21 Easy Tips to
Turbocharge
Your Web Copy and
Win Customers
Henneke Duistermaat
21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
Table of Contents
1. A Crime Against Enchantment...............................................3
2. How to Cure Sentence Bloat...................................................4
3. Is Your Sales Copy Cursed? ...................................................5
4. How to Start Writing Web Copy.............................................6
5. How to Write an Irresistible First Sentence...........................7
6. The Stupidity of 'Click Here' .................................................8
7. The Amazing Power of a Subtle Nod......................................9
8. The Ferrari Guide to Calls-to-Action...................................10
9. Six Rebel Rules for Business Writing....................................11
11. How to Write Blockbuster Copy .........................................12
12. Engage Your Readers Like Shakespeare.............................13
13. Is This Important Sales Message Missing?.........................14
14. The 80mph View of Your Home Page.................................15
15. The Tricky Truth About Adjectives.....................................16
16. Keep Your Reader Hooked With a Dog Fang.....................17
17. The Problem With 'About Us' Pages...................................18
18. Is Your Sales Copy Like a Dutch Polder?............................19
19. Smart-Assery in Your Web Copy........................................20
20. Are You Insulting Your Readers?.......................................21
21. How to Turbocharge Your Web Copy.................................22
About.........................................................................................23
Image credit (front page and all other images): Shutterstock.com
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
1. A Crime Against Enchantment
I've fallen into the trap.
I thought it made me look interested. And enthusiastic. Maybe
even happy. But it was pretty stupid. Unprofessional. Childish.
What's this crime?
The excess use of exclamation marks!
It's awful. Ridiculous. Almost evil.
So why are exclamation marks such a big problem?
They're a sign of laziness. As if you can't be bothered to find
the right words.
Instead of saying It's big! Try It's enormous.
Instead of writing That was brave! Try That was heroic.
Instead of She is beautiful! Why not try: She is breathtakingly
beautiful.
You see?
Power words are more effective than exclamation marks. More
enchanting. Tantalizing. Persuasive.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
2. How to Cure Sentence Bloat
Sentence bloat?
Yep, sentences that go on forever. Hurting your brain.
Sentences that almost make you want to puke.
*Blllerrrrgh*
Do you know what causes sentence bloat?
Over-indulging in difficult words. Wordiness. Lazy editing.
And do you know how to cure sentence bloat?
Write something that’s easy to read:
1. Cut long sentences in two.
2. Kill unnecessary words like really, very, and actually.
3. Upset your high school teacher. Start sentences with
And, But, or Or.
4. Be generous with one word sentences.
5. Replace long with short words.
Remember: The only purpose of a sentence is to get your
reader to read the next sentence.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
3. Is Your Sales Copy Cursed?
Jinxes. Evil eyes. Withcraft?
Yep, a curse most of us suffer from. Let me give an example:
Four months ago I quit my job to escape corporate stress and
boredom.
On my second day of freedom at 10am I had a phone
appointment with a friendly accountant to discuss tax
arrangements for my new business.
After a conversation of an hour I was hardly any wiser.
This accountant was suffering from the curse of knowledge – a
term popularized by Chip and Dan Heath in one of my favorite
books: Made to Stick.
Most of us suffer from the curse of knowledge in our field of
expertise. We forget what it’s like to be a beginner. We forget
that oh-so-obvious things aren’t oh-so-obvious to everyone.
We delve into details without explaining the big picture. We
use jargon when simple words work better.
That’s the curse of knowledge. How can you break this curse?
Talk with your customers. Listen to beginners. Or hire an
outsider who can help you to simplify your selling story.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
4. How to Start Writing Web Copy
Maybe write a headline first?
Oh no. Please, don’t do that.
A list of bullet points, so you know what you need to cover?
Definitely a useful exercise. But an awful way to start writing.
What about the key message? Or features and benefits?
No. And no again.
Let me tell you…
It’s the same for sales letters, web pages, blog posts, and
marketing emails. You always start with picturing your ideal
reader. Maybe your favorite customer, your younger self, or an
imaginary friend.
Think about what touches him (or her), what makes him
laugh, or shake his head. Start a conversation.
Picture him reading. Imagine the questions he’s asking. And
answer these questions in your sales copy.
