Most Business Websites Fail At One Thing
Earlier on in the week, I wrote about how there are a lot of business websites which fail at various things.
This article is a quick continuation of the same theme, based on a conversation I had with a potential client.
If there’s one failure that a lot of corporate websites make, then it’s the one I’m going to describe in this article.
Have You Ever Seen A Website Do This?
How many times have you been on a business website that had written content that didn’t appeal to you?
I have been on a lot of websites like this. In fact, my phone decided to die on me today, so just today I experienced these problems:
- E-commerce sites with dull specification lists
- Corporate mumbo-jumbo jargon that doesn’t help
- Stock phrases like, “We’re committed to providing the best”
- “Conversion-focused” tricks that have come out of a boardroom meeting and not real-life
- The multi-billion pound companies that have a website that seems to have been designed by somebody who has never used a computer before.
The majority of websites read as though they’re written for the business that paid for them, and not the customer that’s going to read them.
That’s a massive mistake.
Almost universally, there’s one issue that crops up with alarming frequency: There’s no sense of emotional attachment. Companies don’t even try to make a connection with the customer.
Companies That Should Know Better Fail At Creating An Emotional Attachment – Or Realising They Have To
This is especially true when you look into competitive copywriting niches. Things like law, medicine, tech startups and financial magazines have some atrocious writing in general.
Think about a medical website. Some of the things you’d include as the major headlines and “LOOK HERE” sections might be:
- You’re suffering from X, aren’t you?
- Are you worried?
- How to tell if you’ve got smallpox
- Click here for a free sample/checkup/appointment.
Those are silly examples, but if somebody is looking up medical things – even if those things are cosmetic or non-urgent – you already have a good idea of the emotional states they’re going to be in. They might be worried. They might be self-conscious. They might be terrified.
This should make writing a home page easy. You take that emotional state, make the person feel comfortable and give them a solution.
You wouldn’t think that to look at many medical sites. Instead, you’re greeted with a guy in a surgical mask or a photo of some expensive machine and often just a big “PRICES FROM $4999” sign… all this whilst the reader is in a fragile state.
Assuming they haven’t been terrified away, they might click on the About page… where they’re treated to;
“X&Y Medical was established in 1879 and has since expanded to 837 countries across the globe. Our medical diagnostic equipment is used by “Evil medical corporation X” and combines cutting-edge technology with really expensive proprietary technology which we’re not going to reveal… but that’s why it’s really expensive.”
Remember, the reader is in an emotionally fragile state, looking for a solution. They don’t want to read about whatever impresses the white-coats and the accountants that are in charge of the money. They want someone to say, “It’s going to be alright. Let us help you.”
Copywriter To The Rescue
If you’re writing as a freelancer for companies, they’ll often tell you what to do. They’ll want to edit your work so that you sound like they imagine their website should sound like. Simply explain the above to them.
If you get a client who knows their copy isn’t working but doesn’t know how, then think in terms of the emotional attachment and investment of the reader. Remember to go through the general copywriting steps:
- Get the reader’s attention
- Build their interest
- Build their desire
- Tell them why the company is the one to use
- Get them to act on their desire
If you add that basic structure to simply thinking about the emotional needs of the reader, (or, for less charged subjects than health, simply “What does the reader want?”) then you’re probably going to solve most of the issues that your client is having with their copy.
Note that some clients will think this is “unintellectual” or something; it doesn’t have to be. You can dress the process up with long sentences and jargon, although it’ll probably be less-effective. You can pitch the copy for an intelligent audience and still do these things.
Secret Trick To Get A Client To Agree With You Naturally
Here’s a secret trick to get clients on board with this approach if they aren’t already.
Let’s say you’re writing an article about health insurance. Your client wants you to write it in technical, jargon-filled corporate talk that you know is going to scare off any reader. You obviously want to convert as many readers as you can for the sake of their health.
Here’s how to get your client on board:
Say, “I don’t understand what it is you do specifically. Could you give me an overview so I can add some technical details to my work?”
Chances are, your client will explain to you – in a perfectly human manner – what it is the article is supposed to accomplish. They’ll say, “Well, when you have a car accident, you have fourteen days to see a medical specialist and get a diagnosis if you want your insurance to cover it.”
Because you’re a layman, they’ll pitch the problem and solution to you in the exact way you need to word the article.
You can then use their exact words to bring them to your argument: “I loved the way you explained this in a simple and straightforward manner. I’m going to use this as the basis for my work.”
No client is going to say, “No… I just explained it to you in a stupid way with stupid words. Write it in a more complicated way than I can explain it.” It simply won’t happen.
You’ll get a great piece of accurate content, the client will be happy and you’ll have material that your reader will actually enjoy.
Final Thoughts
In this article, I’ve covered:
- A common problem with a lot of websites (and corporate material in general)
- Why it’s a problem
- How you can fix it
To wrap it up, an additional bonus to this solution is that it is evergreen. It’s not a “trick” that’ll get spammed to death. It’s not something where shady internet marketers can copy it word-for-word or anything like that.
Instead, it’s a simple, fool-proof solution that’s relevant to any business in any market that’ll work in fifty years’ time. It’ll always add value to a piece of writing, and because you can always learn more about the audience and the problems/solutions, you can always optimise the copy you’re working on with the method.
All in all… I should probably not have hit “Publish.”