Revisiting what makes good web copy, I am further convinced that most of the same principles apply from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0.
Usability guru Jakob Nielsen tracked how visitors scan a web page way back in 1996 (see the hot spots in Nielsen’s eyetracking study). He found that readers prefer to scan text written in a concise and objective style. Concise, scannable and objective text scored 128% higher usability.
Another study of video on the web notes that “Talking head videos are boring.” Though the analysis wasn’t yet in, Nielsen surmises that the web is an interactive medium, and that’s why I’m not alone when on zipping through the fast forward. However, a talking head in any promotional context is a killer if you ask me. I grab the remote when that garmento from the Men’s Wearhouse guarantees I’m gonna love the way I look.
But time is shorter than ever. And the need for linking is great. After all, the web is all about linking. So to further paraphrase many a smarter usability expert than me…
Here are my top 8 rules of good website sales copy
So what’s different?
To that list, I would add that best practices now dictate keeping your copy “above the fold” or above the cut line. Unlike with the print media, your reader (not you) is in control of the flow and ready to either click to your order, or click away to another interesting site. The trick is to structure your story with the fewest necessary words…not necessarily the shortest copy. Nielsen needs more words to tell his story. Dunkin’ Donuts needs less.
Never overhype or oversell. Nor undervalue what you can offer. Convince your visitor first that what you offer has unique value, and they’ll give you the attention you deserve. If they jump away before ordering or trying, provide them with a promotional pop-up reminder with a deal- sweetener.
Thanks to search engines, and search engine analytics, the copywriter’s job is easier: helping you find the key words and descriptions your audience use to find you. (By the way, I hate that word ‘prospect’, since no one likes to think of themselves that way). But SEO is only the beginning.
Speaking of which: for an insightful and easy read about SEO copywriting, check out CopyBlogger, whose success is the envy of many a writer. It goes to show that the same copywriting rules — which are good writing rules — are the foundation of success, online or off.