10 things to get crystal clear about BEFORE you write your website copy

Have you decided to build your next business website? Are you trying to write your own website copy?

First things first….

STOP WRITING and instead schedule a few hours in your diary to THINK and PLAN.

I promise…if you get everything crystal clear in your head BEFORE you start writing you will have a much better chance of attracting your ideal clients to your website, engaging with them AND encouraging them to take action.

Get clear on exactly what I hear you ask?

1. Get clear on your website objectives

Really think about what you want from your website. I ask my clients this question when I first start work with them and it is surprising that they often do not know the answer immediately.?Do you want to sell online or is it just a brochure website??Are you looking to secure leads, bookings, generate phone calls or simply provide information to help in the buying process??

2. Get clear on who is your target market and who your ideal client is

Are you selling B2B, B2C or both? What is your geographical reach – local, national, international? Who is your buyer? This is key so you can really tailor your copy to engage with them.?Once you have established your target market, think about who is your ideal client and write the copy based on this profile.?Having this all clear before you write will really focus your writing, and in turn, help to attract the kind of clients you can serve.

3. Get clear on your services

Spend some time reviewing each of your services and prioritising them. Perhaps you were offering some services on your existing website that you are not offering now and perhaps you have some new services which you need to include going forward.?You might offer a number of services and some might be more profitable than others.?Getting clear on your services will help you to plan your menu bar and will really help you prioritise what to feature on your home page.

4. ?Get clear on how your ideal clients might be feeling

It is good to think about the kind of emotions your website visitors might be going through when they find your website – stressed, unsure, requiring more information, overwhelmed, excited etc…?Once you know this you can plan the website copy to address their needs, and this will help keep visitors engaged.

5. Get clear on what stage potential clients are at when they are searching for a solution to their problem

I ask my clients this question in the planning stages.?The answer to this question is important so you can pitch your message exactly right and really connect with your audience.?So, for example, in my business a potential client would need to have decided they want to build a new website, appointed a website designer and be entirely used to outsourcing projects to contractors/freelancers.?How would this apply to your business?

6. Get clear on the outcomes your clients can expect

Really think through what your client can expect to have achieved after they have worked with you.?List these outcomes in your planning.?Be ready to feature them heavily on your homepage and services pages.

7. Get clear on the journey you will take your client on

Think through the journey a client goes on with you. ?From on-boarding to completion.?Know this process inside out and convey this in your website copy.?Clients like to know what will happen at each stage.?So, for example, if you ask a website visitor to submit their details as an enquiry, let them know when they can expect to hear from you and how they will be contacted.?Removing the mystery will make your website more engaging.

8. Get clear on your USP's, why should website visitors buy from YOU?

There might be hundreds or thousands of other businesses that offer what you offer. Spend some time thinking about what your unique selling points are.?Perhaps it comes down to your people and their unique experience, your outstanding customer service, the awards you have won or a particular way you do business.?Sometimes it can be easier to ask your clients or someone independent to help you work this out if it is not clear to you.?Work your USPs into your website copy to give you some stand out, especially if you are operating in a crowded and competitive space.

9. Get clear on your positioning in your market

Have you ever considered where your business sits in the market compared to your competitors??Are you Harrods Food Hall or Lidl??Or perhaps you are Waitrose or Tesco??It can be a useful exercise to take a plain piece of paper and plot out on a grid where you think your company fits into the market against price, quality, customer satisfaction or choose a variable that you use regularly to define your business.?Once you are clear on this, make sure you communicate this in your copy so your site visitors can be clear too.??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

10. Get clear on your call to action

Ah, this is a huge bug bear of mine.?I see a lot of websites that do not have a clear call to action.?Often when I ask clients how they want to receive enquiries, bookings etc… through their website they have not thought it through and end up receiving enquiries in a way that causes them a lot of work to turn down business they cannot service.?E.g., businesses that offer a local service in London but get enquiries from Manchester that they cannot fulfil. ?This is a simple example, but all you need to do is to design a contact form that collects postcode or better still make it clear on your website in multiple places the geographical area that you serve so that visitors know if you can help them.?Some careful thought in advance about how you can capture leads in the most efficient way will result in less admin!

So, there you have it, ten things to get clear about before you write your website copy.?It is certainly not a definitive list, but I hope it will get you out of the starting blocks with your website copy planning.

Completing this planning stage ahead of any writing is critical in my humble opinion.?If you skip it, you will end up with a website that just does not work for your business.?

This planning cannot be rushed either.?Whilst it might feel boring and frustrating that you are not making progress with your written copy, the rewards come further down the line when your website becomes a magnet for your ideal clients.?

I take all my clients through a more detailed planning process where we get clear about many more aspects of their business to ensure the website copy I create will attract their ideal clients.?

Does this all sound a little overwhelming? Would you prefer someone else to guide you through this process and write all your website copy???

Why not book your FREE 30-minute Discovery Call with me to see how I can help you get your project off your desk and onto mine??Simply book yours here: www.lee-townsend.co.uk/contact .?I look forward to hearing about your project.

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