I’m doing a site audit for a client of mine and naturally it includes a few thoughts on web copy.

While looking for some small business sites within her industry as good examples to share, I was shocked at the number of poorly done web sites from Boston to Seattle.

There were plenty of hideously designed and whiz-bang-whistle, super-flashy sites that took too long to load, but the biggest thing I noticed was how rotten much of the copy is out there. Seriously. Stinky. Rotten.

A good share of it started with something like this:

As a ______ specializing in _______, I know _______. Our well-trained, highly competent staff will _______.  We take every measure to ensure that ___________. As a leading ________, we’re proud to offer ___________.

Aargh.

Investing time and money into a new web site is a challenge, especially for small businesses. I know, it’s something that challenges me, too, as I work to do great work for my clients and have work-life balance. (Finding the right WordPress partner has been a nightmare, but I digress.)

At the very least, though, schedule a semi-annual review of your content. Do an honest assessment of it. Better yet, have someone else do a more objective evaluation. What content should stay? What should go? What should be refreshed? How can you make it happen with your internal teams or an outside partner, such as a freelance web copywriter.

Remember that the web is a significant channel for reaching, communicating and transacting with your customers and potential customers. Strategic, optimized, consistent, on-brand copy will help you leverage the web’s inherent power to influence and persuade. And that, dear readers, is priceless.

P.S. I’m planning my own web site makeover in 2010. Are you?

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It’s nice to be back blogging, in part, because I enjoy sharing ideas but also because it means I have some breathing room in my schedule. Which leads me to what I want to share here: do you give yourself enough time to write?

Just about everyone underestimates the amount of time needed to write well.

Sure, Stephen King or John Irving can bang out novel after novel after novel. But they are the exception, not the rule.

I believe that writing even a thoughtful email should take a certain amount of time. And certainly writing web copy requires more than a day or a week.

One of the projects I’ve been working on are some fast turnaround presentations for a major health care company. We typically have a week to distill the message, craft the story, create visuals and produce what is essentially a mini movie. It’s a very compressed timeframe. And while we’ve done a really good job, it could have been less painful for all involved if we had extended our project timeline just a bit.

Sometimes a project dictates a short timeframe. But most times, we self-impose time limits. Perhaps we do this because we don’t want to disappoint the client, the boss, the coworker. Perhaps we do this because we (or others) don’t value our contribution. Or perhaps we do this because we simply don’t know how much time something will take. (Trust me, it will invariably take longer than you think.)

Honestly? I’m a fast writer. Quite fast, in fact. But that doesn’t mean I don’t need a fair amount of prep time, which could include doing research, conducting interviews, brainstorming, noodling, whatever I need to in order to get as much information in me as possible. In fact, I believe I’m a fast writer because I do so much upfront work. It makes the writing process so much easier when I’m well prepared.

Let me encourage you to allow adequate lead time for all your writing.

I recommend keeping track of how long various writing projects take you. It’s a necessity for me to log my exact hours since I juggle multiple clients and projects at any given time. But the other important reason I do it is because it helps me more accurately estimate needed hours for similar, future projects.

It’s also good to build in at least part of a day so you can set your writing aside and come back fresh in the morning for one last round of revising and proofing.

And, lastly, I find it challenging to write for hours and hours on end. I prefer to chunk my writing time with breaks in between, which means I need to allow perhaps two days instead of one for a small project, or fours hours instead of two.

Do you agree that it takes time to write well? Do you allow yourself the time? Do you feel resistance when you do ask for extra time?

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Today I’ll conclude my series on relevant content (though I’ll continue to address it as a general topic here). Let’s look at our final characteristic: Engaging.

First, let me say that there is no formula for creating engaging copy. That’s because what I find engaging, you might find silly or what you find engaging I might find distasteful.  I’ve said this dozens of times before and I’ll say it again … you gotta know your audience. And that means knowing who they are, what they like, how they talk and what inspires them. Only then can you create copy that’s engaging.

Of course, if you don’t know enough (or anything!) about your audience, ask! Talk to your customers, conduct focus groups, do surveys, meet with them face-to-face, monitor what they’re saying online and more. Do anything you can to confirm your audience assumptions. Remember, the more you know about your audience, the more you can speak directly to what is important to them. It’s job #1 to know your audience.

Now, let’s get back to engaging copy.

Engaging, says Merriam-Webster, means: “tending to draw favorable attention or interest.”

What draws attention and interest (in addition to other relevant content such as video, audio or graphics) is, of course, word choice.

