Skills for Effective Web Copywriting

    DUNDEE, SCOTLAND, March 25, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Because people only spend an average of seven seconds on your site before deciding whether or not to stay. If your text isn't engaging, you could be missing out on sales.

You also need to be able to "speak" to your audience. When writing online you can be more conversational than in print, but you should also make sure you know who your target audience are.

The age, financial status, location and gender of your ideal demographic group will all affect the tone of your copy. Before you begin web copywriting, you need to be able to develop a clear picture of who you are writing for.

This doesn't mean that you have to work with extensive focus groups. Instead you should be able to imagine a profile that is representative of your ideal customer.

The ability to develop this sort of persona, and write directly to them is important in web copy writing. If you can engage with your audience on a personal level, they are more likely to trust your business and become loyal, repeat customers.

Online copywriters also need to be able to pass on a lot of information quickly and concisely. That's because people find reading on the screen slightly uncomfortable. The use of bullet points helps with this. The advantages of bullet points include:

• Breaking up text into manageable chunks.
• Drawing attention to important text.
• Making complicated figures and lists easier to understand.
• Punchy copy.

Aside from being able to engage with your readers, tailor your writing style to suit them and pass on lots of information without using pages of text, there are many other skills required when writing for the web.

You need to remember that less is more. The ability to cut out unnecessary words and keep sentences short is important.

Another essential skill is adaptability. After all, since beginning my career in online marketing I have written about everything from tourism to tailoring and bingo to blinds. When you are a web copywriter, the sort of thing you are working on can change quickly. You need to be able to change your writing style just as fast.

The more you write, the more your skills will develop. As with so much in life, practice makes perfect.

On the other hand, you may find it easier to outsource web copywriting. As long as you don't automatically go for the cheapest option, you will benefit from the expertise of experienced writers.

About MediaCo

Specialists in online marketing MediaCo have been providing effective online strategies to clients since 1999.
Core services include: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising and Campaign Management, Strategic Link Building, Email Marketing (creatives and deployment) and website copy writing.

MediaCo are Google AdWords qualified and SMA-UK corporate members.

Source: MediaCo
Website: http://www.media.co.uk

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