Don’t picture a crowd. Because a crowd makes you lecture.
And you know your ideal reader would tell you off for
lecturing, don’t you?
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
5. How to Write an Irresistible First Sentence
What’s the key objective of your first sentence?
It’s simple: You only need to get people to read your second
sentence. Yep, that’s all. And what does that mean?
You got to keep your first sentence short. Ultra-short.
This is true for emails. And blog posts. And sales letters.
There’s only one exception. And that exception is for literary
geniuses. So if you’re J.D. Salinger, or Jane Austen: Go ahead.
Write a long, beautiful, and undulating first sentence.
Otherwise, follow advertising legend Joe Sugarman’s advice.
And write ultra-short first sentences. Such as:
Imagine.
I admit it.
It’s an easy mistake.
Or start with a short question. An ultra-short question.
Because it sucks people into your story.
Once they’re sucked into your story, they’ll continue reading.
And that's when you can start using long sentences.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
6. The Stupidity of 'Click Here'
Why is click here stupid?
Because most people ignore the text just before and after a
link. So the clickable text needs to be understandable on its
own.
And because clicking here is redundant. Don’t you think
people know a different color indicates a link?
Some advice on links:
1. Present a valid reason to click. Help your Twitter
followers is a stronger incentive than Help to spread the
word.
2. Be consistent with visual cues. For instance: on the
Enchanting Marketing website each link is orange. And
everything that’s orange is clickable.
3. Don’t confuse web visitors by underlining non-clickable
text.
4. Don’t surprise. Make clear where a click leads to.
5. Avoid image links, because text links are easier to
recognize as clickable.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
7. The Amazing Power of a Subtle Nod
Like to learn a new trick today?
This persuasion trick works for sales letters, landing pages,
and in face-to-face selling situations.
And it’s surprisingly simple: You need a string of nods from
your reader.
So you start with a question. For instance:
Would you like to gain more blog readers?
* yep *
Or a statement:
Growing a blog audience is hard.
* yeah, I know *
You show your reader you understand him. Make him feel
comfortable with what you’re telling him. Get him to agree
with you. Get him to quietly nod yes.
Social psychologists call it the consistency principle. And it’s
proven to work, because we all desire to be consistent.
Once your reader has nodded yes to something you’ve written,
he’s more likely to say yes to your sales offer, too.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
8. The Ferrari Guide to Calls-to-Action
Imagine:
You win the lottery. And you buy a Ferrari. In silver.
Pretty dull. Boring.
Because most cars on the road are silver.
You also buy super-duper silencers. So nobody can hear you
driving past in your fantastic new Ferrari.
Crazy, huh?
Nobody will see your fantastic Ferrari in silver with superduper silencers. Nobody will hear it. Nobody will admire it.
Basta. Finito.
What about your website?
How do you get your call-to-action noticed?
A subdued color? And super-duper silencers?
Haha. Of course not.
Paint it bright. Make it big. Make it stand out.
Like a red Ferrari in a sea of silver cars.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
9. Six Rebel Rules for Business Writing
It’s your choice.
You can write like a dusty professor. Stilted lectures. Stuffy
labs. Dinosaurs and dodos.
Or rather like a friendly person. Engaging. Welcoming.
Delightful.
What’s your choice?
Sure? You’ll have to break rules, you know?
And upset your high school teachers. Sounds good?
*naughty smile*
THE SIX REBEL RULES for business writing
1. Strangle the passive voice. Yay!
2. Abolish foreign and difficult words. Yeehaw!
3. Get drunk on broken sentences. Woo hoo!
4. Throw a party for one-word sentences. Hooray!
5. Go wild with one-sentence paragraphs. Whoopee!
6. Break rules. Break more rules. Break your own rules.
Yippie ki-yay!
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
11. How to Write Blockbuster Copy
Remember the last action movie you saw?
The sound of screeching car tires hurting your ears. A bloody
fight – maybe you almost tasted blood in your mouth? And did
your heart rate go up during the scariest scenes?
Your sales copy needs to direct a mental movie as advertising
veteran Drew Eric Whitman says. Increase the intensity of
your copy by appealing to your reader’s feelings. Take up more
brain processing power by appealing to his senses.
