SEO Hosting Blog

You can have all the right words. And they can be laid out in the best possible way. But just because the words are correct and the copy looks great, doesn’t mean it flows properly and funnels readers toward conversion.

Flow is an important, but often overlooked, part of effective sales copywriting. Great flow creates a conversational feel, and it transitions logically from one point to the next.

Want to make sure your copy has proper flow? Here are 6 tips for making it happen.

1. Write the way you talk—Why is it that when people start writing they immediately change their voice, getting all formal and rigid? They completely strip away their personality and go into term paper, corporate communications writing style. It’s boring, and readers don’t get engaged by it. Just be yourself. Write the way you talk so your copy will flow like a real dialogue.
2. Read it aloud—There really is a big difference between reading the copy silently on your computer screen and printing it out to read aloud. When you read aloud, you get a true feel for the flow of your copy. You can easily identify clunky passages and awkward transitions.
3. Have your friends read it aloud—Of course, as the writer of the copy, you may be able to read it more smoothly than a new reader. To see how customers will be reading the copy, try asking a few of your friends to read the copy aloud. They will have a fresh approach, so pay attention to any parts of your copy they struggle with as those could be troublesome spots that demand extra attention.
4. Let your copy breathe for 24 hours—Here’s a trick I’ve picked up over the years. After you write your copy, step away from it for a day. This break allows you to come back to the copy with a totally fresh approach, and you’ll probably find that you see new things you didn’t notice before.
5. Proof for different things—It’s hard to try to tackle everything all at once. Try going through your copy a few different times. One time, you could read through it for grammatical mistakes. Another time, you can go through to make sure there aren’t any poor transitions or illogical progressions.
6. Read it slower—Be tedious. Go through your copy slowly and meticulously. Force yourself to read it at a slower pace so you can catch every little detail to make sure it flows properly.

What are some of your tricks for making your copy flow better?

As you may already know, I am doing a multiple post series on how to research keywords without buying software. If you haven’t already read the first post, then I recommend doing so. After you read it, I encourage you to stay tuned for the second post in the series coming up in the next few days. In the mean time, I want to offer some advice and guidance on building blogs and websites for profit.

Before I begin, I want to be clear about something. There are multiple reasons why people do keyword research. And as mentioned in my first post, the reason why I do keyword research is so that I can successfully build profitable sites that earn money. So, providing you with tips on building websites for profit go hand in hand with my multiple post series. In other words, it’s kind of pointless to learn how to research keywords unless you can successfully build sites off the topics you have researched.

That said, I have done quite a bit of digging in the SEO Hosting blog archives, and I have come up with a list of articles that will teach you some vitally important skills that you’ll need to learn if you want to be successful with building websites for profit. I have broken them down into two categories: Web Design Tips and Copywriting Tips. It’s important to understand that lacking strong skills in both web design and copywriting negates the whole purpose behind researching keywords.

Years ago, people were able to profit from building low quality sites. However, that is not the case today with the increased levels of competition and new sites being launched, as well as the constant adjustments search engines make towards fighting spam and controlling quality. Below are references to 16 articles previously published on the SEO Hosting blog that will provide you with concrete tips with copywriting and web design.

Copywriting Tips – The content you create has a huge impact on the overall success of your site. Writing the content can be tricky because it has to be written in a way that captures the attention of people, keeps them on the page, and delivers what is expected. It also has to be optimized so that the page can appear in search engines above other competing sites the cover the same topics.

1. The Importance of Research in the Copywriting Process
2. Pros and Cons of the Different Types of Content
3. How to Write Better Headlines
4. How to Improve Your Headlines Instantly
5. Tips for Using Bullet Points in Your Copy
   
6. 23 Copywriting Rules To Live By
7. How to Make Sure You Aren’t Keyword Stuffing
8. 5 Simple Tips for Proofreading Your Copy

Web Design Tips – Just like the content you create, your web design also plays an active role towards the success of your site. The inner workings of a properly coded website fortify the optimizations made to the content you create. It also captures the attention of people with the use of appealing colors, graphics, and styles.

1. The Anatomy of a Website: Which Pages Should Be on Your Website?
2. How To Be a Successful Web Designer
3. 5 Tips for Overcoming Web Designer’s Block
4. Tell-Tale Signs Your Homepage Sucks
5. Don’t Let These 8 Web Design Mistakes Kill Your Website
6. 23 Web Design Rules to Follow
7. How To Increase The Performance of Your Website
8. 8 Essential Website Maintenance Tasks

I believe that if you are serious about learning how to research keywords, then you will have a strong interest in developing, enhancing, or strengthening your copywriting and web design skills. I encourage you to read the articles referenced above. They will provide you with the highest level of advice and guidance.

