What is web speak?
Web speak is a craft with principle and methods that have little to do with grammar and mechanics and everything to do with identifying and meeting your readers need. Web speak is writing with a consistent style and clear sense of purpose. Most simply: Web speak is copy that is written to address your reader’s needs and support your business goals.
Why does web speak matter?
When you are trying to promote your business, products and services online, you do not have the luxury of seeing their facial expression or making eye contact with them. You do not know what they are feeling, what they may be going through, or what compels them to buy. Finding a way to write to someone you know nothing about is a bit of a quandary. “How do you earn the trust of a reader you know nothing about?”
Consider your message.
Before you even start to write, try to consider what you are really wanting to say. How many words will it take to make your message understood? How can you put into writing, an explanation concerning how your products and services can be useful to others?
How do you find your target market?
The old rule of marketing was all about saturation. If you can just get your message in front of the masses, you target market will emerge. The pitfall with this approach is that by trying to speak to everyone, you typically speak to nobody in particular. Before you leap onto that microphone, consider doing some market research first. Follow the conversations of consumers online who are talking about the products and services you offer. They may be speaking of your competition or just in general about your industry. Pay attention to what is being said – and you will start to see what needs are being met and which are not. Use this information wisely when formulating your own content.
How do you sell your products and services without selling out?
Nobody wants a smarmy piece about your business products and services. Connect with your readers on a personal level – write from an honest place. Leave out the marketing copy and focus on your targeted market. Highlight the benefits and usefulness of your products and services. How do your products and services affect people’s lives? How do your products and services distinguish themselves from the competition?
Use your story as part of your sales process. Let your readers appreciate that you offer a product or service because you believe in it. Share a situation where your own products and services have helped you.
Do not make your message one-sided.
People read your message to get something out of it, not to be spoken to. Write in a manner that encourages interaction. Short descriptions are useful when explaining your products and services. Using a brief format allows your readers to immediately decipher what they can expect for their attention and money. But, if structured as an announcement, rather than an opportunity to open the door for discussion, your opportunities for online conversion is seriously dwindled.
Therefore, if you are an online digital agency looking to re-design your website. Instead of saying:
“Are you enjoying our new website design? Contact us and we can re-design yours too!”
Try saying:
“We have recently re-designed our website. How are you enjoying the new layout so far?”
Most Important. Make it a good read!
I have not written a blog in nearly a month. I have been too busy writing content for websites being developed at Invoke-Media Group. Fortunately, my burst in business has left me little time to formulate some useful or inciting blog posts for my readers. My mother always told me, “if you have nothing to say, then don’t say anything at all”. Therefore, I opted to just not write anything at all.
While working with my clients, I have found myself sharing this same message regarding content. Therefore, I felt compelled to write an article which articulates the importance of great content in your digital marketing. Writing in “web speak” equates to online conversions.
If you wish to learn more about writing web copy that meets your readers needs while supporting your business goals, please GET IN TOUCH for a FREE consultation.