Website Archives • FocusCopy®

The Ultimate Website Checklist For A Successful Launch

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / January 24, 2023 February 28, 2023

Launching your business’s website is an exciting time!

Aside from the time it will save answering the same questions over and over (and over and over) again, your website can be your most effective sales tool. Plus, a good website can also elevate your business’s legitimacy and boost your own confidence as a business owner.

But before you hit the big, shiny launch button, go through our website launch checklist first.

Your Ultimate Website Launch Checklist

These 18 steps can make the difference between a meh website and a fully functioning site that makes your business stand out from the competition – for all the right reasons.

Need help writing copy for your web pages? Click here to schedule a discovery call to learn how FocusCopy can help!

1. Proofread All Copy

There’s nothing like a grammar or spelling error to get the wrong kind of attention. For instance, one marketing professional who worked for one of Houston’s biggest public parks to this day can’t publish anything without doing a word search for the word “pubic”. It was a lesson in overly trusting spell check learned the hard way. After all, just because something is spelled correctly, doesn’t mean it’s the right word. But it taught her to ask her most stringent proofreading friends and colleagues to read over everything once (or twice).

*Side tip – don’t ask people pleasers to proofread. You want the proofreaders who aren’t afraid to point out your mistakes before they’re out there for the world to see.

2. Test All Forms

Having a website is a great way to capture your audience’s contact information. However, make sure the forms work! Fill out the link yourself and make sure everything comes through. Then, send the link to a few close friends, family, or colleagues to test it further.

3. Set Up Google Analytics

Learning about your audience is one of the most critical parts of owning a business and website. Not only will it help you write copy that speaks to your target audience, but it will also help you adapt to their needs. For instance, with Google Analytics, you can monitor information about your audience that includes:

Their general profiles including age, gender, location, and more
The devices they are using
What of your pages, posts, and products are the most popular
How they are reacting to your marketing campaigns
Conversion rates
Website loading speed
And so, so much more!

Too busy running your business to dedicate time to writing compelling and converting copy? Contact FocusCopy to learn how we can take copy off your plate and help you meet your goals.

4. Check Each Page On A Desktop, Tablet & Smartphone

The world is literally at our fingertips with smartphones and other handheld devices. Which means, your website needs to be compatible with desktop computers, tablets, mobile phones, and any other devices that become widely used in the future.

This check box is two-fold. For one, you want your audience to have a great user experience. Otherwise, they’ll just skip on over to your competitor’s website. And secondly, it can help your Google ranking. Check out Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool here.

5. Run Compatibility Tests

Plugins can elevate a website and this may have you thinking they’re your best friends. The problem is that, as in life, sometimes your friends don’t get along so well together. And the same goes for plugins!

This compatibility checker is a great tool to double check that all your different plugins will get along and work efficiently together. If it’s not optimizing your website, the plugin may not be worth its hype.

6. Create 404 Page

Sometimes websites run into an error. What you don’t want to happen is the people looking for your website to run across a “Page Not Found” error message.

Instead, prepare now for issues that may come up in the future with your very own custom 404 page. This will help you prevent losing a visitor, improving user experience, and track errors. You can even set up email alerts to be notified of 404 errors so you can fix them as quickly as possible.

7. Index Site On Google Search Console

I’m going to go out on a limb to assume you want people to be able to find your website once it’s live. Properly indexing and rendering your website is key to attracting new visitors (i.e. potential customers) through search engine results.

If you were to forgo indexing your site prior to its launch, you will essentially be putting extra steps in your conversion funnel. Furthermore, it’s important to realize that it can take weeks to get a new website fully indexed. To ensure your website is fully optimized in its “newness” phase, make sure to index sooner than later.

8. Submit Sitemap

The sitemap is the collection of URLs on your website that you want Google to index on the search engine results page (SERP). Most SEO plugins will handle this for you.

However, don’t assume details like this will always be perfect. Instead, triple check that 1) you have a sitemap and 2) it contains the right content and that it works.

9. Test All Links

This is as simple as it sounds – make sure all the links work!

If there is a backlink on your website, click it. Did it direct you to the appropriate web page? Great! If not, address what went wrong to ensure all your links are working properly.

10. Test All Icons (Especially Social Media)

Linked icons are a great way to grow your social media following. As said above in #9, make sure the links work!

A well-designed marketing plan will point your target audience to your website. Many may find your website through your social media activity, newsletters, and so on. However, that doesn’t mean you don’t want your website visitors to try so hard to keep up with you on LinkedIn, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, and any other social media platform you’re harnessing!

11. Add SSL Certificate

Are you familiar with SSL certificates? It’s the acronym for “Secure Sockets Layer” and it’s important for your security and reputation.

Without an SSL certificate, your audience may receive alerts that your website is not secure. That’s no good and will quickly send readers to your competitor’s website.

Plus, having an SSL certificate helps to increase Google ranking, essentially driving more traffic to your website. Additionally, SSL certificates indicate that you have taken the proper steps to protect your users’ private information – contributing to your credibility factors.

12. Include Terms of Service & Privacy Policy

There’s nothing like a legality issue to throw a would-be successful website launch off course.

Speak to your business attorney to ensure that you have the right licenses for images, fonts, plugins, and more.

Yes, the legal jargon is usually the “boring” part of any project. But it is so incredibly important!

13. Benchmark Your Previous Website’s Data

If this is a new version of an old website, it’s time for a little side-by-side comparison. Basically, you want to see how your new site compares to the old one. A few things you should look out for include:

Gaps that provide data-driven insights to help fine tune your new strategy
Confirm testing procedures
Ensure all components are working properly
Double check that you have a system in place to track bugs and enhancements

14. Check For Brand Consistency

You don’t want to confuse your audience with inconsistent brand messaging. So, make sure that your brand voice and branded images stay on point. Refer back to your core message that speaks directly to your target audience. Moreover, check that any logos or images are the most up to date and have the same filter, colors, etc.

