Writing for the web – Is it any different than writing print ad copy?

In the opinion of some of the top copywriters, there is no difference. These same copywriters also believe that the internet copywriters have gotten lazy when writing their copy and they just don’t put that much effort into it anymore.

For you to get the most out of your copywriting projects here are some tips from some of the top copywriters.

If you apply these same principles for writing regular ad copy to writing for the web, you’re conversion rates will dramatically increase. Follow these principles to write extremely powerful copy.

Tip #1 – Do Research, Research and more Research

John Carlton and Gary Bencivenga are both some of the top copywriters in direct marketing and they both insist that research is the most important part of writing great copy. They both feel that one should spend half of the time on research and half of the time writing.

The more research you do, the more little, not-so-well known facts you will uncover, therefore making your content more interesting and more widely read than other similar content. The more you search for information on your topic the more great information you will uncover.

Your basic, run-of-the-mill copywriter only does very basic and superficial research. Their content is not as interesting and therefore not as unique as your content would be if you spent more time doing research. I also believe this is true. There is so much on the internet these days that is just “what everyone else is writing about”. If you take the extra time to do more research, your articles will be the ones that are read and distributed most. Your sales conversions will also soar above other copywriters.

Tip #2 – Write a Great Headline

This is easier said than done. A rule of thumb for writing great headlines is to write at least 50 to 100 headlines for every article you write. This may seem like a tedious task, however, the more headlines you write for an article, the more chance you have of writing that perfect one, the one that gets all of the clicks.

When you have written as many headlines as you possibly can, you will have the one you will use and the one that will be the most powerful because it will be the “best of the best”, both eye-catching and powerful.

There is really no other way of doing this. Even the top copywriters don’t get it right every time. They keep writing headlines until they know they have it right. If the top copywriters do this, then you need to do this also. As you write more and more headlines, you will get better and you will succeed writing those stellar headlines more often. That is what it is all about. Write the great headline and get the conversions. Try this process with your next article project and see what happens. Keep doing it until it becomes a natural thing to do.

Tip #3 – Edit Your Copy

Before you publish any copy, you need to let it sit for a few days. Some copywriters let their copy sit for three days or more. Then, when you come back to it to review it, you will come back with fresh eyes. Then you will need to go through it and edit it mercilessly. You will need to cut out anything that doesn’t belong.

Once you have gone through and edited the copy, show it to your friends and acquaintances. There are two groups of people that will need to see your copy before you publish.

First, you need to show it to other copywriters and marketing people. There are copywriting boards online and you can post a draft to one of these boards and get feedback from other copywriters. Be sure to take the seasoned copywriters’ feedback more seriously.

The next thing you can do is to show your copy to people in your target market. This process is known as the “Gary Halbert Test” because it was invented by the late Gary Halbert. By showing your copy to people in your target market, you will be able to see if your copy passed or failed. If people want to buy after reading your copy, then you passed. If they merely say that it is a good sales letter, then you need to go back to the drawing board.

These are a few tips for writing for the web that you should keep in mind every time you write copy. Put these tips on a sticky note and put them on your computer screen, referring to them as you write. In summary, your tips are:

1. Do research, research and then more research
2. Write a great headline by writing 100 headlines for every piece of copy you write
3. Edit your copy mercilessly before submitting it to the two tests above
4. If your copy passes, publish!

If you follow these steps every time you write copy, you will be the expert and your copy will shine!

Author Bio: Cathy has over 4 years experience in internet marketing. Her site http://workonlinesuccess.com concentrates on the \”How To\” of successful internet marketing. She publishes a weekly \”How To\” Newsletter to help people with their online businesses.

Category: Business
Keywords: Write for the web