How? Use emotional words like magical or boring as hell. Or
use sensory words:
Dazzling or hazy
Sizzling or chirpy
Sticky or fuzzy
Bland or sweet
Smelly or stinky
And yep, you can also use these words if you don’t sell physical
products… a rough day, smooth software, and a dazzling
presentation.
Make your sales copy as captivating as a blockbuster movie.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
12. Engage Your Readers Like Shakespeare
Has this happened to you?
You’re driving to work. The usual journey. On the highway.
You’re listening to the radio. And thinking about the day
ahead.
30 miles later you suddenly realize you’re at your exit. You
haven't noticed the other exits you passed. You’ve barely heard
what they’re talking about on the radio. As if your car has been
on autopilot.
The same thing happens with your reader. His mind wanders
off. He’s lulled to sleep. How can you wake him up? And keep
him engaged?
Surprise him:
• Use the occasional profanity if it suits your style.
• Introduce an unexpected analogy.
• Tell a new story.
• Use words in an unusual way – just like Shakespeare. For
instance: He used nouns as verbs – he godded me.
Avoid your reader’s autopilot. Keep him engaged with
surprises.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
13. Is This Important Sales Message Missing?
It’s crazy.
David Ogilvy wrote about this. And so did Joe Sugarman. And
John Caples.
Can you imagine a more knowledgeable trio of copywriters?
But many web writers ignore their advice. Even experienced
web writers stupidly miss this chance to sell more.
What’s it?
Captions!
Your web visitors usually read your captions before reading
your copy, before scanning your bullet points, and even before
checking your sub headlines.
Captions are irresistible because looking at an image compels
people to read its caption.
Having no captions is like admiring a yellow Lamborghini in a
car showroom, and the car salesman doesn’t bother to tell you
anything about it.
That’s unheard of, isn’t it?
Don't miss your opportunity to persuade your readers: Write
engaging captions.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
14. The 80mph View of Your Home Page
Someone arrives at your home page. In a rush. Impatient.
He doesn’t know what you do. He hasn’t a clue who you are.
He wants to know quickly whether he’s in the right place.
What will he notice on your home page?
Usability expert Steve Krug compares a website to a billboard
along the highway. Your web visitor is speeding past at sixty or
eighty miles per hour.
*v-roooomm*
That was Michael Schumacher passing by. What did he notice?
• A headline in a super-large font like Fast food
restaurant.
• An image of a burger.
• Possibly a little more information like open all day and
100% beef.
• The required action: Turn right after 10 miles!
Michael Schumacher decides in a second whether he’ll stop to
have a burger or not. Your web visitor makes a quick decision,
too. What has your home page told him while he’s speeding
past – ready to press the back button?
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
15. The Tricky Truth About Adjectives
Adjectives are delicate. Tricky. Problematic.
Adjectives can destroy your copy. They slow down your
readers because they make sentences longer. Adjectives can
make them click away.
But adjectives can be fun, too. Almost magic. Because they can
help your reader picture or feel something. And that makes
your content powerful, persuasive, and memorable.
So how do you know whether an adjective is drab or strong?
Drab adjectives don’t have a genuine meaning: Corporate
blurb like best-in-class, market-leading, or cutting-edge.
Emotional or sensory words are powerful. Like crappy,
creepy, or stupid. And vibrant, dazzling, or fuzzy.
How can you eliminate blandness from your copy?
• Pump up the volume. Go for enchanting or delightful
rather than nice.
• Make the word sensory. Choose stinky or rough rather
than bad.
• Delete an adjective if it doesn’t change the meaning of
your sentences.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
16. Keep Your Reader Hooked With a Dog Fang
Do you know what a dog fang is?
Let me explain:
The chain of my bicycle kept falling off each time I changed
gears when cycling uphill.
Can you picture me? At the road side. Bike against a hedge.
Hands black from muck and grease.
To sort out this *big sigh* chain frustration, I now have a
rubber dog fang. It prevents the chain from falling off.
Your reader requires a similar hook. At the end of a paragraph,
you risk losing him. And if you lose him, he’s gone. And he
won’t come back.
Keep your reader on track with short phrases like:
Let me explain why.
And now comes the best part.
