Henry James was an excellent writer. Even when his stories centered on less than exciting subjects, the rich language made everything worthwhile. But if you emulate his style on a business website, potential customers will probably wander away, and Jon Wuebben has some tips about what might be more effective.
The author of "Content Rich: Writing Your Way to Wealth on the Web" first suggests that you skip all the fancy stuff and aim for a conversational tone. "Not only will it immediately appeal to your visitors, but it also enables your message to be easily understood," according to an email sent to SmallBusinessNewz.
Move farther from James's style by using bulleted lists and limiting the number of words on a page to 350 or so. Ideally, people will be spending their time buying your products, not digging through novel-length descriptions. Keep things interesting, though, as an extra draw is always good.
Finally, don't forget to ask something of (or offer something to) visitors. Suggested lines include "order now" and "click here to get your free newsletter," with the Wuebben email stating, "Add these calls-to-action as they promote the visitor to take a more active and involved approach."
It should be easier to implement these suggestions than write a book, so go ahead and review your site's content when you get the chance.
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Website Content Tips
Great suggestion. I agree. Being conversational is the best way to get visitors interested and we are working on an audio for our site that is "conversational" based. But, will also be using "copy" to convey the same on other pages in the site. There is a lot of work involved, but worth the effort.
I am also working on a video that has the conversational "truth-pressure - pressure release" format. Talk about conversational!
Thanks for the article!
Going against the tide
I wonder what will happen when every writer out there adopts a controversial tone? Logic and truth will go in the dumpster.
But then who cares about these minor details when getting sweet traffic juice is at stake.
clarification
errr, did you mean conversational or controversial? The above spoke of using a conversational tone, not controversial.
and another thing
It's not a matter of doing away with logic and truth. What's at stake is how to present good information in an engaging, readable fashion.
There's research and white papers out there demonstrating, beyond question, user behaviour. Why, oh why, many website owners don't develop their content in response, is beyond me.
Other handy web copy tips include:
Your Article Already Exists!
Yup, that's right.
But did you know your article already exists? You can find it in Google.
All you do is search Google for your desired topic and then narrow it down until you achieve the actual long tail keyword article you are looking for.
Let's say you need to write an article about the Olympics. Would you prefer to...
I'm sure you chose the obvious answer of #2. Would you like to know exactly how to do this without any cost out of your pocket? Find out more about bum marketing and why you need to use it.
SEOGuy
Helping Internet Marketing make sense for the rest of us.
Great tips!
These are awesome tips and great strategies for designing great keyword rich content for any niche. This allows for endless possibilities when developing and marketing a website
Website Content
I couldn't agree more. Whether I'm shopping for stuff or looking for information, if it's delivered in a conversational way, I hang around longer.
I've tried to do this with the descriptions of my safety and security products and still include the basic information.
Great tips, Doug!
Calls-to-Action
website content
Don't forget the hyperlinks
Minor conversions lead to major conversions. Be sure and give your visitors some place to go when they are done reading your great content.
We work so hard to get them to our sites it just makes sense to give them some place to go other than away. Be sure to place keyword hyperlinks to other pages and products that will help keep your visitors engaged in your site.
True, a call to action is vital to obtaining a conversion. Just don't forget to place keyword hyperlinks as well.
With every page on our sites and blogs we place hyperlinks that take our visitors to pages with additional information on a subject as well as links to products to purchase.
Nathan Lewis
http://www.myposprinter.com
http://www.blog.myposprinter.com
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