Let’s start with the bad news: nobody reads copy online.
So what’s the point of this article? I hear you cry.
Well, before you hit the back button, dashing my hopes of finally acquiring a readership, here’s some good news: understanding nobody will read your copy is the secret to getting your message across.
1. Easy reading
Are you still with me? Good, because it’s very difficult to keep someone’s attention online. That’s why you’ve got to make things easy.
2. Write for your wife
When I say easy, I don’t mean you should dumb down. Talk to your audience as though they’re your intellectual equal. Or as copy legend David Ogilvy put it: “A consumer is not a moron. She’s your wife. Don’t insult her intelligence, and don’t shock her.”
3. Time for another break?
Ahhh… that’s better. It’s important to keep paragraphs short and use plenty of sub-heads to break up your text. Take a look at all the white space and scannable headings I’ve included. Have a quick look down. Ok, that’s enough; we’ve come this far, I’m not losing you now.
4. This is the important bit
Another way of helping readers digest your copy is to signpost keywords or phrases. Do this with bold text, a different colour font and contextual hyperlinks. (Oh and never write “Click here” as a hyperlink; it’s very bad user experience, SEO and copywriting practice.)
5. The plainer the better
Don’t try and sound clever (trust me, it’s liberating). Steer clear of long words and complicated sentence structures. Generally, fussy punctuation should be avoided (like colons and semi-colons) as it slows the reader down. Ask yourself: do I really need this structure to make my point or is there a simpler solution? In this case, I’ve decided to throw caution to the wind and darn well leave that double-dot standing. And now I’ve fallen foul of the next lesson.
6. Less is more
The French mathematician Blaise Pascal once wrote, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter”. Good copy should use as few plain words as possible, so a ruthless edit is essential. Take out any words that don’t serve a purpose, even impose a word count which forces you to weed out any filler. Moving on swiftly...
7. Break the rules
Try starting a few sentences with “and” or “but”. Go on, I dare you. The thing is, you want to keep sentences short, but you also want to nudge people along. And a good way of doing that? Exactly.
8. Take your time
I’ve been here months, tapping away, thinking, editing, tapping some more. Good copy takes time. A killer strapline could take weeks to perfect. Talk to the most popular bloggers and you’ll find they spend between two and ten hours on a post. So, don’t spend all your time deciding which offers should go into your email and then dash off some copy as though it were an afterthought. Write something, put it to one side, come back to it – I bet you’ll make a few changes.
9. Know your audience
Who are you writing for? What do they think? What do they need? If you don’t know, back away from the keyboard. Unless you’re talking in a language that resonates and you’re offering something relevant, you may as well not talk at all.
10. B2B doesn’t mean boring
Remember, just because the person reading your copy isn’t a consumer, doesn’t mean they aren’t human. Banish corporate speak and stuffy, formal language – address them like a person.