Copywriting

with Andrea Goulet Ford

for startups and entrepreneurs

YOUR 5-PAGE WEBSITE

Here’s what we’ll cover today:

Agenda

1. Website Purpose & Goals

2. Understanding Your Audience

3. Creating a Simple Sitemap

4. Copywriting Secrets

5. Putting it All Together

Hello, My Name Is…

Introductions

• Name

• Business

• What You’re Hoping to Get Out of Today’s Workshop

House Rules

Important Info

• Ask Questions as We Go

• Eat When You’re Hungry

• Take Breaks When You Need Them

• This is YOUR Workshop!

Why Does Your Organization Need a Website?

Website Purpose & Goals

• Find New Clients

• Share Information

• Sell Things

• Collect Donations

• Cultivate Community

• Showcase Expertise

• Promote Events

• Curate Ideas

Write down the reasons your business needs a website.

What Activities Do You Want People to Do?

Website Purpose & Goals

• Contact

• Purchase

• Download

• Subscribe

• Donate

• Sign Up

Once you have your list, put it in priority order.

Who Are You Writing To?

Understanding Your Audience

“Your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out

one person — a real person you know, or an imagined person — and write to that one.”

- John Steinbeck

When I implemented this advice, people clamored for my writing.

How Do We Find That One Person?

Understanding Your Audience

Segments

Demographics & Psychographics

Archetypes

Personas

Ideal Customers

DataCollectionDescriptions

Don’t be scared by market research. Chances are, you’ve do it every day.

SegmentsBroad groups of customers that are defined by a specific characteristic.

Write down 3 - 4 segments for your business.

Understanding Your Audience

• Most profitable?

• Easiest to work with?

• Refers the most?

• Best feedback?

• Most loyal?

• Different uses?

DemographicsTraits that are easy to measure and fit into a spreadsheet.

Online surveys are a good way to collect demographic information.

Understanding Your Audience

• Age • Income • Location • Job Tile

• Gender • Education Level • Marital Status • Ethnicity

PsychographicsTraits that are more difficult to measure, but tend to be more useful.

In-person interviews are a good way to collect psychographic information.

Understanding Your Audience

• Feelings • Attitudes • Beliefs

• Interests • Lifestyles • Values

ArchetypesStorytelling patterns that help identify core motivations.

Use the book Archetypes In Branding for detailed descriptions on over 60 archetypes.

Understanding Your Audience

• Caregiver • Citizen • Creator • Explorer • Hero • Innocent

• Jester • Lover • Magician • Rebel • Sage • Sovereign

Empathy MapsA tool to help you quickly step into the shoes of a customer segment.

Complete an empathy map for each customer segment.

Understanding Your Audience

PersonaDescription of a fictional character that is used to generate empathy.

Download this template at http://fakecrow.com/free-persona-template/

Understanding Your Audience

Ideal CustomerUse real customers in your descriptions to form the deepest connection.

Understanding Your Audience

Just like how smiling when you’re on the phone makes you sound more friendly, focusing on a singular person when you’re writing is the best thing you can do to improve the tone of your writing.

Write down real people to represent each audience segment.

Image Credit: David Dodge

What is a Sitemap?Think of a sitemap as the organizational chart of your website.

Creating a Sitemap

Those boxes won’t be blank for long.

How Does Your Customer Make Decisions?Mapping out your customer’s journey can help you understand which pages you need.

Creating a Sitemap

decision phase awareness interest decision action

customer thought

What do you do? How would I use it? Is it a good fit? How do I get started?

website element home page headlines details buttons

Write down specific questions your customers will have in each decision phase.

Help Your Customer Make a DecisionUse every phase of the decision making process in your site map.

Creating a Sitemap

Your home page will have the most general information.

awareness

interest

decision

action

Page LabelsFinding the sweet spot between descriptive and general

Creating a Sitemap

Verbs tend to work better than nouns.

ideal generaldescriptivespecific

good SEO long

expected familiar short

productsservices

Scope Out the CompetitionFind sites in your industry to get inspiration for your sitemap.

Creating a Sitemap

Browse the web and look at 3 - 5 competitors websites.

