Lots of people out there in the world of the Web write copy. They may even take the time to learn about the product they are writing about, however, they tend to write their copy in isolation. They don’t take the time to look at the design of the website their copy will appear on, or even develop their copy in a web based template. They write their copy on a piece of paper, or clean word document, then copy and paste it into an email to send off to the client. This closed development environment will never produce effective copy.
In my study of Web Copywriting I was given a very effective analogy to explain this concept. On page 2-3 of Copywriting 2.0 Your Complete Guide to Writing Web Copy that Converts, Nick explains how often copywriters approach their work with the attitude of a ‘laborer’:
Let’s say you have a skill at putting up drywall in new homes. You wait for some other guy to put the wall studs in place, then you add the sheets of drywall.
You don’t know or much care about what other people are doing elsewhere in the house. It’s not your concern what the roofers, plumbers, or electricians are doing. Your supervisor has taken a look at the house plans and shows you where you next need to put up some drywall.
All to often, online copywriters work as laborers. They don’t know what else is happening on the site. They don’t know what is planned for tomorrow. They just build a wall when and where they are told to. Or rather, they write a page. The supervisor knows more about what happening elsewhere in the house. he knows what the electrician has to do. He knows the garden landscapers are arriving next week.
As for the architect, he knows more than anyone. He has a complete picture of how the finished house is going to look. He knows how much it will sell for. He knows what kinds of people are likely to buy it. he has designed the house with a particular market in mind…
What Nick is explaining is that without a thorough understanding of the project, an understanding of who is being marketed too, their buying habits, what copy will ‘mean something’ to those buyers and an understanding of how copy integrates effectively into a web page with all its columns and banner advertisements, you won’t write copy that will convert.
An effective copy writer operates at the architect level.
He knows those who read his copy are going to be goal oriented and well informed on the subject he is writing, especially in the area of sales, so he knows the value of persuasion rather than manipulation as a method of making a sale.
He knows that the copy is what will actually make the sale. The copy is what makes that emotional connection to the product and its benefits. The copy is what helps the buyer rationalize his emotional desire for the products benefits with proof, this product really does what it claims to do.
Effective copywriters research their buyers, how they think, what is important to them and communicates to them in their language.
