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No Jedi Mind Tricks Required

Writing Persuasive Web Copy (No Jedi Mind Tricks Required)

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WRITING PERSUASIVE WEB COPY

No Jedi Mind Tricks Required

Imagine what would have happened if, instead of throwing himself down Cloud City's air shaft ina final act of defiant heroics, Luke Skywalker had accepted Vader's offer to "rule the galaxy asfather and son." For all his mind tricks, persuasive powers, and paternal bullying, our dearasthmatic Sith Lord made a fatal error: he failed to read his audience, and thus didn't speak to himeffectively. The same goes for writing persuasive web copy.

A beautiful website design and a perfect SEO system may bring a Star Destroyer full of consumersto your webpage, but if your writing doesn't resonate with your audience, it will fail to convertthose visitors into leads. In short, you'll be left hanging—just like Vader, hand outstretched—failing to make the sale. Yes, when it comes to web copy, we can learn a few things from thedenizens of a galaxy far, far away.

USEPOSITIVE LANGUAGE

"Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads tosuffering."

Like the divide between the light and dark sides of the Force, the message here is aboutpositive over negative language. How did Obi-Wan divert the stormtroopers who weresearching for R2-D2 and C-3P0? Some Jedi mind tricks, to be sure, but also positivelanguage.

"These aren't the droids you're looking for; you can go about your business. Movealong." Negative language has a tendency to be memorable in a bad way; the last thingyou want is for your readers to develop a negative association with your content. Youwant them to feel empowered to tackle whatever problem they came to your website tosolve. Another technique is to ask a question early on—a question you know theconsumer will answer with a "yes." Unless your readers are Toydarians, they'll develop ahabit of saying "yes" to other questions or offers you pose.

USETHE ACTIVE VOICE

"Do, or do not—there is no try."

Write in the active voice. The active voice isdirect, simple, and easy to understand. Thepassive voice removes the power of actionfrom the subject and can quickly muddy yourmeaning with convoluted turns of phrase.

The active voice is particularly importantwhen writing headlines or titles, metadescriptions, image captions, and calls toaction (CTAs). You want clear, effectivelanguage to draw users to your landing pageand compel them to take the desired action. Asmuch as we love Yoda, you should probablyavoid his legendary speech patterns.

BE AUTHENTIC ANDBELIEVABLE

Luke: "I can't believe it."Yoda: "That is why you fail."

Consider your audience. If your content is notculturally relevant to your target group—or worseyet, not believable—your chances of gatheringsuccessful conversions are slim to none. Avoidsalesy jargon and claims that sound too good to betrue. Don't hesitate to link to factual supportingevidence, research studies, testimonials, or otherverifiable sources to demonstrate your credibility. Ifyour users don't believe you, they aren't going to buy.

CHOOSE YOUR TITLESWISELY

"Don't call me a mindless philosopher,you overweight glob of grease!"

Names are important. Put extra effort into names, titles, andheadlines. Imagine if the Death Star had been called the PlanetZapper, or if Obi-Wan Kenobi had described Mos Eisley as a"wretched hive of icky people." Doesn't quite have the same zing,does it? Your titles and headlines need to draw users to your pageand encourage them to keep reading. For tips and tricks, take alook at this guide for writing headlines more engaging than anImperial tractor beam.

TELL A STORY

"I'm not much more than an interpreter,and not very good at telling stories."

Emotional response can be thedeciding factor in changing visitorsto conversions. A fantastic way tomake a connection with your readerand elicit emotion is throughstorytelling. While only a small partof the brain is triggered by facts andfigures, stories can activate the entirebrain, including emotions. This canbe a powerful tool for swaying youraudience.

Need proof? C-3P0 wooed a wholecivilization of Ewoks by telling themstories of the Rebel Alliance's battleswith the Galactic Empire, inspiringthe Ewoks to fight beside the Rebelsagainst the Imperial troops onEndor.

GET TO YOURLANDING PAGE

"Stay on target!"

Everything you write needs to maintain focus. Your ultimate goal is to getconsumers to your landing page by convincing them that your product willsolve their problems. There are many ways of doing this—showing empathyby acknowledging your own experience with their problem, providingtestimonials for emotional relatability and positive assurance, or simplydescribing the benefits your product will bring to the user, as opposed tomerely listing its features.

Whatever approach you take, make absolutely sure your content relatesdirectly to your audience and points toward a solution. If it doesn't, cut itout.

CREATE SCARCITY

"Control, control, you must learn control!"

Take control of a user's impulse to click away from anoffer by creating the feeling of product scarcity. This is atried-and-true aspect of writing persuasive web copy:you want your readers to feel as though they'll miss outif they don't act on your offer now.

Marketing a product as available for a limited time only,or to a limited number of consumers—an ebookavailable free for just three days, for example, or aspecial discount for the first 100 buyers—can movesomeone who might otherwise wander off to "thinkabout it" to jump on the limited opportunity instead.

TARGETMILLENNIALS

"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is."

It's time to acknowledge the new greatest power in the universe. It isn't the Death Staranymore—it's Millennials. These tech-savvy, Internet-dominating, information-processingmachines are what drive online marketing success. They are your future consumers. So it's timeyou learned to speak (and write) their language. Millennials value engaging, relatable content thatcan be skimmed quickly for key points. Break up your copy with visual aids (bolded headings,photos, embedded videos, graphical content) and divide large sections of text into manageablechunks with concise headings so that readers can find the information they need via a quick scan.

TARGET MILLENIALS

NEVER STOPADAPTING

"You must unlearn what you have learned."

Internet technologies change, and they change fast. Effectiveonline marketers extend their brand presence across a variety ofweb spaces, from product websites to social media networks.Your web copy should reflect the attitudes and behaviors of eachplatform.

A Facebook post that directs users to your landing page, forexample, requires language that is considerably more attention-grabbing and concise than the copy for your website's homepageor a blog post.

To market in each space effectively, it's important to stay on topof the trends. Relying on your knowledge of past Internet trendsor writing styles is a mistake, as these become obsolete fasterthan the Millennium Falcon can complete the Kessel Run. You'llalso want to keep in mind changing social attitudes and needswhen you consider the tone of your writing.

In the wise words of Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Many of the truths wecling to depend greatly on our own point of view." The buyingcycles that marketers used in the past aren't effective anymore,especially with Millennials. Writing to satisfy the conventionsand buying patterns only of older groups won't resonate withthis now-dominant Internet generation and will result in lostconversions.

Got all that? Great, kid. Don't get cocky!When writing persuasive web copy, it's important to continuously remind yourself of the personas ofyour target consumers and their stages in the buyer's journey. Creating a personalized experience thatapplies the right emotional triggers will enhance the likelihood of your users' completing the actionyou've laid out for them. If Luke could feel comfortable flying the Death Star's exhaust port corridorbecause it reminded him of shooting womp rats from his T-16 back home, you can certainly give yourusers the confidence to follow your CTAs by creating a positive, action-oriented, culturally relevantexperience.

In the words of Jedi Master Yoda: mind what you have learned, and may the Force be with you.