Intro:
(Addressing your reader)
Your website copy has quite a few jobs that it needs to achieve all at once.
It needs to engage a first-time visitor, inform them, and show them that they’re in the right place for their needs.
Hitting all three of those nails on the head is no easy feat, and finding the best writer for that job can be difficult. That’s why finding a copywriter who specialises in website copy is a crucial first step.
So, let’s say you find a copywriter who has oodles of experience in writing website copy. You’ve seen their portfolio and are suitably impressed, and you can’t wait for them to get started on turning your homepage into a customer magnet.
First of all, you need to impart some helpful info to your copywriter. They might be the Columbo of copywriting, but still need some clues to get started.
Let’s take a look at the information you should share with your copywriter.
Here, you can share a checklist of information a business should provide their copywriter with.
- Pages – (Addressing your reader) Is this project an all-over website copy revamp, or do you require specific pages to be written? Make sure you identify the page type. For example, your homepage will have vastly different requirements from your About page. Your web copy specialist will understand how to better prepare their content for the pages you require if they know what they’re working on.
- Goals – (Addressing your reader) There’s nothing worse than a vague brief. It can lead to failed expectations and miscommunication. What do you want the copy to achieve? Explain to your copywriter what messages you want to convey or the next action you want a website visitor to take. Knowing the goals you want the copy to achieve will help them to fine-tune their writing to suit.
- Customers – (Addressing your reader) Every professional writer knows they’re not writing for themselves, but the reader. The same goes for your web copy. Your copywriter needs to write to your audience, but in order to do that, they need to know who your customers are. Give them a description of your target audience, and include as much detail as possible. What is their general age group, their interests, and their pain points? If you can provide your copywriter with as much relevant information as possible, they can write the kind of copy your specific audience will engage with.
- Products/Services – (Addressing your reader) Ideally, your website copy wants to highlight the benefits your brand can bring to a potential customer. Make sure you include all of the information about your products or services that your copywriter can easily refer to while writing. This is also incredibly useful to supplement your Goals information, meaning your copywriting expert can perfect the message you want to share.
- CTA – (Addressing your reader) Following on from your products or services, do you want your website copy to include calls to action? For example, if you sell a particular product that helps with a pain point your writer is addressing, you will want to include a call to action that allows the reader to click through to a product page. Make sure you let your copywriter know so that they can plan their content accordingly.
- Brand personality—(Addressing your reader) Your website copywriter will want to familiarise themselves with your brand. Knowing your brand tone will help them reflect your personality in their copy. This not only helps to keep the copy nice and cohesive, but it also helps to engage the right type of reader…your target audience.