On The Fence About Hiring A Copywriter For Your Website? Read This
Guest post by Carolyn Beaudoin
So you're investing in your website. Cue the champagne toast!
You're taking a big step in ensuring that your website is beautiful, functional and (most importantly) designed to attract your dream clients and customers.
But...
If your hands started to sweat when your designer mentioned your website copy submission deadline...
If, deep down in your gut, you have an inkling your current copy isn't quite doing the trick (wrong-fit prospects reach out to you, confused about what you do and who you serve)...
Or, if you're starting from scratch and find yourself sitting in front of a blank Google doc staring begrudgingly at that dang blinking cursor...
It might be time to hire a copywriter.
Here's a closer look at the big reasons I suggest entrepreneurs hire a copywriter to write their website for them...
Reason #1: You'll save buckets of time, so you can spend more time working in your own zone of genius
This is the most obvious reason to hire a copywriter. You're short on time. You can't waste another minute staring at that blank page and blinking cursor.
Could you write your website copy?
Maybe.
Should you devote hours and hours to learning the most effective persuasive copywriting techniques and best practices for website copy formatting, instead of focusing on serving the clients, customers and followers that are depending on you to show up in your zone of genius?
No.
You see, there's more to copywriting than just throwing words on a page.
The best copywriters aren't wordsmiths or editors.
We're experts in crafting persuasive messaging that meets your ideal reader where they are in their customer journey and coaches them towards recognizing you as the perfect fit for their needs.
We pay close attention to your ideal reader's stage of awareness, levels of intent and the sophistication of your ideal reader, and we obsess over following the Rule of One.
We'll help you map out your offers (free and paid) so that they enter into your reader's journey at the right moment – when they are actually prepared to say "yes" to your offer.
And we use a toolbox full of proven, science-backed persuasion formulas and techniques that help propel your reader forward through their onsite journey and prompt them at just the right moment in their journey to take action.
So, what do some of these copywriting techniques look like in action?
Adding social proof is just one of the persuasion levers copywriters use in setting up your offer. In fact, placing it at just the right moment has led to conversion lifts of up to 144.1% on landing pages.
Here's an example of some cleverly placed social proof...
In Jodi's recent website redesign for Mandy of mommasociety.com leans into social proof in numbers: "Join over 80,000 modern moms." You'll notice that this copy is placed very close to her free opt-in. Why? This copy is doing double duty, lending credibility to the site and helping Mandy reduce any risk that the reader might feel in taking that next step to opt-in for the free postpartum workbook.
But social proof isn't created equally. Your copywriter will help you leverage the right pieces of social proof at the right time, to help you build more trust and respect with your website visitors.
When you hire a copywriter, you get to skip that whole "10,000 hours learning the craft" bit but still get the end result of highly persuasive, conversion-focused copy.
And you save yourself buckets of time in the process.
Reason #2: Your copy will support the on-page customer journey, which helps you make the right offer at the right time
The best website copywriters will write with a holistic view of your website.
For example, I look at my client's Google Analytics to understand what their traffic flow currently looks like, then we work together to map out their ideal client's user journey through their website towards their primary call-to-action.
Why does that on-page customer journey matter so much?
In a nutshell, we help to ensure that your right reader is reading the right message at the right time.
We help you plan your calls to action so that they're placed strategically to match with your reader's most likely stage of awareness. Statistically speaking, it's quite unlikely that your visitors are ready to buy from you the moment they land on your website, so it's important to know when it's the right time to offer your free opt-in instead of a discovery call (and vice versa).
Life is not a race and neither is your customer journey!
Yes, we might be coaching the visitor towards the end goal of booking a discovery call. But that doesn't mean that every opportunity to place a CTA is the right opportunity to place that CTA.
Strategically placed CTAs help you increase your pre-qualified leads and also help you convert more of those that aren't yet ready to buy to your email list. Of course, at that point, you can continue to nurture those leads to a point at which they are prepared to say "yes" to your offer.
This is far better than allowing them to bounce from your site, with only hopes that they'll return later.
Here's an example of making a strategic CTA at just the right time...
In this example, you'll see the "Contact Me" call to action is placed at the bottom of the FAQ page on Tami's new website.
Wondering why?
The copy on this page is intended to educate prospects around what Tami does and how she works. These questions are designed for a prospect that's actively evaluating whether Tami is the right fit for their needs. It is a logical next step that if the reader has read this page and decides that Tami is a good fit, that they are actually prepared to take that next step to contact her. The prospect even knows what they can expect after they reach out to Tami – a complimentary phone consultation.
In this case, Tami's strategically placed CTA not only helps to ensure that she receives contacts from leads that are already educated in some of the key details of her offer, but that her site extends the invitation when they're naturally ready, armed with those key details, to take that next step in their customer journey.
When you hire a copywriter you're hiring someone that thinks critically about how you can strategically leverage your offers to maximize your total conversions.
Reason #3: You gain an outside perspective, so you can present your offer in a way that's irresistible to your dream client
There is absolutely such a thing as being too close to your offer.
The danger? Not being able to see the forest from the trees.
As business owners, we sometimes think that every aspect of our service or product is important. But with an outside perspective comes clarity.