Additionally, I invite you to ask questions and voice your concerns with past experiences. And lastly, I want to remind you to stay tuned, because in the next day or so I will publish my second article in the multiple post series that teaches you how to research keywords without buying software.

We’ve all come across those landing pages that feature long, emotional “hypnotic” sales copy. You know the ones. The author tells you some heartbreaking story (e.g. I was 100 pounds overweight. I tried everything. No diets worked. My boyfriend broke up with me. I was depressed, and wanted to kill myself. AND THEN I TRIED XYZ PRODUCT AND MY LIFE WAS CHANGED FOREVER!)

Now, as a copywriter, my first instinct is to criticize this kind of copy. Why? Because it just screams “Scam! Stay away!” But the truth is this copy converts. Otherwise, you wouldn’t see everyone using this same formula over and over. Take a look at the top selling affiliate products on ClickBank. Almost every landing page features the long, emotional, “hypnotic” sales copy.

So, what is it about this kind of copy that makes it so effective? Here are just a few reasons hypnotic copy works.

1. It uses the power of storytelling—Some of the most effective sales letters of all times harnessed the power of storytelling. Why are stories so effective? For several reasons. First, they stimulate the senses. Great stories put you right there in the middle of the story. Second, stories let the reader relate, saying “I’ve been there before.” And finally, stories appeal to our emotions, and emotions always plays a big role in the buying process. For more information on the power of storytelling, check out this great post “Your Brain on Stories.”

 

2. It stimulates our emotions—In the last point, I briefly touched on the fact that people make buying decisions largely based on their emotions. In the words of Eisenberg in Persuasive Online Copywriting “People rationalize buying decisions based on facts, but people make buying decisions based on feelings.” To go back to our earlier example of diet pills, people buy diet pills because they make them skinnier and more attractive, allowing them to feel better about themselves. It’s all tied to emotions. So, in your copy, you need to focus on tying the benefits to emotional triggers.

 

3. It uses repetition—To keep you “hypnotized”, the writer will continually repeat the main message all throughout the copy. This helps keep the reader focused on the main point, so that they’re ready to take action when the writer asks them to do so.

 

4. It features calls to action throughout—One of the most effective things you’ll find in these long landing pages is that they have a call to action every few paragraphs, rather than simply stuffing one at the end of the copy. Typically, there will be one call to action per screen view, meaning no matter where you are on the page, you have a way to take action. Now, say what you will about hypnotic copywriting, but this is a technique all landing page copywriters should be putting into practice. You want to make it as easy as possible for your readers to jump to action.

 

5. It uses testimonials to back the story up—The hypnotic copywriter doesn’t just force you to take their word for it, they use testimonials to back their story up. And they have a spectacular knack for placing these testimonials in the copy right when you’re about to say “Wait a minute. This sounds too good to be true.” Check out these tips for giving your testimonials more credibility.

What do you think about long, emotional, “hypnotic” landing pages? Are they too spammy for your taste? Or do you believe if it works, use it? Share your thoughts in the replies.

Who would have thought that some of the best copywriting advice you’ll ever receive could be delivered in 140 characters or less? I’ve come up with a list of 33 killer copywriting tips I’ve found on Twitter. Enjoy.

Note: Follow these people on Twitter. You’ll discover even more great marketing and copywriting tips.

1. heatherlloyd: Taking time to put yourself in your target audience’s shoes helps you create copy that’s more targeted and less mechanical

2. charismatickid: If you read your copy out loud and you hear the same keyphrases over and over, it’s time to edit.

3. healymonster: Copywriting tip: Write like you talk. People get sucked into copy that’s easy to read.

4. CopywriterTO: #Copywriting tip: Get your readers’ attention by starting your copy with a compelling story.

5. Mainecopywriter: Copy Tip: Only 10% of your copy gets read. Use subheads to capture attention and draw the reader into the copy.

6. Cbreecopy: Tip: Shorter is not always better. Longer titles are more descriptive and provide better SEO.

7. caseyfleming: #Copywriting tip: Talk about your customers 90% of the time and your company only 10% of the time.

8. CopyByMac: Copywriters: don’t forget to practice writing those headlines and bullets. A simple change to a headline I wrote brought significant changes.

