Where did all the good web copywriters go?
Web copywriting training is a big part of our business. So we're always on the scout for well-written websites - to help our delegates see how it should be done.
And here's the problem: when it comes to copywriting, there aren't that many great websites out there.
I keep going back to the same old sites, and trust me, I've tried to find more recent examples. (Zopa and Skype aside, there's not much happening out there)
So what's the reason for all this mediocre copy? I think lots of site owners still go down the "let's shove our brochure copy on the web" route. They know it's wrong, but with time and budget pressure, it's an easy way out.
Then there's the fact that most web design consultancies don't have in-house copywriters. How weird is this? Not that weird at all, if you think about it. Although copy is the stuff people come to a site to see, it doesn't take long to write even quite a substantial website. So what's the point in having an in-house writer you might only use for one week out of four?
That's why I started in business in the first place - to offer a sensible alternative. Each year, more and more clients hook into the idea of letting an experienced web copywriter loose on their site.
Then again, an even greater number of sites are flung together without a writer getting within editing distance of the copy.
Which, I guess, means I need to get out there and tell the world about the joy of web copywriting. I may be gone for quite some time.
(JUST LIKE THE PREVIOUS POST, I'VE HAD TO RE-PUBLISH THIS ONE. BLAME THE SPAMMER WHO POSTED JUNK IN REPLY TO A COUPLE OF POSTS)
And here's the problem: when it comes to copywriting, there aren't that many great websites out there.
I keep going back to the same old sites, and trust me, I've tried to find more recent examples. (Zopa and Skype aside, there's not much happening out there)
So what's the reason for all this mediocre copy? I think lots of site owners still go down the "let's shove our brochure copy on the web" route. They know it's wrong, but with time and budget pressure, it's an easy way out.
Then there's the fact that most web design consultancies don't have in-house copywriters. How weird is this? Not that weird at all, if you think about it. Although copy is the stuff people come to a site to see, it doesn't take long to write even quite a substantial website. So what's the point in having an in-house writer you might only use for one week out of four?
That's why I started in business in the first place - to offer a sensible alternative. Each year, more and more clients hook into the idea of letting an experienced web copywriter loose on their site.
Then again, an even greater number of sites are flung together without a writer getting within editing distance of the copy.
Which, I guess, means I need to get out there and tell the world about the joy of web copywriting. I may be gone for quite some time.
(JUST LIKE THE PREVIOUS POST, I'VE HAD TO RE-PUBLISH THIS ONE. BLAME THE SPAMMER WHO POSTED JUNK IN REPLY TO A COUPLE OF POSTS)
posted by web_copywriter at
8:36 AM
2 Comments:
Let's go on the assumption that the primary purpose of almost all web copy is to sell...to create some form of action.
Just out of curiosity where do you sit on the debate about long copy vs short copy?
Apparently they've even created a copywriting tool it's based on a statistical analysis of tens of thousands of ads/websites to see what words are "profitable".
Even though I've spent money on Carlton's packages and studied Halbert, Collier et al...this thing surprised the heck out of me.
For instance some of our favorite, "power words"... free, now, you...are some of the LEAST profitable words we could put on a page. Who knew?
Kinda makes ya wonder if we need to study Makepeace or Caples anymore doesn't it?
By
Unknown, at 7:16 PM
Hi Zach. To my mind, short(ish) is usually the way to go with the homepage other top level pages. People usually want a distillation of the main message, and clear signposts on where to go next.
However, long copy is really useful when we get further down the buying process. The customer often needs lots of reassurance and evidence in order to buy. That's why we need longer copy.
I hate hussling readers along with instructions to do something 'now'. In a couple of eyetracking projects I've worked on, we've found users ignored 'now' messages when they were presented too early in the buying process.
Then again, I mostly write corporate websites rather that overtly salesy ones. Even the transactional sites I work on tend to be fairly softly-softly. And those are sites with massive testing budgets... there's gold in them thar short pages and softer sells.
By
web_copywriter, at 12:05 AM
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