Here's something you may not know about copywriters:
Before we even begin writing, we spend days (if not weeks) researching you, your competitors, and your ideal reader. You see, you aren't just hiring a writer. You're also hiring an expert listener and researcher.
We dive deep into the key differentiators between you and alternative solutions that your target audience might be considering. We identify opportunities for differentiation that highlight needs and highly desirable outcomes that your right-fit audience really wants. And in an ideal world, we spend time talking with current customers or clients that you wish you could clone because you love working with them so much.
We listen to your dream clients speak about their problems, how they describe them, how they manifest in their life.
We listen to their expectations and desires. How they describe what they want most and why that really, truly matters to them.
And we listen to possible objections. We pay close attention to what might be holding them back in saying "yes" to your offer, either intrinsically or extrinsically.
And above all else, we listen to the language they use to communicate. We absorb their vocabulary so that we can communicate your secret sauce in the language that your target audience actually uses and understands.
This allows us to dig deep into the underlying factors driving your ideal reader, you are able to formulate a prioritized list of features and benefits that directly relate to what your reader actually wants. In turn, your copywriter plans and writes your website copy by leading with the features and benefits that matter most to your target audience. And, because we've done extensive audience research, we're able to present those key benefits to your visitors using your ideal client's language.
Why does this actually matter?
Speaking your ideal audience's language helps them feel understood, tripping the internal triggers that signal that you're the perfect fit for them.
Every single page of your website should be speaking your ideal audience's language.
How to shape your ideal customer's vocabulary in a way that facilitates a better "conversation"
Think of this technique like the written form of verbal mimicry. Studies have shown that using verbal mimicry can make a significant impact on your reader's perception of you, including how they view your trustworthiness, capabilities and even how much they like you.
Using your voice of customer data to inform your website copy works in a similar way.
And it's not just about using your voice of customer data to shape your message. That voice of customer vocabulary should be framed with "you" language to draw the reader in even further...
Even your About page. Here's a great example...
You'll notice that the copy on Brittany's redesigned About page is framed with a lot of "you" language. In fact, the breakdown of copy on this page is:
2 sections (circled in red) devoted to what her target audience ("you") wants and needs
2 sections devoted to social proof that boost her credibility and expertise
2 sections devoted to her bio and who she is when she's not busy working
It may feel counterintuitive to structure your copy like this, but it's in your best interest to do so.
Because here's the thing:
Your reader doesn't really care about you.
They care about themselves.
They care about their problems and their needs.
So the best way to make a meaningful connection is to have your website copy structured to have a meaningful conversation with them.
Gaining that outside perspective, using user research and voice of customer data, and then shaping it into a message that's written specifically to resonate with your dream client helps you signal to them that you get them.
That you understand them and their needs.
And, most importantly, that you are the right one to help them.
Reason #4: You ensure that every inch of your website is created to help you put your best foot forward
Your reader's first impression will be formed in as little as 2.6 seconds.
Here's why that matters to you:
You know that hero shot on your home page?
That's likely all they'll see in that teeny tiny amount of time.
Your copy placed above the fold needs to be crystal clear in communicating where your reader has landed and what's in it for them to stick around to explore.
And the image design supporting your copy needs to match it in your brand's tone and vibe.
How your copy and design worth together to create a great first impression
A beautiful design is incredibly important to your website's first impression. But so is your copy.
A good copywriter will not only write your website copy, but will also ensure that your design and copy work together to make a fantastic first impression.
Here's an example of copy and images working together to support each other...
What's so great about Jodi's home page is that she has clearly articulated in her hero shot what she does, who she does it for, and the big outcome her service helps her target audience achieve.
What does she do? Custom Squarespace web design.
Who does she serve? Creative entrepreneurs.
What's in it for me? I'll attract my dream clients.
And her accompanying image – which includes a laptop open on a website hero shot – supports that message. The image is filled with light and features lots of warm neutrals. It's cozy, inviting and you immediately get the sense that Jodi is inspired by beautiful things. And there's not a hint of "corporate" anywhere to be found.
So what's the advantage of working with a copywriter on this?
Speaking for myself, I make it my mission to make sure that my clients are always, always communicating these key aspects that guide your visitor's first impression. I use 5-second tests to evaluate the clarity of the hero shot copy before it ever leaves my office.
Doing this helps ensure that a complete stranger landing on your website for the first time understands:
The product or service.
The intended target audience.
The primary benefit of the service.
If the test results show that viewers can't retain these key pieces of information, I go back to the drawing board.
You don't get to make a second first impression, so clarity is the boss here. Always.
Is hiring a copywriter to write your website right for you?
If you find yourself tight on time or find it a complete struggle to write about you and your business, hiring a copywriter is likely your best next step. Even if you have the time, it still might be your next best step.
Copywriting is part science, part art. Similar to design, the writing process can consume a massive amount of time and energy. Make sure to protect your investment with website copy that will pull its weight in attracting your dreamiest clients.
Carolyn Beaudoin writes conversion copy for entrepreneurs and startups that want zippy, zesty, mouth-smackingly good words that fly off the screen and into the hearts of their audience. So you can attract your dream prospects and effortlessly convert them into even dreamier clients.
