I have been reviewing a few niche sites within the wide world of the web and have been utterly shocked at the lack of quality copy throughout each site.  Not only did I find the landing pages consisting of nothing engaging, but the sub-pages and blogs were lack-luster as well.  I am not trying to be too critical because I know that I make mistakes as well, but put a little extra time into what you are putting out to your audience.  So, these pages have inspired me to write this article in hopes that some of you will be encouraged to write with a greater purpose the next time you update your website.

Publish Your Personality

While I strongly encourage companies to create their own content and website copy, I cannot stress enough that you must take a step back and include your personality in your publications.  It is important for you to portray yourself (and your business) as industry leaders and professionals, but your customers buy you (not your product).  In a recent study, 87% of customers who have a choice between a company with a better relationships and reputation with the public will receive the buy over a company that merely has better pricing.  With that said, I urge you (if you are creating your own copy) to show your personality and start building that strong relationship with your clientele.

Great Copy Comes With Great Rest

You’ve heard of the term “sleep on it”, and it absolutely applies to you writing your website content.  There are going to be errors in your first draft of your content; accept it now so you can move on from that realization.  However, your proof reading process can make or break our final product.  I strongly suggest that you step away from your work for a period of time (I personally like to go at least 8 hours), and re-read the copy after you return.  This will allow you to get a fresh view of the material and truly nitpick everything to make your work superb for the final publication.

As a side note, also try to read the content aloud to avoid grammatical and structure errors.

Passive Voices Attract No Readers

As one of the most debated topics amongst copywriters, the utilization of a passive voice vs an active voice while writing content is truly a stylistic choice.  However, it’s important for you to understand the difference between the two tones as most readers consider an active voice more engaging than a passive.

  • Active Voice — This is where the subject is doing the action.  A simplistic example of an active voice is, “Doug is writing a paper”.  The focal point of the sentence is on Doug and what he is doing.  I know, it’s a very rudimentary sample, but stay with me here…
  • Passive Voice — This is where the object of the action gets moved into the primary subject’s position.  In other words, “The paper is being written by Doug”.  So, instead of the focal point being Doug, our attention is now on the object in which Doug is impacting.

To reiterate, only using an active voice is not a “must”, but it is strongly recommended.  Remember, your audience feels more engaged when you are able to utilize an active voice over a passive voice, and a passive tone should only be used when needed for stylistic purpose(s).

To summarize, if you are looking to create your website content in-house, it is absolutely important for you to efficiently portray your personality within the copy.  Further, you have the opportunity to efficiently proofread your material prior to publication by walking away from your work and coming back to it after a short period of time.  Finally, your posts should utilize an active voice instead of a passive voice due to the engaging characteristics of which that tone (active voice) is composed.  If you need assistance with your website content and want to give yourself a competitive advantage with IMPACT, feel free to leave a comment or contact us today for more information.

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Sources:
“The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Internet Marketing”-E-Book
SlideShare.net
Image Source: HubSpot, “The 2011 State of Inbound Marketing”, E-Marketer.com