Once you’ve identified all the information you need to have on your site to address the buying cycle, it’s time to start writing. Begin by breaking down your buying cycle information into an outline format. Each key piece of information will become a headline and the supporting bullets will become subheads. Using our electronics store and television example, your outline might look like this:
Example:
I. User looking for flat panel TVs
II. Flat Panel TV options
1. LCD
2. Plasma
III. Brands & Technical Specs
1. Sony
- Inputs, sizes, warranty
2. Pioneer
- Inputs, sizes, warranty
3. Mitsubishi
- Inputs, sizes, warranty
Make Your Headlines Bold
After the process of understanding your customer, headlines are the most important thing that you need to focus on when trying to persuade customers to buy from you. Headlines are a great place for keywords, but more than that they are the place where you need to state value and benefit to your reader.
Here are some examples:
-
- “How to Choose the Right Flat Panel TV for You”
- “Here’s a Method That is Helping Business Owners Get Hundreds of Clients”
- “Little Known Ways to Reduce Your Taxes”
- “Get Rid of Unwanted Hair Once and For All”
- “Here’s a Quick Way to Move Your Digital Music from One Computer to Another”
- “Now You Can Have a Four-Hour Workday and Still Make More Money”
- “Build a Retirement Plan You Can Be Proud Of”
Use Subheads: Readers Like to Skim
Subheads are powerful attention grabbers. Your readers will scan the page looking for the general subject matter before they commit to reading your copy. Because of the reader’s tendency to skim the page, it’s critical that your product/service’s value and benefit are clear to the reader when they only skim the headline and subheads. We call this “multi-path readership.” Use your outline to guide you in creating subheads to ensure that the content delivers the subhead promise, so your busy reader can move on to the next task.
Apply Subheads to Testimonials
Subheads shouldn’t be limited to just your body copy. Use them to summarize the key point of your testimonials. Again, this helps the reader skim your entire page. Testimonials add extra punch to your copy because they are real people with experience of your product or service. Your reader will constantly be asking themselves, “…But will this work for me?” If they can spot another person who hits on their specific need, they will likely read and be persuaded by the testimonial.
More to Come
There’s more to writing great copy than just headlines. Join us for the next post as we hone in on the guts of the content to make sure it increases your website sales. If you can’t wait, give us a call today. We have full-service copywriting services and can help your website make more sales!
About the author: Jeune Ortiz is VP of Marketing and Creative Director at future-ink. With more than 20 years of experience in graphic design and marketing, Jeune brings extensive knowledge and creativity to each website and internet marketing solution to grow your business.
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