PSD to Final
  • Home
  • Pricing
  • Why WordPress
  • How it Works
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

20 Killer Web Copywriting Tips

Insights

This week we’ll be delving into the world of copy writing for web. Starting with an article by Christina Walker, content expert for Writtent. This article was originally posted here, thanks to JD Hancock for the image.


If you feel like becoming a Copywriting Superman, you need to learn how to attract visitors. Being able to put yourself into your customers’ shoes, you should also be eye-catching and unique in your content.

Do you want your customers to switch to your competitor’s website just because your headlines or paragraphs are too generic and scarce?

If not, use these 20 killer web copywriting tips to always stay in the forefront.

1. Use Active Voice.

When you use active voice, the subject does the action instead of being acted upon. That makes it powerful. Sentences that follow this structure are easier to understand, convey movement, and are naturally more interesting. For example:

“We wrote our new ebook to help you work smarter, not harder.”
vs.
“The new ebook written by our company can help you work smarter instead of harder.”

See how the first sentence is not only shorter, but easier to follow?

Active voice sentences can also begin with a verb, as in a command. For example:

Learn how to market your business smarter, not harder, with our new ebook.

Which of these example sentences you use depends on whether you want to emphasize the new ebook or what your audience will learn with it. But either option is exponentially better than long, convoluted sentences that bury the subject and verb.

2. Remember the Important Details.

Who, what, when, where, why, and how are critical for all good copywriting, not just journalism. Your readers want them because they make your copy real, concrete, and trustworthy.

3. Learn to Write Powerful Headlines.

All your copy is worthless if your headlines don’t entice visitors to click-through and read further. Use these resources from Copyblogger to help you write headlines that grab attention:

  • How to Write Magnetic Headlines
  • How to Write Headlines That Work
  • The Cheater’s Guide to Writing Great Headlines

4. Make It Skimmable.

Readers online don’t read word for word. Instead, they scan to find what they’re looking for faster. Making your copy and content easy to skim gives them what they want, keeps their attention longer, and is easier for everyone to read.

Use a variety of formatting techniques that break up the text and draw the reader’s eye down the page. Some of the best ways to make web copy skimmable are:

  • Use several headings and subheadings
  • Create bulleted and numbered lists
  • Format text with bold, italic, underlining, or color
  • Include images, video, and other media and captions for each
  • Write single-line paragraphs
  • Vary sentence and paragraph length

5. Be Concise.

People have shorter attention spans than ever. Use short sentences, short paragraphs, and short overall messages to hold their attention.

The only exceptions to this tip are if you’re creating an epic resource, such as an ultimate guide or tutorial, or if a part of your appeal is long, thorough blog posts or books. Other content should still be as concise as possible.

6. Use Short Words.

Simple words communicate better than big words and pompous language. Stick with short uniquely English words instead of more complex Latin-based words. For example:

  • show vs. indicate
  • get rid of vs. eliminate
  • help vs. assist or facilitate
  • get vs. obtain
  • best vs. superior

7. Don’t Worry so Much About Keywords.

They’re still important for search engine optimization, but the goal of every search engine update is to improve the algorithm and return the best results. When you write SEO copy primarily for your audience, not search engines, you help them reach that goal.

8. Avoid Jargon, Bureaucratese, Hype and Corporate Speak.

In the spirit of using simple words, being concise, and writing in the active voice, avoid these types of pompous language like the plague. They’re difficult to understand, and nobody wants to read them.

9. Incorporate Scarcity.

A powerful copywriting tip is to make something scarce, so prospects have to act quickly or it will be gone. Scarcity doesn’t work for all types of content – blog posts, for example – but you can use scarcity for anything you’re promoting in your content. A webinar or conference may only have so many spots, a special deal will end in a few days, or a popular product could only be available at certain times of the year.

10. Create a Sense of Urgency.

Like scarcity, urgency encourages a prospect to act quickly. Limited-time offers, a 3-day free ebook promotion, and coupon expiration dates are all great examples of urgency.

Newsjacking and writing about trends are also ways to take advantage of urgency.

11. Use Positive Language.

If you use negative words, that’s usually what people remember. Rewrite the sentence to use positive words. For example, “Don’t get left behind” might become “Get ahead of the competition.”

Sometimes negative language is necessary, and sometimes it adds variety to your copy. But overdoing it can leave a negative impression.

12. Balance Text with Images.

This might not seem like a web copywriting tip, but incorporating various media (like photos, videos, infographics, slides, and more) in your content marketing strategy can make a big difference. There’s a reason websites like Pinterest and YouTube are so popular.