Take, for example, Chipotle. They do a great job of engaging their customers through the use of quirky, not-so-usual words and phrases. On the other hand, PetSmart’s product-focused site contains very little verbiage, making it more engaging for someone who knows what they want and is ready to buy.

Engaging content — and therefore relevant content – is whatever draws your reader in and compels them to action. That action can be contacting you, bookmarking your site, buying something, signing up for a newsletter, etc.

So, how engaging is your copy? Does it draw favorable attention or interest? Take my 4-point quiz to find out.

1. When it comes to your audience, you:

A.  Never give them a thought
B.  Think of them only in a vague and general sense
C.  Take them into account when creating web copy but not as much as you could
D.  Use copy to talk with them like an old friend

2. When it comes to word choice, you:

A.  Love to show off and use big, expository language
B.  Prefer the “tried-and-true” language found in your marketing materials
C.  Try to include some words and phrases your audience will find familiar
D.  Pick words that are fresh, descriptive and easily recognizable

3. First-time visitors to your site would say your web site copy is:

A.  Fine or adequate
B.  Nice or pretty good
C.  Good or better than average
D.  So good they don’t see “copy” … they see a solution to their problem

4.  Your copy makes your site visitors:

A. Want to click away
B.  Experience a little frustration and confusion
C.  Get comfortable
D.  Feel inspired and connected

Score: A=1, B=2, C=3

If you scored 4-7, give yourself credit for brutal honesty; but realize you’re also missing the mark on leveraging the power of the web for your business or brand. It’s time to invest in a total copy makeover.

If you scored 8-10, you’re right where most people are, which means you have a tremendous opportunity to differentiate yourself from the pack. Breathe new life into your copy with a rewrite.
 
If you scored 11-12, you’ve got great copy. Give yourself an “attaboy” or “attagirl,” and then make a plan for your next copy move, including adding to and refreshing your copy.

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After a short spring break, I’m back today to continue my series on relevant content.

Let’s take a closer look at the second of my four characteristics of relevant content: timely.

There are plenty among us who subscribe to the belief that, when it comes to content, “once done, always done.” By this I mean they seem to think that creating content and posting it for all eternity is a good idea. I suspect that’s because they think of content as a one-time investment.

Wrong. I’m here to debunk that myth.

In order for content to be relevant (remember that relevant means meaningful, memorable and useful), it also must be fluid. It must change and grow and expand and shrink and live and breathe and … well, you get the idea. As I’ve said, people change and so should the content that’s geared toward those very same people.

Even content that’s relatively “static” — meaning the facts don’t really change – should still get a refresh now and then. Trust me, there’s more than one way to tell your “About Us” story.  A good writer can write it 15 or 100 different ways.

So, for the sake of argument, let’s just say that there is no need to keep content timely. What might that look like to a site visitor?

Well, a first-time visitor will likely not notice anything. But a repeat visitor, well, that’s a different animal altogether. They will notice same-old, same-old content. And because they look to you to be the expert in whatever field, industry or service you provide, you’ll look like a yam-head if you don’t. (And nobody wants that!)

By not refreshing your content, you’re essentially telling your site visitors that you know all there is to know and that there’s absolutely nothing new to know — or to share. That kind of thinking, I believe, is dangerous. It leads to your customers and potential customers thinking you’re out of touch or worse, not credible.

Blogs and social media are so popular, in part, because they provide fresh and TIMELY information. Not only do people want the latest and greatest news, product information, opinions and more, they EXPECT and DEMAND it.

Now it’s up to you to give it to them.

How, then, do you keep your content timely? Here’s my 3-step plan:

1. Dedicate resources. Everyone in the company ought to be charged with keeping up with trends and writing about them. Have an in-house or freelance writer/editor use their findings to create web copy, sales literature, marcom, etc.

2. Create a content strategy. Decide who does what, when, and why. How will you manage content, archive it and how often and when will you update it? All of this should be part of your content strategy.

3. Although this is an extension of my point above, I want to call it out special just in case you skip step #2. Conduct a yearly audit and refresh (minimum). Schedule time for your dedicated resource(s) to review content and revise it. Create a timeline and stick to it.

Remember, timely content is relevant content and it’s part of what will keep you relevant to your customers, readers, clients, whomever. It’s an opportunity to differentiate, to serve and to lead.

P.S. Here’s a link to a related post on making a commitment to your copy: http://www.janodaniel.com/blog/2009/01/old-new/.

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