15. Replace Placeholder Images With Final Images

When building a website, placeholders help keep the momentum going. However, don’t forget to go back through and replace all the placeholders with the final images. This will make your website appear polished, and your business professional and trustworthy.

16. Confirm The Copy Is The Latest Version

Especially when building a website, there are likely several renditions of web pages. If not labeled correctly, it can be easy to import the wrong version. Make sure that you are using the latest (and greatest) version of copy for your website. Don’t forget to have a few trusted friends give it a good proofreading before going live.

17. Check That Hosting Can Handle Your Bandwidth

The last thing you want when your website goes live is for it to immediately crash because it can’t handle the traffic or amount of content on your site. Talk with your website host or designer to evaluate the amount of bandwidth you need. Here’s a quick guide on why server bandwidth is critical.

18. Send An Email Announcement About Your New Website

Be sure to celebrate your launch and let your audience know that you have a new website! You never know when a cold prospect or even an inactive client will re-engage with you. Take the opportunity to show that you’ve invested in your brand.

P.S. Need a few prompts to make your website actually mean something to your cold prospects? Download this free guide for to answer the most important questions on your website.

Ready to Launch?

Launching is an exciting time! But if you’re still struggling with the copy side of your website, let’s chat.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

5 Credibility Factors To Include On Your Website To Win Your Next Client

Marketing / By Lauren Jefferson / July 21, 2022 July 21, 2022

Just about anyone can be anything these days.

With online courses and straight ambition to get it done, you don’t need a college degree to be whatever you want to be (except for some more professional roles).

While that is freeing and amazing in our opinion, it also means that there’s a lot of people who say they can do it BUT they aren’t necessarily the best to do it.

That’s why it’s more critical for you to establish your credibility online than ever before. We call those the credibility factors.

What Is A Credibility Factor?

Credibility is “a measure of how believable and trustworthy your marketing is perceived to be” (Unbounce). When you present credibility to your audience, you are helping them hedge their risk in engaging with you. And there are several ways you can accomplish that on your website – the credibility factors – which we’ll cover in this blog.

Schedule a discovery call today to learn how FocusCopy can integrate credibility factors into your business.

Why Include Credibility Factors On Your Website

With Nigerian princes and long lost cousins, it’s reasonable to understand why so many people are skeptical. As a business owner, you need to be able to effectively communicate to a stranger what you do and why you are the person or company to hire. And you do that through either certifications or social proof – two of the most popular credibility factors.

Here are a couple reasons why you need to include these factors on your website:

You are a safe entity to do business with
You are equipped to do the work with efficiency and quality
Other people have trusted you
You are reliable
You are recognized publicly

Where Should You Put Credibility Factors On Your Website

Depending on your style of website, there are several places that you can place your credibility factors on your website. Those include:

Directly underneath the hero banner (first section of the page)
After a call to action
Before the final call to action
Where you need a transition

5 Credibility Factors To Include On Your Website

Don’t know where to start? Here are 5 credibility factors to include on your website. You by no means need to include all of these. But try to include at least one factor on each page of your website.

1. Trusted By

If you have been listed as a preferred provider for a well known company or entity, include those logos. When you associate your business with other well known organizations, it communicates to your audience that you took the time to get certified, have good relationships with other providers, and do good work.

2. Credentials

If you have been certified by an authority or certifying organization, include those seals. In addition, you can also include any awards or recognitions that you’ve received.

If you are a newer business and don’t have any of the following factors, this is a great one to include.

3. Social Proof

People do business with people they know, like, and trust. But how do you get them to know, like, or trust you when you’re a complete stranger? You prove to them that you are worthy of them knowing, liking, and trusting you. And you do that by providing social proof.

There are three primary ways that you can display your social proof.

Testimonials

Testimonials or reviews are our favorite ways to display social proof. Even more so than that, you can actually use your customers’ words in your overall marketing. They don’t tell you to speak your customers’ language for nothing.

If you don’t have testimonials, ask for them. Here are a couple of ways we’ve collected reviews:

Collect feedback at the end of a project, type up the review, and send them an email with the review and platform links
Send an email campaign to get reviews
Call them up and ask for it directly
Offer them a spotlight on your email newsletter or social media platforms in exchange for a testimonial

Case Studies

What better way to prove you can solve a problem than to show how you’ve solved a similar problem before?

Write a brief summary of an issue a customer encountered and how your business provided a solution with positive results. Make sure to drop keywords of the services provided, how your existing processes made it simple, and why your business is always willing to go the extra mile.

Need help summarizing your case studies into meaningful and converting copy? Schedule a discovery call today!

Connections

As an introvert, I’m really good one on one. In group settings, I am the least effective connector. That’s why I often go to networking events with at least 3-5 people beside me. But I learned that even though I did all the work and connected with over 1,200 people over two years, my cold audience had no clue.

So I had to build in marketing that literally proved that I was well connected. This could look like listing my strategic partners, telling client stories, tagging clients and partners on social media, and placing client logos on the site.

4. Press Mentions

If you’ve been mentioned in the press, been a guest on a podcast, or shown up publicly as an authority figure, then yell it from the rooftops. This credibility factor is often shown as the “as seen on” sections. You know the ones with the Good Morning America, Forbes, and Entrepreneur logos.

5. Warranties Or Guarantees

You heard what I said at the beginning of this blog…Credibility hedges risk. When you offer a warranty or guarantee, it also hedges any risk that might come from someone investing in your business.

Need To Spruce Up Your Website Copy?

Your website can be your greatest asset. That’s if it conveys your products, services, solutions, and credibility. But we know that running your business doesn’t leave you with much time to master the art of website copy. That’s where FocusCopy comes in.

We’ve worked with over 80 brands from 4 different countries to take the writing off of entrepreneurs’ and business owners’ plates. Stop thinking about what your website can do for you and start experiencing it. Contact FocusCopy today and get excited to proudly share your caffeinated copy.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

common website mistakes business owners make

3 Common Mistakes Business Owners Make When Launching Their Website

Marketing / By Lauren Jefferson / July 15, 2022 July 21, 2022

Small business owners will spend between $2,000 and $10,000 to build a new website.