13. Put Important Information in Image Captions.

When you see an image in a blog post, do you read the caption below it? So does everybody else. Take advantage of this prime real estate by writing a descriptive, informative caption.

14. Make it Feel like a Conversation.

People don’t want to be sold to. Tone down the hype and write your web copy like you’re talking with your ideal customer face-to-face. Your audience can tell the difference, and will be more likely to participate.

15. Craft a Compelling Call-to-Action.

16. Tell a Story

All the epic content in the world is useless if it doesn’t help visitors become leads and customers. Learn to write powerful calls to action that guide prospects through the sales funnel.

Storytelling is powerful. It draws readers in and engages them. And the honesty and transparency involved in storytelling is one of the top ways you can build your
credibility and authority even in your web copywriting.

17. Align Buyer Persona and Buying Cycle.

When you align content, calls to action, emotional triggers, and other elements with the appropriate buyer persona and a specific stage of the buying cycle, prospects are much more likely to consume the content and perform the action. That kind of perfectly matched content is highly personalized, specific, and effective.

18. Include Emotion.

One of the reasons storytelling works is because it often appeals to emotion. If you can make a visitor feel excited that they found you or desperate for your solution, you can draw them further into your site, give them what they’re looking for, and keep them coming back for more.

19. Back up Your Claims.

Logic influences the decisions you want your visitors to make as much as emotion does. Use statistics, research data, case studies, testimonials, and other credible sources to prove what you say.

20. Link to Reputable Sources.

Nothing online exists in a vacuum. Linking out to high-quality websites in your web copywriting helps your visitors and makes you more credible by association.

Bonus Web Copywriting Tips

For more great web copywriting ideas, check out this article from Copywriter’s Crucible.

What web copywriting techniques have worked for you? Please share your ideas and experiences in the comments below!

And if you liked this article, feel free to like, share, or tweet it!

Related articles
  • 7 Great Features in Writtent to Spot Amazing Writers
  • How to Create Winning Content & Measure Results
  • 7 Ways to Spot Amazing Freelance Writers
  • 9 Tried-and-Tested SEO Strategies for 2015
  • 7 Ways to Write Headlines that Get Clicks [+ examples]
Christina Walker
A professional freelance web copywriter with several years’ experience in web marketing and SEO copywriting.
Other posts by Christina Walker
https://www.psdtofinal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20-killer-web-copywriting-tips.jpg 681 1024 PSD to Final https://www.psdtofinal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/psd-to-final-logo-color.png PSD to Final2015-05-28 00:00:002020-12-02 06:43:1120 Killer Web Copywriting Tips
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Quick Links

  • Pricing
  • Why WordPress
  • How it Works
  • FAQ
  • Contact

Recent Insights

  • 8 Actionable Content Marketing Tips For 201827th June 2018 - 12:00 am
  • 7 Myths About HTTPS and SSL Certificates You Shouldn’t Believe26th June 2018 - 12:00 am
  • 7 Working Ways to Boost WordPress Loading Speed26th June 2018 - 12:00 am
  • 31 Power Tips for Chrome That Will Improve Your Browsing Instantly6th June 2018 - 12:00 am
  • 10 Ignored SEO Tasks That Can Boost Your Rankings6th June 2018 - 12:00 am
  • Why Video is Exploding on Social Media in 2018 – and How You Can Take Advantage6th June 2018 - 12:00 am
  • 5 Lesser-Known Free Stock Image Sites for Images That Stick Out9th May 2018 - 12:00 am
  • How Writers Can Use Markdown in WordPress to Improve Blogging Experience?8th May 2018 - 12:00 am
  • Why Your Small Business Website Sucks and How to Fix It8th May 2018 - 12:00 am
  • 21 Modern Web Design Trends for 201812th April 2018 - 12:00 am

Quick Links

  • Pricing
  • Why WordPress
  • How it Works
  • FAQ
  • Contact

Design Resources

  • Blog Article Layouts
  • Page Layout Ideas
  • Components / Elements
  • Standard Icons

Techincal Resources

  • Insights
  • Tools & Helpers
  • Plugins
  • Knowledge Base

WordPress Development

First class WordPress website development for your client sites. White-labelled, and fully serviced by our expert team.

© 2019 Phoenix Online Solutions Pty Ltd / Phoenix Online (UK) Ltd
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Client Portal
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Accept settingsHide notification onlySettings

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Website Privacy Policy
Accept settingsHide notification only