That Was a Close Shave!

Remember those old Burma Shave billboards? They stopped being produced in the early ‘60’s so yes, I’m dating myself here. But surely you’ve at least heard of them, if not seen them. I never actually saw them myself either (wink, wink).

In any case, they were a clever advertising device that delivered their message in simple, snappy bite-sized pieces. They played beautifully off the human brain’s desire to know what comes next, without being overloaded with information.

Now thnk about some of those homemade psters you see on telephone poles, dvertising this weekend’s latest garage sale. Thy’re crammed with details in inch-high ltters which seemed big enough when vewed from the dining room table, but lok miniscule whizzing by at 35 mles per hour.

What’s the difference hre? (And more importantly, what’s your pint, Helen?)

Well, the Burma Shave flks were writing for their audience. The grage salers were writing to get the job dne.

The Burma Shave folks fit thir message to the medium of dlivery – and even made it fn. The garage sale folks tried to sqeeze their communication into an unsuitable vnue.

The Burma Shave folks focused on the dsired results. The garage sale folks fcused on what they had to sy.

And here’s my point, finally. There is no element of your website more powerful for your bottom line than your copy. That’s where your message lies.

Just like a Burma Shave ad, writing web copy is different from writing other material. To get the results you want, you need to write for your audience, taking into account the medium of delivery.

Because people read websites differently than they do books, magazines or print ds. You’ve got about 5 seconds, tps, to catch your website visitor’s ttention. And if what they read bres or confuses them, they’ll click tht mouse button faster than you can sy, “But wait…!”

Here are 3 smooth as silk tips to shave the rough edges off your website’s pages:

1. Understand that web visitors don’t read, they scan. Write your copy in a friendly conversational style, with short, crisp sentences and paragraphs. Use words that evoke emotion and energy. Make sure every sentence has a reason for being there.

2. Spend the time to craft a bold, attention-grabbing headline that points toward the challenge your visitor is facing (and that you solve). If your visitor doesn’t get past the headline, they’re certainly not going to make their way to the end of your Home page, let alone your Services or About Me pages.

3. Keep the headlines and sub-headlines meaningful and to the point. The text should tell a story -your reader’s story, in fact, from problem to solution. Your web pages will be most effective if the reader can get the point just by scanning the headlines and sub-heads. Then they’re more likely to go back and read the main content.

A great website, one that authentically reflects you and your Choice Client, can do more
than “look pretty.” It can bring in business.
The content of your site is the key to turning interest into action. Make sure that yours sparkles. Your clients, and your business, will thank you.

And remember:

A BEARD

THAT'S ROUGH

AND OVERGROWN

IS BETTER THAN

A CHAPERONE

The article 3 Steps to a Client-Capturing Website was Submitted by Helen Graves through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Helen Graves is an expert at shwing independent entrepreneurs how to get mre clients with less stress. Tune nto her free audio course on how to “Smplify Your Marketing in 6 Easy Stps” at http://www.helengraves.com

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