Web Copy Migration - Expensive Cost Cutting

Eye candy is seductive. Web visitors who stumble upon a site with innovative design will stop to take in the eye-catching treat. That they have a creative design is a unique selling feature of many sites.

It’s the reason many small businesses put a strong emphasis on having a creative, “leading edge” design. There is nothing wrong with emphasising design creativity when it fits with the goals of your web site.

Problems arise when you sacrifice other important elements of your site for the sake of an off-the-chart design. Your web site’s copy and structure are just as important to your overall web design as colour, layout and effects (easy on the effects – remember the goal of your site).

As it is an important design element, you should create copy specifically for your web design, just as you do with other elements. Migrated web copy, copy taken from your brochures, sell-sheets or old web site, doesn’t fit. Not only will it make your web copy less effective, it could ruin your snazzy design and chase away your web visitors. Saving money by migrating copy can be very expensive.  

Happy Halloween, and go easy on the candy!

By Stephen Da Cambra

with thanks to New Thinking

Write for Everyman - & Every Person in Your Target Market

We recently read an interesting blog post that talks about engaging “everyman” with your web copy. The author is absolutely right; your copy needs to reach the masses and too many big words or industry jargon tends to drive the masses away.

You can also take the concept beyond your copy and use it across your entire internet marketing program. But be warned, while you have help for creating copy in layman’s terms, like keyword tools, there’s nothing similar to help you decide what web design, social media profile or viral message will work for the masses.

Beginning with your web design, you must appeal to the broadest range of potential customers. Not everyone arrives at your site looking for the same thing and they may not be at the same stage in the buying cycle. For example, if you develop a new High Tech Doodad and introduce it on your web site, you will attract a lot of traffic looking for basic information, like a product description. If you have competition for the Doodad, others will arrive at your site looking for more advanced information that will help them decide which HT Doodad is best. Fortunately, when it comes to high tech items, there’s a large contingent who simply must have the latest Doodad and they will come to your site looking to buy.

See what’s happening? Your site needs to appeal to visitors who are in search of a broad range of useful information. From looking for basic information to ready to buy, they all will arrive at your site and if you don’t give them what they’re looking for fast, you risk losing them, perhaps forever.

The same is true for all your other internet marketing initiatives. You should give the masses what they seek from you.

Get your message across to the everyman – and every person, or at least as many as you can, regardless of where they are in their search for information or products.

By Stephen Da Cambra