Many business owners understand it takes a little time to pick up traffic, but what if you don’t see any improvement?

You’re getting no new leads, no phone calls, nothing is in your inbox, and you’re starting to get worried.

You’ve just spent a lot of time and money to get your new website up and running.

What now?

Don’t panic! Take a step back and reevaluate your website to see if you’re making one of the 3 common mistakes business owners make when launching their website.

Is your website not conveying the right message? Let’s talk!

Top 3 Most Common Digital Marketing Mistakes Business Owners Make Before A Website Launch

It’s easy to get caught up in the design of your website and pay less attention to its content. But your website’s content is much more than simply talking about your company and its services or products.

Yes, you want to ensure that your website is free of spelling and grammatical errors. However, if you’re doing any of the following things, they could be turning potential customers away.

Mistake #1: There’s More Focus On The Design Than The Words

As mentioned above, a website’s design can easily take center stage as you’re moving through your website’s development. And you’re not completely wrong to focus on it! But according to research by the Nielsen Norman Group, most internet users only skim or scan a webpage – which means you have a limited amount of time and text to get your message across with clarity.

Headlines, subheadings, bullet points, and call-to-action buttons (CTAs) are what your audience is looking for when browsing your site. They may notice a cool feature or two, but they won’t be nearly as interested in your website’s design as you are. If your website doesn’t understand what you do and how you can help them immediately, then they’re much more likely to move on to another website.

Be sure you use powerful copy to explain how you better serve your potential customers. Try not to be too wordy and make your process easy to follow. For example, when explaining how you like to do business together, break it down into 3 steps like:

1. Get In Touch!

Give us a call at 123.456.7890 to schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation.

2. Evaluate Your Needs

We’ll discuss which services are right for you, your desired timeline, and pricing.

3. Let’s Shake On It

As soon as we receive your deposit, we’ll get started right away!

There’s no need to give up all of your strategies right away. Let your audience reach out to you with a few simple steps.

Do you have a killer design with uncoordinated copy? FocusCopy fixes misaligned content.

Mistake #2: Business Owners Forget Who The Website Is For

Take a look at your website. Is there a ton of “we” language? This type of language typically includes words and phrases that keep the message company-focused rather than customer-focused.

Some company-focused copy is okay. But don’t go overboard.

Your website isn’t really about you, remember?

You already know who you are! Your website’s job is to explain your company to others and how you make their lives easier or better.

If users can’t make a connection to your message or quickly find information on your product or service benefits, then they’ll move on. It’s nice to feature your years of experience, certifications, volunteer experience, and so on. But keep in mind that the only information they truly need is what you’re offering and how it helps them.

A few items you should consider adding to your copy:

Customer pain points
Customer benefits
Special offerings
Limited-time deals or pricing
Engaging CTAs
Contact information
FAQs

All of these are a great way to convey the value your company has while offering easy-to-find contact information for when they’re ready to move forward.

Make that offering loud and clear, and cut out anything that simply fills the space.

Mistake #3: There’s No Celebration Of The Launch

Did you perform a soft launch without letting your customers know about your new website?

Yikes!

You’ve invested time and money in your new website.

Shouldn’t the people you care about see it?

One of the best ways to launch your new website is to create an email campaign to build up the excitement for its launch. At the very least, your new website will be on the minds of your customers if they’ve skimmed through an announcement email or two.

Don’t forget to throw some confetti for yourself, too. You’ve done an amazing job advancing your business’s growth with fresh digital marketing. It’s no small feat, and you should give yourself and your team a huge pat on the back. You can:

Host a countdown pizza party
Make t-shirts
Congratulate your team for all of their hard work
Share your excitement on social media

Doing any or all of these will let your customers know that enhancing their experience is important to you – no one can argue with that!

Want To Launch Your Website This Year?

You have an amazing design already, but you aren’t completely sure your copy is where you want it to be.

Don’t slow your momentum now. You’re onto something incredible. We can feel it! It’s time to put that plan in motion with a website that will convert your audience into paying customers.

Our content remains customer-focused because we continue to ask one of our favorite questions of all time…Who cares? If there isn’t a clear answer to our writing, it’s time to rework what’s written.

We’ll use ourselves as an example…

Why Does FocusCopy exist? ⟶ To write for small and medium-sized businesses

Why does it matter? ⟶ Because business owners hate writing, don’t have time to write, and/or don’t know how to write for their business

So what? ⟶ We are an affordable and efficient solution when you need a professional copywriter for your business

Does the idea of writing your own website copy leave you feeling…a little queasy?

Talk to the team at FocusCopy and avoid these and other common website mistakes business owners make.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Top Problems Website Designers Experience

Website Designers: There’s A Better Way For Copy

Business, Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / July 12, 2022 July 21, 2022

You didn’t become a website designer to…

Write copy.

Analyze word choice.

Get words out of your client’s mouths.

Wait on copy.

No. You became a website designer to bring an idea to life and generate a platform for businesses to grow.

After talking to dozens of website designers and developers across the United States, we’ve learned they all struggle with one thing. And that one thing can tank a project’s success or delay project timelines.

So before we reveal the big struggle, what are the top problems website designers face?

Options For Website Designers To Avoid Their Copy Problems

Now, we know the top problems website designers experience. But what are the options for website designers to avoid their copy problems?

Ask The Right Questions

To find the best answers, you need to ask the right questions. Here are a couple of questions to assess whether the client can provide the copy or whether you need to enforce they use your copywriting skills (hopefully, provided by FocusCopy).

As for your website copy, are you writing your own copy, or are you hiring a professional copywriter?
What does success look like for this website?
Do you want to create meaningful engagement with your target audience on your website?
How much time can you commit in [insert timeframe you want to copy] to write, edit, and deliver your copy to us?

