Writing With The Reader in Mind
I know you are thinking that you already do that. 
I challenge you to look at your website and ask the question: Who do I talk about more, my company or the customer?
We think we are saying what the customer wants so hear when we spout off stats about how long we've been in business and what great quality we offer, but that is the price of admission. Readers ASSUME all that.
You have barely 5 seconds to get their attention. What will get it more = talk about you or asking them a question they have to answer?
If you start your page with a question the reader has to answer and right there you have engaged them for a moment. Hopefully they'll stay long enough to read more about you.
Your goal should be to let the reader know that you GET them. You understand their pain - whatever it is that has moved them to seek you (or one of your many competitors) out.
By putting yourself in their shoes and then writing copy from their perspective - you begin to gain their trust. They think "ah, they really do understand me."
Example: "Would like to have more of your top line sales flow to the bottom line?"
You betcha! You have my attention. How are you going to do that? What are you going to provide that will help me be more profitable?
Remember your audience when using technical jargon. You are proud of the fact that you know all this important stuff and use all this complicated equipment but unless the reader is an engineer or another like-minded techie - they just want to know it works, every time, when they need it.
Challenge: go back to your website and put yourself in your reader's shoes. Have you written from their perspective?
Deborah Chaddock Brown
WebWriter
Comments