How to write web copy

[bellomatic]

The web is all about words. Design may look nice but it is effective copy that enables you to achieve your goals. (Noam, Mint’s creative director, might disagree, but…)

Lots of people who’d never have written for the public 10 years ago now contribute to websites. If you find yourself in such a position, here are seven tips:

1. Make it scannable
People often don’t read web pages, they scan them. Sub-headings, bolded text and numbered lists work well. On the front page have lots of small bits of copy with links to the full articles.</p>

2. Don’t boast
Big claims can make readers doubt what you are saying. Often good is good enough - you don’t try to hire the world’s best babysitter or accountant - and it’s much more believable.

3. Be human
Firms don’t do business with firms. People do business with people. Demonstrate you are human with jokes, stories and by admitting weaknesses. (For big firms this is a tricky job best left to professionals. For small firms, it means just be yourself.)

4. Omit needless words
Reading on the web is slow (25% slower) and scrolling is a hassle, so this rule is even more important than it is in print.

The big problem is knowing which words are needless. Two bits of advice have helped me. First (Steve Krug) is write a draft, wait a week and edit it to a quarter the original length. It’s a harsh discipline but it works. Second (from Richard Gabriel) is read poetry. Well… I struggled. I’ve learnt more from studying tightly written factual books. Two I’d recommend are The War Against Cliche and The Language Instinct.

5. Imagine you are in a bar
The web is an intimate medium. Speak to each reader individually, in the second person singular. Imagine how you’d explain your point over a pint. You’ll naturally make it interesting. You’ll avoid the airy generalisations that are the bane of web writing.

At Mint, twice we’ve made big improvements to a client’s front page by replacing the happy talk with an edited version of what they’d told us in the first 5 minutes we met them.'

6. Write great headlines
John Caples, a copywriting legend, devoted more than 50% of his time on a project to perfecting the headline. Most readers read the headline and nothing else - so make sure it communicates something valuable.

A cracking example is this classic from David Ogilvy: “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock".

7. Use testimonials
Being believed is a huge problem. Testimonials are often the solution. Also, they are likely to be read - they are tasty bite-sized morsels.

My favourite testimonial of all time is for VOIP application Skype. “I knew it was over when I downloaded Skype,” from Michael Powell, chairman of Federal Communications Commission. If you can get the head of the trade body that you’re competing against to say something like that, you don’t need any advice from me.

In conclusion
There aren’t any shortcuts. More than anything, effective writing takes practice.

If you found this useful, check out more tutorials at Mint Digital blog

[gorillaboy]

Nice article- thanks.