Stand By Your Timelines

If you’ve included it in your contracts, enforce your timelines. One thing we’ve seen help many website designers and marketers is to put into place a revision or feedback period. This not only makes this website project your client’s priority, but it allows you to better plan your resources.

Find A Solution For Website Copy

Usually, investing in a website redesign and redevelopment is a big deal for companies. Emphasize that you wouldn’t make a big investment without actually doing it right. We have created a couple of options to help you improve your service offerings.

Send Website Copy Templates

A blank page is your worst enemy. We’ve created a whole host of website copy templates that you can download directly from our website to help your clients fill out their copy.

Click here to access (go to resources page).

Make Copy Completed By Professional Writers A Requirement For Your Clients

Another way to avoid the copy situation altogether is to require it as part of your website package. If you don’t have a copywriter on your team to supply the copy, you can partner with a company like FocusCopy to outsource the copy development.

Interested in chatting with us? Schedule a call with us today to explore a potential partnership.

Partner With The Website Copywriting Experts

As a preferred partner for website designers all across the nation, we work closely with your process to add value to your clients and streamline the most frustrating part of the design process – the copy.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

10 Questions Your Company Website Should Answer To Convert

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / March 16, 2021 June 1, 2021

Do you feel your company website is written well enough to hold someone’s attention for longer than 5.59 seconds?

That’s how long it takes for most people to look at a website’s written content.

It’s not that long, is it?

But the good news is that it is possible to make your website copy short, clear, and attention-grabbing enough as long as you address these 10 questions your company website should answer.

What Are The 10 Questions Your Company Website Should Answer?

After visiting your company’s website, every single customer should know the answers to the following with ease of navigation throughout your site.

1. Who Are You?

Now, something you should understand straight right away is that Who You Are is different from your About Us.

Confused?

Don’t be!

This just means that you don’t need to explain the entire story behind your business right away on your home page.

But you should let people know who you are on the home page.

This section should explain who you are clearly and concisely.

For example, “We’re Moon Co., and we sell the softest eco-friendly 100% bamboo bedding to households everywhere.”

Now, this is a made-up company, but you get the point.

It’s short, immediately tells you what their product or service is, and states who the company is.

Your description doesn’t have to follow the example above exactly, but it helps to have a solid idea of who you are and what you can offer.

2. What Is Your Value?

Here is your chance to stop and think about what makes you special and what it is that you have to offer the world. Maybe you provide comprehensive dental services to patients in your area. But what else?

Perhaps you’ve studied newer treatments and specialize in traditional and modern braces for teens. Maybe you even take a wide range of insurance providers or are one of the only offices to operate during evening or weekend hours to better assist your patients.

There are a few things that could add value to your business. You just want to make sure you include it in your company website copy and on your home page so that it’s easy for visitors to locate.

3. How Will You Solve Your Customer’s Problem?

This is your chance to ask your audience questions on your home page about something you offer that they might not be getting already.

We can use our imaginary dental office and ask, “Does your dental office set their schedule around you? Are you tired of being left in the dark about treatment costs and fees (even though you have insurance)? Don’t you wish you could see your dentist after 5 pm or on the weekends? Now, you can…”

You’ve not only addressed someone’s possible concerns, but you’ve also brought up solutions to problems they might not have known they had. Questions like these can set you apart from the competition and put you on top.

4. What Do Others Have To Say About You?

We live in a time where testimonials and online reviews hold a ton of weight. According to a 2020 Local Consumer Review Survey conducted by Bright Local, “82% of consumers read reviews for local businesses.”

Testimonials and reviews make up your “online reputation”. Your online reputation depends not only on what others have to say about you but also on how you respond to negative reviews. Clients are more likely to change their negative review to a positive one or delete their negative review altogether if you handle it with kindness and professionalism.

Make sure your testimonials and reviews (especially positive ones) are shown on your company website in a prominent location.

5. Can Your Customer Contact You Easily?

Contact information for your business should be at the bottom or top of every website page. This way, no matter what area of your website your customers are looking at, they know where you are and how to reach you immediately.

Leave the guesswork up to the customer… They may just bounce from your page and look elsewhere for what they need.

6. How Much Does Your Product / Service Cost?

Whether you offer one product, several, a single service, or packages, your company website is a place you should be transparent about regarding how much you charge.

Now, there are always exceptions to this rule. But if a customer has to search for too long or jump through hoops to find out the answer for themselves, they may just turn to a competitor.

For example, you’ll notice we don’t have prices on our site for copywriting and content writing services. That’s because it’s impossible for us to give an accurate price for any given deliverable when we don’t know what the client wants. Our call to action is to book a discovery call with us… So we can learn what you need and provide a price!

If that’s you, say it.

That sets the client’s expectations.

7. Is There A Place On Your Company Website Where Can Someone Can Purchase Or Get Started?

Call to action (CTA) buttons should be throughout your website and definitely on your home page.

These are the buttons that say things like “Shop Now” or “Schedule A Consultation”. They are essential and should be easy to use by anyone. Again, make it simple, and don’t leave your audience confused.

Here are a couple of examples where you can include CTAs:

8. Can Your Customer Find Out More About You?

The section of your page that talks about you or your company should tell a story. Whether you have a long-standing history with your industry, a heartfelt beginning, or an inspiring anecdote, this is your chance to tell it to the world.

People love connecting with people, and people are more likely to buy something from you if they feel a genuine connection. Take the time to paint a picture of you or your business on this page, and you are more likely to see results.

9. Who Do You Serve?

Don’t be afraid to call out your customer. But let them know they are not alone or that you have the solution.

You can do this with a lighthearted joke:

“Is your snoring the reason your partner needs more coffee in the morning? If you are a heavy snorer with trouble breathing at night…”

You can also be more empathetic and ask:

“Is your snoring ruining your quality of sleep? If you are a heavy snorer, have trouble breathing at night, are overweight, or oversleep…”

These are some ways to call out your customers and make them feel seen, understood, and heard. Our goal when writing copy is for our readers to feel vulnerable. We need to communicate their needs and pain points effectively.

