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Do you follow SourceBottle on Twitter?
Well, you should. Their Twitter profile explains why…
(Source Bottle is a) free site that emails media ‘call outs’ for sources from journalists & bloggers. For media who want sources and anyone wanting free publicity.
Just yesterday they tweeted this…
The site asked digital copywriters and web designers who work on retail and business sites to share their ideas on what web copy is meant to achieve and how businesses can ensure their copy is effective. The media outlet is a magazine for Australia and New Zealand. Anyone with professional experience was asked to respond and in return published quotes are then attributed to their source. Free PR – basically.
Here’s what I shared on the matter
What web copy should achieve:
Web copy should inspire further contact from your buyer or audience – whether that be through an enquiry or a sale. It should paint a positive picture of your brand or company through being customer focused and it should build trust. On-site web copy is also one part in ensuring strong search engine rankings.
How a business can ensure its online copy is effective:
If you’re hearing from your buyers – either through enquiry or sale you know you’re on the right track.
In terms of style – customer focused language is that which uses “you” more than it uses “we” – it focuses on the benefits for the customer instead of the features of the company or product. Put it this way, nobody cares that “we’ve been in business for x amount of years” so opt instead for copy that focuses on them – “you’ll get…” is much more effective.
In order to build trust, web copy should include a guarantee, some testimonials or some other kind of proof.
The measure of effective copy for strong search engine results is more complex than just your on-site copy but look-out for punchy, easy to skim copy that is peppered with signposts like keyword-rich bullet points, bold words, links and headings – all of which are great content indicators for search engines.
What do you think? Did I get it right? What else can effective web copy achieve and how can you measure this?
To see if anyone in the media is looking for your expertise, pop over to The Source Bottle.