Copywriting Basics For Your Business Homepage

Your website is your business shopfront and sales person all rolled into one. When your ideal customer passes by, you want to get their attention and persuade them you have what they need.

Here are a few simple ways to see if your web copy is working as hard as it can to attract and convert customers:

Keep your home page simple – pull people in

People have little patience so you need to make sure that the content on your home page explains simply how your service or product would be valuable. When writing your copy, bear in mind the questions customers ask before they buy.

Common questions customer have when getting to your homepage include:

• Who are you?
• What can you help me with?
• Do you work with people like me?
• Why would I be interested?
• Is it a product I buy, information I use or a service I hire?
• Where are you based?
• How can I find out more information?

Your landing page should try to answer a couple of these questions – and make it simple for them to find out the rest of the information. Clear navigation buttons with titles such  as “Services”, “About Us”, “Contact Us” let the customer know that answers can be found with ease.

Talk to your customer – ask them questions

Questions are a good way of transforming dull text into lively and engaging content. You are asking for a personal response and the answer just might make it clear to the customer that they need your product or service, for example:

• Is your current website not attracting the traffic and leads you need?
• Do you feel your business message isn’t clear on your brochures or flyers?
• Are you looking for 1:1 support to help you find the job of your dreams?

Questions can also be used to pre-empt any objectives or doubts the customer may have:

• Why do people love working with us?
• How exactly do we make you stand out in your industry?
• Why are we able to promise 100% satisfaction?

Don’t be pushy but don’t be shy – sell your service

Think of a sales person who you liked. Chances are they listened to your needs and possible objections and gave you enough information to show you how their product would help you. Your website is part of your online sales team and should work in the same way. Content shouldn’t read as though it is forcing the customer to do something:

“You must buy this product or else!”

Now, there is an advantage to showing your customer how your product will protect them from danger, but you don’t want to go overboard.

Don’t write:

“Buy this product or you’ll never make friends and you’ll end up lonely and miserable”

Do Write:

“Our product can stop you feeling shy in networking situations so you don’t miss making valuable connections for your business.”

All statements pertaining to your product should of course be true – and if you have statistics to prove your claims – even better!

Strip out the jargon

You are an expert in your field – your customer may not be so keep your content straight forward without dumbing down your business service. Even if you are a highly specialised technology company, someone looking to hire you may not be the head of IT, but a project manager who knows what needs to be done but is not familiar with the industry terminology.

Don’t write:

“Use our econometric models to scenario plan media spending and improve your CRM lapse propensity model”

Do Write:

“Our data and insight gets you a better performance for every dollar invested in media spending.”

Signpost where they need to go

Your homepage is like the start of a “choose your own adventure” book. Once they’re hooked on the idea of you helping them, you’ve got to make it clear where they can go to find out more information. This should also bring them closer to deepening their relationship with you.

The ultimate goal is for them to buy from you or hire you, so what steps could you position in front of your customer to bring them closer to doing business with you? This might be:

• Signing up for your free report or news letter
• Reading about your services
• Reading testimonials
• Getting in touch with you
• Buying there and then

Make it very easy for your customer to find more information based on what they see on your home page.

Want to find more practical writing tips for making your business copywriting magnetic? Sign up for this free video series about the 5 persuasive elements you need to use in your marketing content.