Another benefit of calling out who you serve is to qualify clients before they engage with your company. For example, if you say you want to work with mom-preneurs, then any other person who is not an mom-preneurs will move on their merry way.

That’s good!

10. Will Your Customer’s Information And Payment Be Secure On Your Company Website?

Customers want to know that their credit or debit card information, name, email, and anything else will be secure in your hands. By assuring your customers that their payment and data are protected, you build on your relationship and further establish trust.

This may sound simple but can make a big difference to your business and its value, especially if you operate as an eCommerce website.

Are You Ready To Start Writing?

If you’re ready to start writing, there’s no better time than today.

But maybe copywriting is not your calling…

It’s ours, so don’t even sweat it!

We hope this information helped you think more about what kind of copy you’re presenting to your audience. The best part is, these questions aren’t tricky or difficult. They’re questions you already know the answers to.

It may take a little magic to put them into words that flow and capture the attention of your current or potential customers. Need some help? Contact us today for your copywriting or content writing needs.

When Was The Last Time You Updated Your Home Page?

Answer these 6 questions and spruce up your home page in 15 minutes (or less).

The Beginner’s Guide To Creating Swipe Files For Copywriting

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / January 11, 2021 June 1, 2021

Who said writing high-converting copy has to be hard?

Probably someone without a swipe file!

If you’re stuck in a creative block trying to write compelling and high-converting copy for your business, it’s time to learn about the shortcut you’ve been missing. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel and stand on the shoulders of giants instead.

Here’s the secret… The most successful copywriters get on-demand inspiration from the best that’s already out there by creating swipe files for their business.

What is a Swipe File?

A swipe file is a folder full of examples of copy that:

You love
Made you buy
You want to emulate in your business’s copy

The purpose of having a swipe file is to have examples to refer to when your creativity well is dry. For instance, many visual artists use an inspiration or mood board to help guide their creative process. It’s a collage of visual ideas to help guide them along as they work. Referring to a mood board can help creatives:

Plan more clearly
Save time and energy
Keep inspiration high
Remind them of the end-goal

Swipe files are the mood boards of copywriting, and they come with similar benefits.

The Most Important Rule of Swipe Files

The first and most important thing to know about using swipe files is that they are a collection of examples to work from – NOT copied. You should never plagiarize what someone else has created. Not only is plagiarism unethical, but your website could potentially be flagged for its unoriginal content.

Swipe files are a resource to learn from and to improve your skills. Many of the best artists, athletes, and business leaders learned from previous ‘greats’ to improve themselves and their chance to surpass them. Simply trying to pass others’ work off as their own wouldn’t have helped them at all. The concept is the same when it comes to swipe files.

Why Businesses Need Swipe Files

If your business isn’t using swipe files, you may be at a disadvantage. Not only will it take you more time to write, but your writing probably won’t reach its full potential for conversion and engagement.

Keeping regularly updated swipe files helps businesses:

Stay in the loop about the latest copywriting strategies
Bypass testing by using copywriting that is already proven to work
Produce copy that is attention-catching rather than stale and dated

The Beginner’s Guide To Creating Swipe Files For Copywriting

If you’re ready to start refilling your creative well and get to writing better copy more quickly, here is what you need to know about establishing and maintaining creative swipe files.

Understand What Types of Copy You Need

If you’re trying to build a car, looking up cake recipes won’t do you any good. In writing, if you’re trying to create copy for your website homepage, looking up examples of email newsletters can only get you so far — no matter how amazing the copy might be. In this case, if you are unsure where to start, it may help to understand that there are two kinds of copy, each trying to accomplish a different goal.

Homepage copy will be short and sweet above the fold (i.e., it speaks to either new or existing clients and will probably direct visitors to your primary services). In contrast, newsletter copy can be longer and is often used to speak to existing clients. It typically encourages your audience to engage with your latest content. Now that you know how to pinpoint your business’s goals and decipher what types of copy you need, it’s easier to get going.

Here are a few types of swipe files you might need:

Landing page and website design
Email marketing and subject lines
Headlines
Sales copywriting
Digital marketing

To get the most out of your swipe files, include examples that:

Are within a similar industry. You’ll learn about what pain points are identified for your particular audience to use in your writing.
Have a similar goal. Are you trying to get email newsletter sign-ups? Find some copy that made you eager to enroll in a newsletter recently!

Identify and Read Copy That You Love

Once you determine what type of copy you need and find some examples you love, the next step is to dig in and read!

While you’re reading, keep an eye out for things like:

Catchy or attention-grabbing copy
Callouts to a problem and solution
How the audience is addressed
Placement and value of call-to-action buttons
Ways the copy focuses on the client
How it describes benefits and features
Word count, sentence structure, and reading ease
Style, format, and fonts

And these are just a few!

Pinpoint Why You Love That Copy

After you’ve given it a critical read, pinpoint what it is about the copy that you love. Ask yourself, what stood out?

Create some notes below a screenshot of the copy in your swipe file so that you can refer back to it later or share it with your copywriting team. You can also make notes about what you would change or improve. Many businesses even use swipe files when developing their brand voice. This way, they have tangible examples and inspiration to guide them.

Organize It and Tag It

Creating swipe files works best for your business when you can quickly pull up examples when you need them. The purpose is to save you time, not waste it frustratingly searching through files trying to find that one example you love.

The key here is to make sure your files are organized. Put all of your swipe files in one storage location. Then, use tags on each file to indicate what that file contains. You can tag each file with the type of copy and the industry. By following this method, you can easily pull up the swipe file examples you need according to your current goal.

Here are some organization platforms that have tagging features:

Experiment With Your Swipe File

Creating swipe files will help you get creative with your copy, and we all know that getting creative means being open to experimenting!

