One of the most effective secrets of sales and marketing is well known to professional copywriters, who use the techniques to turn a prospect into a buyer. It is a standardized process for reaching into the subconscious of the reader and stimulating the impulse to buy at the emotional level of the mind. I discussed this process in another article called E-Mail Marketing Techniques, because it is a key to successfully writing copy for every sales medium from print to broadcast, and yes, the web, too.
The standard advertising process uses the “AIEDA” formula; Attract Attention, Create Interest, Educate (Features), Demonstrate (Benefits), Call to Action. Well-written copy is capable of doing all of these. It will get the reader’s attention, attract them to your product or service, communicate features, demonstrate benefits, and call the reader to taking action to make the purchase. Have you ever watched a food commercial and suddenly been hungry? Sure! This is the power of suggestion. And, it applies to writing all types of advertising, just as “Who, What, When, Where and How” applies to every line of questioning.
This principle is well worth taking the time to understand because you will need to use its elements throughout the successful development and operation of your e-tail business. There are many ways to capture attention on a website, from well-designed photographs, animated graphics, colors, even blinking text. The key to effective design is how well these elements work together. You already know this, because you recognize when a site is so poorly designed you don’t care to spend any time there. Now it’s time to understand how to use this subconscious understanding you already have.
Copy is everywhere on your web page. Even the links, subscription offers and navigation menus are important pieces of copy, and require careful consideration in the design of your e-tail website. Think about a link that says, “click here” or “buy now.” These are calls to action, and can be some of the most powerful copy on your pages. This same principle applies to your banners, promotion headers, and subscription offers. This copy urges visitors to take action. That action is vital to your business: request more information, subscribe to your newsletter, download your e-Book, click through, buy the product. That’s why even these small pieces of copy deserve real focus and your undivided attention when completing your website design.
And, of course, we consumers are always looking for the latest and greatest, or the newest and most improved. So, these words still work in copy just as they did in the first printed ads long ago. This why graphics or animation coupled with the correct copywriting and page positioning can be so effective in web advertising. Notice how the “New” graphic at the top of this page adds power to the title.
Since all of your copy has to be effective as possible, it needs to be clear, concise and compelling. Every button on your menu, every banner, every link must coerce the visitor to take action or you will lose potential sales. Because there is so little space on a web page, every piece of real estate on the screen is a prime piece of property you must jealously guard each parcel to make it as powerful and productive as possible.
The emphasis on the website sales page has to be on benefits, not features. Notice the animated word “NEW” on the graphic element at the top of this text. Is “NEW” a feature or a benefit? The answer is that it is both. It is a feature that can be used as a benefit. The best of both worlds! Your copy, or graphic element used as a key element of the copy, has to focus on how the product or service will benefit the customer by providing a solution to a real or perceived need. Often, this is simply a matter of semantics. For example, “hair spray that keeps you looking morning fresh all day long,” appeals more to the emotions than “hair spray with extra holding power.” And, of course, everyone wants to be update!
Failing to emphasize benefits is the number-one, and most overlooked rule of copywriting for the web. This lack of emphasis is the primary reason much of the e-tailing advertising has failed. And, it’s an all too easy trap to fall into! This perspective can be cultivated whether you want to want to write your own copy, or just be effective in critiquing and approving new pages for deployment on your site. Always ask yourself “where’s the motivation?” when considering the deployment of a new element on your page.
Because of the requirement for clear and concise copy on e-tail web pages, designers have modified the AIEDA formula somewhat; actually broken it into segments. The design technique for copywriting on the website sales page has become “AIDA,” and the E (Educate the reader on features) is moved to its own, separate page. The prime real estate on the sales page is used to draw in the visitor, coerce them to the features page about the product they have an interest in, and use the real estate on that page to make the sale, and present the call to action.
I’m always impressed when I happen upon an e-tail site that has gone the extra step to incorporate copy that integrates the power of these advertising principles into the overall design on the web page. Those sites stand out from the rest. You’ve seen them. Amazon is an excellent example of how clear and concise copy has become a highly developed art form, moving visitors along the path toward making a purchase.
The Amazon site demonstrates how the skill of page design and the art of copywriting come together to generate outstanding success. The site has evolved over the years, and has gone through a number of changes to explore new techniques, and has become a leader in developing the most powerful designs. What they’ve learned has helped the web-based advertising medium to become an important powerhouse that generates millions of dollars in sales each year. This reflects an important change in how advertising is structured for the web. Take a look at the following example. If you saw a box ad on a web page that stated, “New and Used Books. Hundreds of titles. Shipping via UPS or U.S. Mail,” would you be drawn in? Most likely not. The e-tailer would probably be disappointed in the response, wouldn’t you agree? The ad is brief and to the point, but it lacks a motivator for the reader. There’s a reference to “convenience” in that you can ship to your home or office, but it can be rewritten to attract attention, and create interest.
Look at this example of how you could restructure this same information:
See how this approach presents the benefits? Convenience, and the books the visitor wants at less cost really catch the attention of the reader and stimulate interest. Now, you can add the call to action, “Click Here,” and you’re much more likely to get a response.
This is a powerful concept, and is often overlooked by e-tailers, particularly those who are just starting out in their business. By being aware of this concept you’ll have a much better chance to be successful with your e-tail store. Understanding that good copywriting is important to your site’s success will help you continuously evaluate the patterns of traffic to your site and keep you focused on what works well and what could work better. As an e-tailer, you have to analyze the effectiveness of every element of your web page design to ensure every element is working for you as effectively as possible.
With this awareness in your toolkit, you’ll be way ahead of most e-tail storefronts currently on the web.