9. companyseo: Copywriting with corporate SEO keywords is one of the best ways to drive qualified leads to your website and convert sales.

10. DGRComms: Copywriting has to be about words that stimulate a response, far from boring yet always professional

11. Copywritings: Copywriting Tip. Starting sentences with But, And is permissible. Advertising copy follows the patterns of speech more than rules of grammar.

12. Copywritings: Copywriting Tip. Write as if you’re speaking to one person

13. Copywritings: Copywriting Tip. Break up your copy with bullet points. Bullets make copy easier to read.

14. JackeeGreen: Copywriting Tip: When Writing A Headline, use AIDA. A=Attention, I=Interest, D=Desire, & A=Action

15. Copysnips: Copywriting Tip: Benefits are reasons to buy at SOME TIME, but if you want them to buy NOW, give them REASONS to do so.

16. Copysnips: Copywriting Tip: We form first impressions of people almost instantly, and the same is true of your copy’s readers.

17. ScottByWater: Copywriting tip: “a writer should always feel like he’s in over his head” Michael Cunningham

18. contentwriteroz : Web Copywriting Tip- Don’t confuse visitors by using various conflicting calls to action on the same page.

19. contentwriteroz :Web Copywriting Tip – Don’t use “click here” or “read more” as link text. Use descriptive link labels for usability & SEO.

20. contentwriteroz : Web Copywriting Tip- Use a professional writing style but a personal and quite casual tone of voice.

21. Contentmakeover: Sales writing tip: Deliver a promise. Show proof. Call for action

22. Contentmakeover: #NLP #Sales #Copywriting Tip: Leave no doubt in your reader’s mind

23. LighthausDesign: Website Copywriting Tip: After writing copy for a page of your site, cut it in half, then cut it in half again. Less is more on the Web.

24. Mainecopywrtr: copywriting tip: make a specific promise in your headline. Then spend the rest of the sales letter proving you can deliver it.

25. Lyricacopy: An adjective phrase beginning a sentence must refer to the subject. So “As a valued customer, we’re offering you…” is incorrect.

26.DMCopywriter: Email copywriting tip: The shorter the subject line, usually the better. Try for 4 to 5 words if possible

27. DMCopywriter: Web page copywriting tip: Let visitors self reflect at your site. Know why they are there firstly

28. SpiritualCopy: Copywriting Tip: Have an awesome product or service… because a great product or service INSPIRES great copy.

29. RobAdvertising: Tip of the day. Have a clear call to action in all your marketing.

30. TopMarketingTip: #Tips – Does your webpage’s headline (preferably H1) describe the problem your customers are having in relation to your solution?

31. farhadkhurshed: #Copywriting Tip: Make a quick transition from your headline to your sales message. Don’t waste time with warm up paragraphs

32. farhadkhurshed: #Copywriting Tip: Be specific with your claims. Superlatives are not credible, concretes invariably are!

33. Prime_Concepts: Copywriting Tip: Use short and long paragraphs for the readers and scanners.

Do you follow any great copywriters on Twitter? Are you a copywriter on Twitter? Leave your links so I can follow more copywriters!

Ideally, you want to keep your web copy as short and simple as possible. However, there are situations where long copy is necessary to give readers the information they need to make an informed buying decision. Thankfully, there are several things you can do to streamline long copy so that it’s more readable. Get stared by following these tips.

• Use a single column—Single-column layouts work best on the web as multiple columns force readers to scroll up and down, making it difficult to scan. More to the point, single-column websites achieve higher conversion rates by controlling the eye-path of readers.

• Avoid wide columns—The wider the column, the fewer the words that will be read. Remember, people tend to scan content online rather than read it word for word. This means the reader’s eyes tend to stay focused on the left side of the copy. By narrowing your column, you put more words in their eye path, allowing you to deliver your message more effectively.

• Stick to short paragraphs—If you’ve ever come across a big block of text online, you know just how unappealing and intimidating it is. Most people would rather click “back” than to suffer through reading a long block of thousands of words. To make the copy easier to digest, you need to break it up into short paragraphs containing about 3-4 sentences each. Always place the most important information at the beginning of the paragraph to ensure it gets read.

• Place descriptive subheads throughout—No matter how long your copy is, someone should be able to scan through it and know what it’s about in less than 30 seconds (ideally, in about 10 seconds). One way you can get your message across quickly is to use bolded, descriptive subheads throughout the copy. Make sure each subhead clearly explains what the section is about.

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