You might not be used to writing in a specific style or using a particular copywriting technique. But there’s no better time than the present to try it out and see where it takes you and your writing.

After all, your audience is bombarded with so much content each day. You’ll have to do something new and creative to capture their attention. Don’t be afraid to get outside of your comfort zone and discover a new approach to your writing.

If you’re ready to start thinking outside of the box, subscribe to our weekly email newsletter where you’ll find plenty of refreshing, catchy, and creative copy to keep you inspired!

Creating Swipe Files
Swipe files are a resource to learn from and to improve your skills; however, you should know that they are a collection of examples to work from – NOT copied.

How to Make a BIG Impact on Your Conversion Rates By Including These 4 Requirements for Above the Fold Website Copy

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / August 24, 2020 June 1, 2021

Is your website leaving the right first impression with your audience?

First impressions are the key to sparking interest in your brand. When potential customers stumble upon your webpage, their decision to stay or leave will happen in seconds… And it all relies on your above the fold website copy.

In this blog, I’ll go over what needs to be above the fold on your site to grab your audience’s attention, make a great first impression, and increase your engagement and conversion rates.

Above the Fold vs Below the Fold

The concept of above the fold website copy stems from the pre-digital era of communication – back in the days when everyone bought newspapers. Since newspapers were folded in half and put out for sale, passerbys would only see whatever was above the fold. The content above the fold had to entice people to buy the paper, without even picking it up. It had to convince people to buy with just a quick glance.

Above the Fold Definition

So what is considered “above the fold” when it comes to your web content? Above the fold website copy is any content that appears on the top half of your website when someone first arrives at the URL, without any scrolling or clicking.

Here is an example of what our website looks like above the fold:

As you might imagine, what content falls above the fold depends on screen size. Not everyone has the same sized computer monitors. Plus, people are accessing the Web through tablets and smartphones now too.

Here is what website visitors see above the fold when they are viewing on mobile:

So how can you figure out what falls above the fold on your website?

You can get a good estimate by using your website’s analytics program to find out what the most common screen dimensions are for your visitors. Then, you can use the average screen height as a guide for where the website “fold” is.

Below the Fold Definition

The majority of your website is below the fold. This is anything that is not initially visible when someone first arrives at your site. Visitors will only get to see it once they start to scroll down the webpage.

For instance, everything that is below the red line here wouldn’t be seen unless the visitor was curious enough to keep exploring the webpage.

Since a majority of your content may be below the fold, you want to lead your customers there! Let’s talk about how you can take full advantage of your above the fold website copy to do just that.

4 Requirements for Above the Fold Website Copy

To capture your audience’s attention, the above the fold copy on your website needs to:

Target the customer
Identify the problem
Introduce the major benefit
Call to action

1. Target the Customer

When it comes to making a powerful first impression in the real world, eye contact and addressing the person by name play a huge role. To achieve the same effect virtually on your webpage, make sure your above the fold copy targets the customer.

So what does copywriting that targets the customer actually look like?

Call them out. The most straightforward way to target the customer is to acknowledge them by name in your copy. For example, Scalable opens with “Attention all Founders & CEOs”.

Speak their language. Use words and phrases that your target audience is familiar with. Don’t be afraid to use jargon or slang if your target customer knows the terms. It shows that you’re speaking directly to them in their own language. For example, Wilson Murphy Law’s about page perfectly addresses what her audience knows – that they don’t want copycats or poachers. This isn’t language that you would see leaving an attorney’s mouth. And that’s okay. Speak your audience’s language.

Focus on them. Make sure your above the fold website copy is focused on the customer rather than your business. To check how well your copy does this, see if you use “You” about twice as often as you use “We”. Notice how Elementor doesn’t talk about themselves – they talk about “you”.

2. Identify the Problem

Targeting the customer will grab their attention. After that, you’ll only have a few seconds to engage their curiosity by identifying a problem they are experiencing.

Sometimes, your customer won’t even realize they are experiencing a problem until you bring it to their attention. Once the customer realizes the problem (and if the problem is important enough to them), they’ll continue to scroll down your website to find your solution.

What kinds of problems is your target customer experiencing?

According to Harvard Business Review, customers have 4 main kinds of problems they need solutions for. Let’s talk about the two major problems most businesses should address in their above the fold website copy: functional and emotional problems.

Functional Problems

Functional problems are the most common type of challenge your customers will experience. These are problems that have an impact on their practical day-to-day functioning.

This can include things like:

Not having enough time to accomplish a certain task
Not making enough money
Something is too complicated or unorganized
A product or service they currently use lacks quality or variety

Emotional Problems

At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that your customer is human! It may seem obvious, but so many businesses overlook this crucial fact. Because you’re writing for humans, you can also address emotional problems that they might be experiencing, like:

Experiencing heightened anxiety
Missing the past or feeling nostalgic
Feeling exhausted or burnt out

Now, your above the fold copy doesn’t have to include every problem that your target customer is facing. In fact, it shouldn’t! You only have a limited amount of space and a short amount of time when it comes to above the fold content. Instead, your above the fold website copy should highlight the main problem that is most disruptive for your target customer. Then discuss the solution your company offers.

3. Introduce the Major Benefit

Once you’ve targeted the customer and identified their problem, you can’t stop there! The next piece you have to include is an introduction to the major benefit your company offers to solve the customer’s problem.

Here are some strategic ways to introduce the major benefit to your customer:

Stand out among competition. Introduce a benefit that is unique to your company by creating a unique selling proposition. What does your company offer that others don’t?
Use your brand voice. When you’re introducing customers to the major benefit, you’re also introducing them to your brand. Make sure your above the fold copy reflects your brand’s personality by creating a brand voice.
Show the stats. Quantify just how much time and money they’ll save, or how much variety/quality they will gain. Try using infographics that are eye-catching and easy to read at a glance.
Tap into emotions. Think about how you want your customer to feel after they have access to your product and reflect that in your writing.