Image Credit: Chase Elliot Clark

Fill in Your SitemapWhich content modules make sense for your business and users?

Creating a Sitemap

Use this template to fill in your sitemap. Feel free to add pages if you need them.

People don’t “read” websitesFormat your content to make it easy to scan.

Copywriting Secrets

Image Credit: usability.gov

Eye tracking studies show that people look first in the top left corner and then bounce around a web page in a pattern that simulates the capital letter F. When people scan, they are searching for bite-sized content that is worth exploring deeper. If the bite interests them, they will look around it to see if there is context (snack). Then, they will commit to diving in and investing their time for a long piece of content (meal).

When creating content, think in terms of bites, snacks, and meals.

Features vs. BenefitsThis is probably the most important slide you’ll see today.

Copywriting Secrets

Write a list of all the features of your business. Then, translate them into benefits.

http://youtu.be/Gw-Amu4IGW4

Features: attributes !Benefits: why an attribute matters to your customer.

Write like you sing.Use elements of rhythm and pitch to make your content easy to read.

Copywriting Secrets

Image Credit: Basheer Tome

“If you put it to a beat, you make it easy to repeat.”

- Sam Horn

Read your copy out loud to hear the lyrical quality.

Choose the sparkle word.The thesaurus is your friend.

Copywriting Secrets

• Awesome • Really • Very • Excited • Unique

• Innovative • Solution • Process • Value-

Added

These are examples of overused buzzwords. Take the time to find a better fit.

Use contractions.It’s the law. (Well, sort of.)

Copywriting Secrets

In 2010, President Obama signed the Plain Language Writing Act, which requires federal

agencies to use “clear Government communication that the public can

understand and use.” Among the guidelines? “Use contractions where appropriate.”

View the complete set of Plain Language Guidelines at http://www.plainlanguage.gov/howto/guidelines/FederalPLGuidelines/TOC.cfm

Use “you” more than “we”.Remember, everyone is tuned into WIIFM (What’s In It For Me).

Copywriting Secrets

Write your website like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Put your reader in the

center of the action.

Psssst… This is also a Plain Language guideline.

Sprinkle with style.Use alliteration, metaphor, similes, rhymes, and repetition. A little goes a long way.

Copywriting Secrets

Literary style in copywriting is like a fine perfume — a little

goes a long way.

Technical and complex businesses benefit the most from using metaphors.

Turn “if you…” statements into questions.Questions make your content much more conversational.

Copywriting Secrets

Want healthy food but can’t find the time? !

Tired of working from coffee shops? !

Have an app that needs some love?

Questions help break up your content, making it feel more like a conversation.

Hyperlinks should be obvious.Get beyond “click here.”

Copywriting Secrets

Bad: Click here for a list of Value Proposition Templates. !

Good: Check out our Value Proposition Templates.

It’s not 1994. People know how to use the Internet.

When in doubt, look it up.Double check any questions you have about grammar, no matter how small.

Copywriting Secrets

• stationary vs. stationery • affect vs. effect • ensure vs. insure

Does a period go inside or outside of the quotation mark?

Word Choice Punctuation

Want to take it up a notch? Hire someone to proofread your copy for you.

WireframesSketch out your content before you put it online.

Putting it Together

The more analog your wireframe, the easier it is to change.

Home PageMake your first impression count.

Putting it Together

Focus on value propositions and calls to action.

About PageTell a story of how you got here and where you’re going.

Putting it Together

• Founding story • Key staff • Mission

statement

• Vision statement • Core values • Company

philosophy

This is the only page where the “you” rule does not apply.

Product/Services PagesUse benefit driven headlines and appropriate detail to encourage a decision.

Putting it Together

Benefits draw people in and generate interest. Features help them make a decision.

Contact InfoMake it easy for folks to get in touch with you.

Putting it Together

Using forms to collect information can limit the amount of spam you receive.

Call out important information so it’s easy to find.

Putting it TogetherHeaders, Footers, and Sidebars

You can have multiple calls to action on each page.

What other people say about you is 10x more valuable than what you say about you.

Putting it TogetherTestimonials, Logos, Case Studies

Ask frequently for customer feedback. For logos, put a clause in your contract.