You’ve probably heard a lot about making your content tell a story.
Telling a story helps your content stand out from the rest of the internet buzz.
A website should aim to tell a story about its products and services so that the visitor continues to read.
What are you selling?
Your website represents you, your brand identity and your company.
It should not be visuals and blocks of text filled with meaningless words but clear for the visitor to understand.
Don’t give a detailed background of the company, the people and its products and services people aren’t interested.
They don’t have the time to read about how you remortgaged your house and the years it took to get your product to market unless you tell it as a story.
Your content aims to tell a story with the primary goal of helping the customer.
Answering the questions they have in mind is the first step in the sales cycle.
Get inside the mind of your buyer and answer the burning questions that keep them up at night.
If you can do that you are halfway there to creating customer engagement.
When I sit down with a new client and write a job brief, the first question I ask is, what are you selling?
What do you want to achieve?
Whether it is a product or service, I want to know why anyone would want to part with their cash to buy it.
What are you selling?
What’s in it for your visitor?
What do they get out of it?
How do they come out on top, when they buy from you, your company and its services?
I approach writing the same way.
I plan, research and draft.
Ultimately I ask myself why am I writing this, who’s it for, will they get something out of reading this?
Writing copy for your website entails describing your products and services.
And this is where it gets tricky.
After all, the British are genuinely bad at talking themselves up; I’m no exception.
I cringe when I write about myself and highlight why I am good at what I do.
It’s not very English.
Think creatively when you write your products and services pages.
Start with injecting your personality – be emotional
No sob stories here.
Sharing your background behind the product or service by telling a story, especially if you have poured blood, sweat and tears, makes for a compelling read.
Think Dyson – “constantly looking at ways to do more with less.”
When you create your website, it is your story, it is why you do what you do.
The content you write can answer the questions posed by your customers.
Some examples might be:
What inspired you to set up the company?
What is the story behind the product or service?
Who are your customers, and why do they choose to work with you?
How do you solve your customers’ problems?
The Cambridge satchel company is a great example of a British manufacturer of satchels and bags.
If you read Julie’s story, it is an excellent emotive account of how and where she started the business. (In her kitchen).
We love to read rags to riches stories, so keep your story human but with your customer in mind.
The about us/me page allows you to get deep down and personal about why you do what you do and how you do it.
Website visitors don’t get the opportunity to have a one to one relationship as most buyers make decisions during the research phase, so there is no time for human interaction.
Which means they refer to social media channels, customer reviews, and your website to find out about you and the company.
Your website is the shop window so make it interesting and worthwhile so you capture their interest.
Creating that all-important brand and personality is crucial to establish engagement with your visitor.
You can, to some extent, maintain a two-way conversation on social media, but your website remains the sole platform you have complete control over.
How does your website reflect your brand?
Going back to the Cambridge satchel company, it is light, friendly and informal the women’s bags have girls names.
The Dyson site, in comparison, is more formal and technical for those visitors who want to have a more in-depth understanding of the design and background of the product.
When you have formalised the style, you can write in the tone and voice that reflects the personality of the business.
Be on point
How many times do you find a website that has the products you want, but you are put off by blocks of text.
Worse still, the typeface is old fashioned, and it’s like reading through an ancient manuscript.
Site structure is vital for usability and findability, so the visitor moves around the site in a logical order.
Google understands your site better if the content is organised in such a way that it is easy for the visitor to find the information.
Who is your buying audience?
You cant be all things to everyone, so make sure you know who your audience is and write with them in mind.
You can find out more about your target audience here.
But be specific if your product is techy it won’t suit everyone in the universe so drill down to the customer that stands to benefit.
The next time you think about revamping or creating a website, think about the story, you want to tell your visitors.
Does it reflect the personality and brand of the business?
Does the website follow a logical flow so visitors can easily find your products and services?
As Neil Patel writes, “People aren’t interested in buying the product or service. They’re interested in the benefit that comes from buying, not the product or service itself”
One final thought, stand back and review,
Does your website content connect with the visitor and, does it answer the questions they have about your products?
If the above feels like it’s too much like hard work, get in contact with me and let’s sort it.
Further reading for you
https://onewomansview.co.uk/how-to-get-the-best-from-your-website-content/
https://onewomansview.co.uk/how-to-write-great-website-content/