Not only that…
Joe Sugarman calls these seeds of curiosity. But I prefer dog
fangs. Because they keep your reader moving through your
content. Just like the dog fang keeps me happy on my bike.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
17. The Problem With 'About Us' Pages
It’s an easy mistake.
Once you know it, you’ll see it happening on most websites.
Let me ask you: What’s the purpose of your about us page?
That’s obvious, isn’t it?
It’s about your company. Your history. Your products. Maybe
some stuff about you personally.
That’s it. Isn’t it?
Not quite.
That shouldn’t be the main focus. The question your about us
page should answer is this:
Which problems do you solve for your customers?
Don’t talk all the time about your product, your service, your
business. Because nobody’s interested.
Talk about your prospect’s problems. Explain how you solve
these problems. Tell your readers how much happier they'll
feel if they let you solve their problems.
Writing about your products bores your readers. Writing
about their problems grabs their attention.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
18. Is Your Sales Copy Like a Dutch Polder?
A Dutch polder is flat as a pancake. No undulating roads. No
hills.
It has its beauty, but it’s not good for a cycling trip. It's boring
as hell.
It’s the same for your sales copy. Features, specifications, and
even benefits are dull. Because they’re like a flat ride.
Straightforward. With only positives. And nothing grabs your
reader’s interest.
So you need a mountain to create excitement.
How?
Introduce a problem.
Because a problem grabs your reader’s attention. Makes his
heart rate go up, and gets him excited. And that makes him
pay attention to how you solve that problem.
So talk about the hassle you prevent; the headaches you cure;
and the glitches you avoid.
It will make your copy more persuasive and more fascinating.
Like a mountain in a Dutch polder.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
19. Smart-Assery in Your Web Copy
A clever turn of phrase.
A subtle word play.
A pun in your headline.
If you're a popular newspaper, comic, or poet, go ahead – be
clever.
Otherwise: Kill your ingenuity.
Your web visitors are in a hurry. They glance at your home
page. They want to know quickly what you can do for them.
Web copy isn't poetry.
Web copy isn't creative writing.
Web copy needs to sell. Sell your message, your product, your
service.
So, stop being a smart-ass. And simplify your message.
Because simplicity beats cleverness. Easily.
Don't be clever.
Be clear.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
20. Are You Insulting Your Readers?
It's easily done.
Even smart web writers do it: insulting your readers.
Let's be clear: I don't mind you telling your readers off for
doing silly things. I love telling you off, too ;-). And I have no
problem with swearing - if it suits your style.
But you mustn't insult your reader's intelligence by stating the
obvious. And that happens more often than you think:
Sometimes you're unsure how much your readers know. Or
maybe some of your readers know something while others
don't. Or you just need to remind your readers of something
to support your argument.
Two super-easy ways to avoid insulting your readers:
1. Re-phrase your statement as a question:
You know that you shouldn't insult your reader with obvious
statements, don't you?
2. Start your sentence with: as you know.
As you know, it's not a good idea to insult your readers.
Stop insulting your readers, and they'll pay more attention to
you.
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
21. How to Turbocharge Your Web Copy
Ever souped-up a motorcycle?
You go faster, make more noise, stand out, and attract
attention from more girls (or boys of course).
There's a way to soup-up your web copy, too. This technique
helps you to stand out and attract the attention of your
readers. And it's surprisingly simple:
Rule 1: Use more vivid language
Rather than enhance your web copy, you can turbocharge or
jumpstart your web copy.
Rule 2: Draw unusual analogies
Ever thought about comparing writing web copy to souping-up
a motorcycle?
Vivid language distinguishes your website, grabs your reader's
attention, and makes you more persuasive.
Stop boring your readers.
Surprise, enchant, and delight.
Any questions or comments? I'd love to hear from you:
Henneke [at] EnchantingMarketing.com
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21 EASY TIPS TO TURBOCHARGE YOUR WEB COPY
About
Henneke Duistermaat is an irreverent
copywriter and marketer.
She helps companies win customers with
enchanting web copy and engaging enewsletters.
Henneke is on a mission to stamp out
gobbledygook, and to make boring, faceless
companies charming.
Copywriting and Editing Services
Would you like to win more customers?
Would you like your web copy or e-newsletter to be more
enchanting? And more persuasive?
Email: Henneke [at] EnchantingMarketing.com
Further reading
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