4. Call to Action

Finally, your above the fold website copy won’t be complete without a call to action.

If you’ve structured your above the fold content with everything we’ve discussed so far, your target customer will be ready to (at the very least) learn more about your products and services.

Make it as easy as possible to do that – without any scrolling or navigating by adding a call to action button above the fold.

Here are some call to action ideas to include above the fold:

Free offer. Offer free content, sample products, free trials, or consultations in exchange for an email sign-up.
Learn more. Link to a page where customers can learn more about your products or see a demo of your services.
Get started. Lead your customers directly to your product/service description page where they can sign-up, enroll, or make a purchase.
Let’s talk. Take your customers to your contact page or a place where they can schedule an appointment with someone from your team.

Feel free to get creative with the words you use in your buttons/links/call to actions.

When choosing a call to action, keep your website visitors’ familiarity with your brand in mind. If you’re a new company and visitors might not be familiar with your brand, opt for a free offer or a link to learn more.

On the other hand, your call to action should look different if you’re a well-established company and a majority of your website visitors are already familiar with your brand. In this case, you’ll do better to have a call to action that gets customers started or puts them in touch with your team.

Start Writing Your Above The Fold Copy

With all of these guidelines in mind, remember that the space above the fold on your website is limited. Many companies struggle to fit in all of the key elements without overcrowding the space. If you want help writing clean and effective above the fold website copy that reflects your brand, FocusCopy can help with that! We help businesses increase their conversion rates just by adjusting their copy. For more copywriting tips, subscribe to our Insider’s List here.

When Was The Last Time You Updated Your Home Page?

Answer these 6 questions and spruce up your home page in 15 minutes (or less).

Updating Your Website Copy to Increase Conversion & Engagement (Even When Your Business Has Been Put on Hold) in 7 Simple Steps

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / April 15, 2020 June 1, 2021

It’s no secret that COVID-19 has impacted businesses all over the world. I talk to at least 5 business owners a day that have either had to put their business on hold, are overwhelmed with growth, or are somewhere in between. If you’re one of the companies in limbo, this blog is for YOU. Downtime can be discouraging. But, it’s so important to stay positive and keep the ball rolling! One way to do just that is by investing in your marketing. That’s why we put together this guide on updating your website copy to increase conversion and engagement (even when your business has been put on hold).

What’s Website Copy?

So, what’s website copy? Website copy is all the words on your site. But more than that, it’s what communicates to your audience what their need or problem is (if they didn’t know already), your solution, and why you’re the right decision for them. What does your customer need to hear to make a buying decision?

Now more than ever, a majority of the interactions clients have with your business will be through your website. Well-written website copy ensures your site is helpful for existing clients and makes a great first impression with new ones.

Why Update Your Website Copy?

A website should be 100% organic – that means it should change, evolve, and be updated as time goes on. A hard-coded website or one that is difficult to change in a moment’s notice is going to lock you into something that’s not working for you.

So why update your website copy?

We see lots of companies who put up a website home page and then never invest in their marketing again. After 10 years, it’s still the same home page. Their business has changed over that decade, but their website copy doesn’t reflect the changes.

It’s stagnant.

Keeping your website organic will encourage your clients to engage with your business more, and help convert those engagements into successful transactions.

How Website Copy Impacts Engagement & Conversion

How can updating your website copy impact engagement and conversion? Here are a couple of examples…

It Conveys Reliability

Suppose you used to offer a service that you no longer do. You’ll want to reflect those changes on your website. If clients who visit your site discover the information isn’t up-to-date, they’ll get the impression that your company is unreliable and engage with it less in the future. To encourage engagement, offer updated website copy.

It Makes It Easy For Clients To Find What The Need

Has your business started to offer new products or services since your last website update? As the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind”. Your clients can’t buy your new services or products if they don’t know you’re offering them! Conversion rates will grow if you make it as easy as possible for your audience to find what they’re looking for and convince them your solution is the best.

If your business has had to slow down in the past month, take advantage of the downtime to rebuild engagement and increase conversion by updating your website copy.

Determine If You’re Doing Minor Changes or A Massive Overhaul

Updating your website copy doesn’t have to be an intimidating process. You can make minor changes or get creative with a massive overhaul.

Minor Changes

Even minor changes to your website copy can go a long way!

Refine Your Headline Keywords

Are the keywords on your website specific enough to help your clients find what they need? Something as simple as re-phrasing your headlines to target your audience can help increase traffic – and eventually engagement and conversion rates.

Make Small, Regular Updates

Are you keeping your clients in the loop about how current events impact their access to your business (especially in the midst of COVID-19)? Adding regular updates to your site will keep clients informed about how to continue to use your services or buy your products – in times of a pandemic or otherwise!

Massive Overhaul

When business is busy, marketing often slips by the wayside. If you haven’t had the chance to update your website copy, it’s not too late to get started on a massive overhaul!

Does your website reflect your company’s values and brand? Does the copy highlight your current products and services? Can clients request them online? Is your website optimized for mobile viewing with easy-to-use navigation?

These are all places to look for opportunities to improve engagement and conversion.

Updating Your Website Copy to Increase Conversion & Engagement in 6 Simple Steps

Whether you’re gearing up for major or minor updates to your website copy, it’s important to keep in mind both what to improve and how to improve it. Here are 6 simples steps to start updating your website copy to increase conversion and engagement.

1. Build a Brand Voice Guide

Updating your website copy doesn’t have to be time-consuming and you don’t have to be a gifted writer either! When you build a Brand Voice Guide, you’ll be able to let someone else do the heavy lifting for you. In your Brand Voice Guide, you’ll outline which emotions and tones writers should use to update and edit your website copy. That way, you can rest assured that everything on your website is aligned with your company’s brand.

Creating a Brand Voice Guide streamlines the copywriting process and fosters familiarity with your brand to improve conversion and engagement. You’ll get more growth with less effort. Check out our blog for more on why having a brand voice is critical to business growth.

