Part 5 : How to write well, plus the future...

What are the main errors that people make when writing sales copy for their website?
Heather: One of the big errors I see is people take their brochure, scan it, and include that copy on the Web site. That doesn't work. Not only are you forcing your reader to read your text in a certain way (as we discussed in the previous question) but it also sounds very impersonal. I mean, how many of your prospects are going to buy from you because they like your mission statement?

The second big mistake I see is company-centered writing. These companies have lots of statements like, "We're the best in the industry," and "Our building has 25,000 square feet of warehouse space," without talking about what's in it for the prospect. There's lots of "us" and "we" - but no text centered on the consumer - "you." Web surfers are very instant-gratification oriented. They want to know the benefits of your product or service right away. If you don't personalize your copy with what your prospects want to know (and use the word "you" rather than "we"), they'll surf to your competitor.

And, of course, you have to research and choose your keyphrases before you start writing your copy. From a search engine writing perspective, don't figure you can just wing your keyphrases and get strong results. You have to structure your writing around your keyphrases, not the other way around.

Jill: Just a quick comment about the Mission Statement thing that Heather mentioned...

You'd be surprised how many websites think they do indeed need to sound like a mission statement. Unfortunately, mission statements are usually a summarized version of everything that a company wants to be and do. In order to create this statement, words are often used that are not common everyday words. They're rarely the types of words that people are searching on in the search engines. Definitely stay away from mission statement speak!

Is good web writing something you can learn, and are there any sites you would hold up as good role models?
Heather: Yes, I think you can definitely learn how to write for the Web. I honestly don't think that a person needs a four year marketing communications degree to be successful (I don't have one myself.) Sure, there are some people that naturally write better than others - but if your writing skills are fairly strong, and you have a love for the written (or typed) word, you can learn from the copywriting masters and create some great copy.

One of the great copywriting gurus I've learned a lot from is Robert W. Bly. His book, The Copywriter's Handbook (Editor's note: published by Henry Holt, ISBN 0805011943) is something EVERY copywriter (or site owner, if you're doing it yourself,) should read. Not only does his book explain the basics of copywriting, it also explains the process - how to start writing and what you need to know before you begin. He doesn't address online writing, but if you want the copywriting basics, this book is a must-have.

For online writing, I would highly recommend reading Crawford Kilian's book, Writing for the Web. (Editor's note: published by Self Counsel Press, ISBN 1551802074) It's a fantastic (and easy to read) how-to book that expertly addresses writing for the Web community.

One site I would recommend as a great example of target-audience centered writing is AssistU. I don't know who created the copy, but I was completely (and happily) sucked into the writing. I literally hung on every word because it related to MY needs.

Jill: I strongly believe in writing like you speak. For the web or otherwise. This just happens to also work great for the search engines, because people tend to search like they speak also!

Thanks Jill and Heather, for those words of wisdom. Any plans for new projects together in the future?
Heather: Well, Jill and I will definitely be partnering together for future seo projects. It's amazing, but about 90% of my work is with Jill now - so I'm sure we'll be working many, many more gigs together. I don't work with other seo specialists and she doesn't work with other copywriters. Together, we've found the perfect partnership!

There's always the possibility of speaking at conferences. It would be interesting to see if the demand is there for us to be co-presenters. And, people keep telling me I should write my own book on online writing. I'm in the preliminary "book writing research" stages now - and I've been shopping for an agent off and on.

As far as the rest of the future - who knows. Our partnership, both personally and financially, has exceeded both of our expectations. Six months ago, I would have NEVER thought we would have come this far - and things keep growing.

Jill: We will definitely continue growing the Rank Write website and subscription base. We have a new prototype in the works for the site, where we'll be adding new things such as search engine news feeds, links to press and kudos we've received, and of course more informative articles!

And business-wise, as Heather mentioned, we'll be continuing to partner on optimizing sites for high rankings. I rarely get a client site for optimization that doesn't need some sort of writing or rewriting. I think our collaboration is really what gives our optimization services its unique selling proposition. It doesn't seem like most other ranking companies focus as much energy into the writing as they should. It's almost like it's an after-thought. Because of this, Heather and I will definitely be working closely together on nearly every project that comes our way for a very long time!