Spotted Wombat

An associate of mine, an excellent writer and marketing guru, drew my attention to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Web Copy."

The Ugly

The ugly web copy is where the writer writes for themselves, not for their client. Prospective customers are not going to wade through cliches, innuendos and other such fluff to get a message. A website has four seconds to persuade a customer to stay. Clear language, focusing on the benefits will keep clients on your page. Not fluff.

An example: "Pinkly pulchritudinous and amazingly delightful, infinitely charming and sensationally fascinating." This is copy written for a florist selling pink roses. What's wrong with "fragrant" or "fresh" pink roses? Pulchritudinous? I had to look that one up.   

The Bad 

Writing that tells clients how wonderful your organisation is, when your company was founded and *yawn* what your hobbies are. Nobody cares, apart from your Mum - who knows anyway. Prospective customers want to know how you are going to help them, not how splendid the new sofa looks in your waiting-area.

The Good 

Web copy that states benefits, engages visitors and turns them into paying customers. Focus your web copy on your audience, always highlighting benefits for them. Make your copy clear and memorable. Don't use seven words when one will do. Keep the language simple.

Wordy thought for today:

Pulchritudinous means: used of persons only; having great physical beauty.