2. Record Your Baseline Metrics

After building a brand voice guide to expedite the copywriting process, where do you start making improvements to your existing copy? You can evaluate where changes should be made by taking down your metrics.

Are You Reaching Your Audience?

Your engagement metrics tell you how good your website is at reaching your audience. This includes how many visitors your website typically gets per month, how many of these are new visitors, and how long each visitor spends on each page.

Do you have many visitors to your homepage but not nearly as many for your services page? This doesn’t necessarily mean that visitors don’t want to engage with your services – they might just have a hard time finding them!

Take note of which pages of your website have low engagement metrics so you can create a strategy to improve them.

How Often Are People Taking Action (Buying, Subscribing, or Enrolling)?

Your conversion metrics tell you how often a client takes an action that you recommend to them. How often are clients buying your products or services, scheduling a consultation, or signing up for your newsletter? You’ll know that your copy needs improvement if your website has a lot of visitors, but few are following through with these actions.

Don’t worry – low conversion metrics don’t necessarily mean clients aren’t interested in what you’re offering. A lot of the time, it simply means you need to update your copy to better communicate to clients how they’ll benefit from your offers.

3. Save Existing Copy Into A Blank Document

Storage is cheap, but your time isn’t! Before you dive into making any changes to your website, be sure to save the existing copy into a blank document. While some of your content might be new, a lot of it can be updated from what was already there before. It’ll also show you where you’ve been and where you don’t want to go again.

4. Write Emotionally With Benefits Taking The Lead

Your company offers valuable services and goods. But how can you express this value to your clients? Keep your audience at the forefront by writing emotionally with benefits to your client taking the lead.

If you ask Harvard Business Review, people find the most value in products and services that serve their functional and emotional needs. Companies that address these in their writing have greater customer loyalty and growth.

What does your client need practically and emotionally when they seek out your business? Address these needs, and offer a solution in your copy.

5. Review It Thoroughly

Next, you need to review the copy thoroughly for grammar, syntax, flow, and clarity. At FocusCopy, we always have at least 2 sets of eyes on each piece of copy we send out. Usually, we have 3 sets of eyes – 2 sets that haven’t worked on the development side.

Check out our proofreading tips that we use to review every single piece of copy.

6. Update the Live Page

Before you update the live page with your newly written and thoroughly reviewed copy, take a before photo. You can add extensions to your browser that take a full screen capture – taking a photo of the entire page without you having to merge multiple screenshots of it.

Once you have the before photo, reveal your fresh look to the world. If your remodeling included major changes, send out an email to existing customers to highlight what your exciting new site features make easier for them!

7. Test & Continue to Refine Copy

Remember, great website copy is truly organic. Continue to take down your metrics, compare them with old metrics, and refine your copy accordingly. You can also take advantage of split testing of headlines or landing pages to see which keywords and images resonate the most with your audience.

Your company may be experiencing downtime, but there’s always a place to move forward and grow with your online marketing.

Looking for some help getting started? We write copy that communicates how you (the company) transforms your customer’s lives. When a customer feels heard, they are much more likely to engage with your brand and ultimately convert. Learn more about FocusCopy’s copywriting services here.

Website

Your Ultimate Website Launch Checklist

1. Proofread All Copy

2. Test All Forms

3. Set Up Google Analytics

4. Check Each Page On A Desktop, Tablet & Smartphone

5. Run Compatibility Tests

6. Create 404 Page

7. Index Site On Google Search Console

8. Submit Sitemap

9. Test All Links

10. Test All Icons (Especially Social Media)

11. Add SSL Certificate

12. Include Terms of Service & Privacy Policy

13. Benchmark Your Previous Website’s Data

14. Check For Brand Consistency

15. Replace Placeholder Images With Final Images

16. Confirm The Copy Is The Latest Version

17. Check That Hosting Can Handle Your Bandwidth

18. Send An Email Announcement About Your New Website

Ready to Launch?

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

What Is A Credibility Factor?

Why Include Credibility Factors On Your Website

Where Should You Put Credibility Factors On Your Website

5 Credibility Factors To Include On Your Website

1. Trusted By

2. Credentials

3. Social Proof

Testimonials

Case Studies

Connections

4. Press Mentions

5. Warranties Or Guarantees

Need To Spruce Up Your Website Copy?

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Top 3 Most Common Digital Marketing Mistakes Business Owners Make Before A Website Launch

Mistake #1: There’s More Focus On The Design Than The Words

Mistake #2: Business Owners Forget Who The Website Is For

Mistake #3: There’s No Celebration Of The Launch

Want To Launch Your Website This Year?

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Top Problems Website Designers Experience In Their Business

Lack of Client Vision

Prolonged Timelines

Unspoken Expectations

The Website Copy

Options For Website Designers To Avoid Their Copy Problems

Ask The Right Questions

Stand By Your Timelines

Find A Solution For Website Copy

Send Website Copy Templates

Make Copy Completed By Professional Writers A Requirement For Your Clients

Partner With The Website Copywriting Experts

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

What Are The 10 Questions Your Company Website Should Answer?

1. Who Are You?

2. What Is Your Value?

3. How Will You Solve Your Customer’s Problem?

4. What Do Others Have To Say About You?

5. Can Your Customer Contact You Easily?

6. How Much Does Your Product / Service Cost?

7. Is There A Place On Your Company Website Where Can Someone Can Purchase Or Get Started?

8. Can Your Customer Find Out More About You?

9. Who Do You Serve?

10. Will Your Customer’s Information And Payment Be Secure On Your Company Website?

Are You Ready To Start Writing?

When Was The Last Time You Updated Your Home Page?

What is a Swipe File?

The Most Important Rule of Swipe Files

Why Businesses Need Swipe Files

The Beginner’s Guide To Creating Swipe Files For Copywriting

Understand What Types of Copy You Need

Identify and Read Copy That You Love

Pinpoint Why You Love That Copy

Organize It and Tag It