One simple tip that keeps people reading
In this post, I ask you to think about a website you visited, your own website and about your customers. Then I’m going to offer a simple tip.
Using a website
When you think about the last web page you visited, was it useful, was it helpful, was it relevant?
Did you take the action you intended?
Did you enjoy the experience (or think little of it)?
Your most recently updated web page
Now, if you were to think about the last web page you wrote, how did it begin?
Did it go something like this:
“We are excited to announce the opening of our new office.”
“Following my last post where I gave you my thoughts on trends for 2019…”
“What a great month it has been for us.”
Your website visitor’s perspective
Now, I’m going to ask you to put yourself in the shoes of your website visitor.
Imagine for a moment that you are your customer.
How would your customer react to your content? Would it meet her needs exactly?
If the answer is anything but a resounding ‘Yes’ consider this: would you search a website to read about someone other than yourself?
Think back to your last website visit. You were there for a purpose. There was something you really wanted or you had a problem to solve.
Writing for your reader
We all come across pages that are written like this:
“We were established in 1996 by Allan Thornbyrd who had over 25 years’ experience in the industry sector. The main core of activity of the business was the distribution of adhesives with the primary material at that time being PVC. “
But a better way is to start is to write like this:
- When choosing a …
- Perhaps you are looking for …
- If you are looking for …
- Whether you …
Be helpful
When people understand they will buy.
There’s a simple test you can take to make sure you are really focused on your reader.
The ‘Me to You’ Test
- Copy your web page text into Word
- Highlight the number of times ‘We/I/Us/Me’ is written
- Change ‘We/I/Us/Me’ to You
- A little editing will be needed to adjust the context of the sentence but it is a quick and easy way to make people read your content instead of clicking off your site
- Count them up. Your page should be two thirds ‘You’ and one third ‘I’.
Now, your website is ready to serve your customers and give them what they want.
Written in the ‘me to you’ style, your content becomes instantly easy to read. It feels relevant, personal and interesting.
Act upon this one tip and the next piece of content you write will be better.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
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