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5 Website Copy Mistakes you Don’t Even Know You’re Making

November 6, 2020

There are 1.95 billion websites on the Internet today. Would your website stand out and persuade the person to buy what you’re selling?

 

The one thing that can connect you to your customers is the words you’ve used on your website, what I call copy.

 

Your website is a business card that markets you 24/7. It needs to read well, speak to your ideal client’s dreams, fears and desires and compel them to buy what you’re offering.

 

Today, people will go straight to your website to find out what you offer, but businesses are still neglecting this critical marketing tool.

 

Here are five mistakes that business owners make when it comes to their website. How many of these are you making without knowing?

 

MISTAKE #1: You don’t know your customer’s problems

 

Are you busy telling the people who come to your website just how great you are? You tell them about your innovations, staff and products and overlook why they are searching for a business like yours.

 

Big mistake. HUGE!

 

Instead, find out what problems your customers are facing, and tell them how you solve their problems through your products or service. Focus on the benefits your products or services provide or connect features with benefits in the content.

For example:

  • Our alarm clock has 20 different tones you can choose from (FEATURE)
  • Don’t be stuck with a shrill alarm clock ring that makes you jump in the morning. Choose from over 20 different tones – from the soothing ocean to the sound of bells. A much nicer way to wake up in the morning. (BENEFITS)

 

MISTAKE #2: Too much text

 

Mobile searches are on the rise and your website needs to keep up. But how mobile responsive is your site and is your content easy to read?

 

Too much text overwhelms your visitor and makes them cross-eyed as they try to read what’s on your site. Plus you only have their attention for less than 3 seconds. Don’t waste it.

 

A good rule of thumb is about 500 words per page, spaced out with subheadings and plenty of white space. Keep your text short and concise and guide the user through a journey on your website so that the Call To Action feels natural to them.

 

MISTAKE #3: Not having a key topic per page

 

Does your website resemble a garage sale with things strewn everywhere in no particular order? You’ve mixed all sorts of information everywhere and it leaves your website visitor confused and lost.

 

Decide on a key theme per page and provide information only related to that theme. Where possible, anticipate and answer any customer questions/objections/obstacles that could come up and include these in the copy. It’ll help to build trust.

 

MISTAKE #4: Your website is outdated

 

Often the women entrepreneurs who come to me have diversified their business or are offering new products or services.

 

Guess what? This business change is not reflected anywhere in the copy.

They are either too overwhelmed just running their business and don’t have the bandwidth to update their copy. So, the website stays there unused and neglected often for years. They don’t know how to articulate this change in the business into words so they just keep going.

 

But you might end up missing out on lucrative customer segments and income who might be searching for you online. All because you didn’t update the copy or didn’t make it a priority.

 

MISTAKE #5: Not creating a wireframe for your content

 

Wireframing is setting out the content in a way that shows how it would appear on a website. Often, content on a website is chucked on the pages without the business owner thinking about the customer journey i.e. how do you naturally and logically move them from Point A to C so they are compelled to buy what you sell.

 

Before you attempt to write your own content, wireframe it so you know how much content you need and whether it’ll make sense on your website. An excellent tool to use is Draftium.