Reprint Instructions: Article must be reproduced unedited and in its entirety. Resource box/bio and copyright date must be included. Live links must be given to any URLs within the article and/or resource box. Do not list your own site as the original publisher of this article. Do not direct visitors to link to your site in place of the author’s site. Please email us notification of where the article will be used and a copy of your newsletter if you are publishing the article in an ezine. Thank you! I do site reviews. Needless to say, I see a lot of Web copy. One thing that always befuddles me is the lack of focus many site pages have. It's as if the writer assumes the site visitor will read the copy and automatically know what to do next. The fact is you have to know what action you want visitors to take before you get them to take that action. That means knowing what the preferred action you want visitors to take is, before you write the copy. Think About It Before you pen one word (for the Web or any other marketing medium), stop and think. "After reading this copy, what - specifically - do I want my site visitors to do?" Maybe you want them to click deeper into the site. Perhaps you want them to buy right then and there. It could be that you'd like them to call to discuss your product or service. Make a donation. Subscribe. Download. There are thousands of possible actions. Give some consideration to the question above and choose the action you most want your visitors to take. Signposts Point the Way The next step is to include signposts along the way so your visitors understand what they're supposed to do once they've read your copy. Leaving verbal clues helps prepare your visitors to take action once the time comes. For instance, if you run a software site that offers a free trial download, you can prepare your visitors to get the trial version all throughout your copy by mentioning "free download" or "free trial." Your copy might read:
What's happening as your site visitors read? They see phrases like, "With the free download, you'll discover…" OK, where's the download button? Then they read, "The free trial version is fully functional…" Wonderful! I want it! How do I download the free trial? They begin looking for ways to take the action you want them to take. So tell them how! Ready? And… Action! Your job is just like a movie director's job. The director has to motivate and encourage his actors. He tells them why their characters are so important to the film. The director helps the actors understand the emotions involved with the parts they are playing. Then, once he has them all primed, he calls for action. That's what you should do in your copy. Guide your visitors. Lead and nudge them in the right direction. Show them signposts that point to the action you want them to take. Then call for them to take that action. Once you give your copy focus, once you define a goal for the copy and an action for your visitors, you'll find it easier to write copy that converts. Karon Thackston is a veteran copywriting pro who specializes in SEO copy. If your copy isn't getting results, let Karon teach you how to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to check out Karon’s latest ebook “How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)” at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword. [Back to Copywriting Articles Menu]
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