Tip #2: Why your website should be 80% like everyone else's and only 20% different.
Ok, I admit, I made the 80/20 ratio up. But the bottom line is indeed this: Your website should largely resemble other websites in your niche (whaaat?!).
Let me explain.
Your website won't be the first ever website your prospects see in their lives. Moreover, it won't be the first website they see *in your niche*.
So, when they think, for example, "copywriter", they already have a mental image of what a copywriter's website should look like.
This is called "prototypicality" - a mental image your brain creates to categorize stuff.
If something is prototypical (i.e. matches the mental image people have for this category), it's easier to understand and use.
Which means:
- If your website has the similar look and structure as other websites in your niche, your visitors will have less trouble using it.
- Plus, prototypical feels familiar, and familiarity evokes trust.
- Pluuuus, people shop/hire by comparison. And if your the websites of your competitors has some particular info about their team or offer and yours doesn't, you aren't going to win that comparison.
Not sure what's prototypical for your niche?
Check out your competitors' websites and note:
- How many colors / what color palettes they use
- How many / what pages are in their navigation
- How's the homepage structured
- Do they use real photos, etc.
Here's a real-life example:
A couple of weeks ago, I was reviewing a website of a law firm in London. As I always do, I asked them to provide a couple of links to the websites of their competitors.
When I checked those websites, I noticed that they all used at least a couple of photos of their lawyers on their About page. But "my" firm didn't. If I was a potential client this would ring some alarm bells.
"What are they hiding? Are they even real people?"
Ok, maybe with less drama, but still. If your competitor's website looks as good as yours but they show their face and you don't, guess whom your prospect is going to contact?
It's possible, your visitors expect things from your website it's not providing. Or, if it looks too different, they don't feel like they can trust you. So make sure to check other websites in your niche and be "prototypical".
Tip #3: Don't be that Ice Age squirrel. It's not fun in real life.
Have you seen Ice Age 2? There is a moment when that crazy prehistoric squirrel rams her nut in an iceberg, and the iceberg starts breaking.
He tries to plug the holes with water shooting out of them, but at some point there are just too many holes, and the iceberg collapses.
That's you applying website tips and tricks to something that isn't whole.
But let me tell you a story first:
When I got this inquiry with no capital letters, missing punctuation and quite some typos, I thought nothing good could come out of this. But I replied, and what followed was a great lesson.
Jim was a contractor running a family-own business. He wanted me to review his website.
He wrote the copy himself, so I was prepared for the worst when I checked it out.
But boy, was I wrong.
Sure, it was wordy, had typos and was packed into never-ending paragraphs. But it was a valuable conversation.
He asked questions, mentioned real benefits and empathized with his prospects the way only a person who knows his business and clients in and out could do.
And here's where Jim is better than you - a real copywriter, someone who took writing courses or had an A in English:
He knows his product and he knows what his clients need. Not from some generic niche research but because he's been doing it for 18 years.
And you can't quickly google that.
So, before you apply all that AIDA-shmaida or quick tips and tricks, ask yourself / your client the following questions:
- What is this?
- How is it being sold?
- Why should people buy it?
- Who'll benefit most from it?
- What's important for the prospects when they decide to buy this?
Because otherwise, there won't be enough plugs for the holes in your copy.
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