaDescription of a fictional character that is used to generate empathy.
Download this template at http://fakecrow.com/free-persona-template/
Understanding Your Audience
Ideal CustomerUse real customers in your descriptions to form the deepest connection.
Understanding Your Audience
Just like how smiling when you’re on the phone makes you sound more friendly, focusing on a singular person when you’re writing is the best thing you can do to improve the tone of your writing.
Write down real people to represent each audience segment.
Image Credit: David Dodge
What is a Sitemap?Think of a sitemap as the organizational chart of your website.
Creating a Sitemap
Those boxes won’t be blank for long.
How Does Your Customer Make Decisions?Mapping out your customer’s journey can help you understand which pages you need.
Creating a Sitemap
decision phase awareness interest decision action
customer thought
What do you do? How would I use it? Is it a good fit? How do I get started?
website element home page headlines details buttons
Write down specific questions your customers will have in each decision phase.
Help Your Customer Make a DecisionUse every phase of the decision making process in your site map.
Creating a Sitemap
Your home page will have the most general information.
awareness
interest
decision
action
Page LabelsFinding the sweet spot between descriptive and general
Creating a Sitemap
Verbs tend to work better than nouns.
ideal generaldescriptivespecific
good SEO long
expected familiar short
productsservices
Scope Out the CompetitionFind sites in your industry to get inspiration for your sitemap.
Creating a Sitemap
Browse the web and look at 3 - 5 competitors websites.
Image Credit: Chase Elliot Clark
Fill in Your SitemapWhich content modules make sense for your business and users?
Creating a Sitemap
Use this template to fill in your sitemap. Feel free to add pages if you need them.
People don’t “read” websitesFormat your content to make it easy to scan.
Copywriting Secrets
Image Credit: usability.gov
Eye tracking studies show that people look first in the top left corner and then bounce around a web page in a pattern that simulates the capital letter F. When people scan, they are searching for bite-sized content that is worth exploring deeper. If the bite interests them, they will look around it to see if there is context (snack). Then, they will commit to diving in and investing their time for a long piece of content (meal).
When creating content, think in terms of bites, snacks, and meals.
Features vs. BenefitsThis is probably the most important slide you’ll see today.
Copywriting Secrets
Write a list of all the features of your business. Then, translate them into benefits.
http://youtu.be/Gw-Amu4IGW4
Features: attributes !Benefits: why an attribute matters to your customer.
Write like you sing.Use elements of rhythm and pitch to make your content easy to read.
Copywriting Secrets
Image Credit: Basheer Tome
“If you put it to a beat, you make it easy to repeat.”
- Sam Horn
Read your copy out loud to hear the lyrical quality.
Choose the sparkle word.The thesaurus is your friend.
Copywriting Secrets
• Awesome • Really • Very • Excited • Unique
• Innovative • Solution • Process • Value-
Added
These are examples of overused buzzwords. Take the time to find a better fit.
Use contractions.It’s the law. (Well, sort of.)
Copywriting Secrets
In 2010, President Obama signed the Plain Language Writing Act, which requires federal
agencies to use “clear Government communication that the public can
understand and use.” Among the guidelines? “Use contractions where appropriate.”
View the complete set of Plain Language Guidelines at http://www.plainlanguage.gov/howto/guidelines/FederalPLGuidelines/TOC.cfm
Use “you” more than “we”.Remember, everyone is tuned into WIIFM (What’s In It For Me).
Copywriting Secrets
Write your website like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Put your reader in the
center of the action.
Psssst… This is also a Plain Language guideline.
Sprinkle with style.Use alliteration, metaphor, similes, rhymes, and repetition. A little goes a long way.
Copywriting Secrets
Literary style in copywriting is like a fine perfume — a little
goes a long way.
Technical and complex businesses benefit the most from using metaphors.
Turn “if you…” statements into questions.Questions make your content much more conversational.
Copywriting Secrets
Want healthy food but can’t find the time? !
Tired of working from coffee shops? !
Have an app that needs some love?
Questions help break up your content, making it feel more like a conversation.
Hyperlinks should be obvious.Get beyond “click here.”
Copywriting Secrets
Bad: Click here for a list of Value Proposition Templates. !
Good: Check out our Value Proposition Templates.
It’s not 1994. People know how to use the Internet.
When in doubt, look it up.Double check any questions you have about grammar, no matter how small.
Copywriting Secrets
• stationary vs. stationery • affect vs. effect • ensure vs. insure
Does a period go inside or outside of the quotation mark?
Word Choice Punctuation
Want to take it up a notch? Hire someone to proofread your copy for you.
WireframesSketch out your content before you put it online.
Putting it Together
The more analog your wireframe, the easier it is to change.
Home PageMake your first impression count.
Putting it Together
Focus on value propositions and calls to action.
About PageTell a story of how you got here and where you’re going.
Putting it Together
• Founding story • Key staff • Mission
statement
• Vision statement • Core values • Company
philosophy
This is the only page where the “you” rule does not apply.
Product/Services PagesUse benefit driven headlines and appropriate detail to encourage a decision.
Putting it Together
Benefits draw people in and generate interest. Features help them make a decision.
Contact InfoMake it easy for folks to get in touch with you.
Putting it Together
Using forms to collect information can limit the amount of spam you receive.
Call out important information so it’s easy to find.
Putting it TogetherHeaders, Footers, and Sidebars
You can have multiple calls to action on each page.