Get More Leads & Increase Your Conversion Rate by Spring Cleaning (Your Copy)

Spring cleaning lists are all your little eyes can see these days. The bins at the grocery checkout  are stuffed to the brim with magazines teasing “get organized with these tips and live your best life yet!”. Whatever that means.  Meanwhile, you just want a bit of an edge in your business or a way to set yourself apart from the others providing similar products or services.  How can you do that without hiring a Cirque de Soleil contortionist to perform behind you during your Facebook Live? “Tell all your friends to join in and you’ll get my freebie Ten Ways to be More Flexible”. Sigh.  Doesn’t it all seem so…desperate? The funnels and the freebies and all the things can convolute the gem that you have to offer –  you. Your unique, fabulous and skilled self has the experience of x amount of years providing this service – and kicking ass at it, by the way.

You’ve got something a set of people NEED. Yes, need. Stop acting like you’re bothering people by letting them now EXACTLY how you can help them. (If we were in person, my hands would be moving, emphatically.)

Brain Blues

Frankly, you need to start with your messaging. Hopefully you’ve, carefully laid out a clear path to guide your audience through your website.  Here is a conversation happening in the brain of your website visitor, unbeknownst to them, mind you.  It’s the little area in the brain (frontal lobe) helping them make that unconscious next step, fueled by emotion.  Here we go.

Tell me how you can solve my problem! Help me! Why else would I be here perusing your website or Insta-stalking you. Please for the love of all things cheese, make it easy for me to understand. Just tell me where to go?
Okay, so you went to the University of…I don’t give a crap.  You think it’s the hottest summer ever…I don’t even live by you, lady, yeesh.
Here we go…you have a link to a page about something maybe…”learn more”. What the heck does that mean.
Oh, great! I clicked on an article with a list of 5 things I’m doing wrong! WTF! I don’t need to know what I’m doing wrong-tell me what to do!
I don’t want to think anymore. Direct me. Guide me.
Forget it. I’m out.

This is the last internal conversation you want the person visiting your website to have.  We all have a need to be guided to the next step.  Don’t add to this poor person’s decision fatigue.  Be direct with your messaging.  Right at the get go!

Here is a Spring Clean Your Copy Checklist to get your website copy shiny and attractive to your audience and create more conversions, A.KA. more leads, more money, less problems.  Let’s get started.

1. Tagline:  Okay, okay this is a branding situation here, I know. But I see a lot of friends with shaky taglines at best, adorning their homepage like a jewel necklace.  If it doesn’t make sense when it’s read as a stand alone statement, then it needs to be reworked.  A tagline isn’t a “list of what I do” or all about you. Ask yourself these questions to come up with a short, but direct summary of what you stand for as a brand.
   • How will I make my ideal client feel once I’ve worked my magic?
   • What is 1 thing will improve from working with you
   • What’s one pain point in your ideal client’s business you can make disappear.
   • Insert keywords appropriate to your niche that are relevant to the product or service you provide, if applicable, could you incorporate one into your tagline? (I’ve still got SEO in me, friends. Thou shall not forget SEO when writing copy for your website. That’s one of my commandments.)
2. Ad copy:  make your Call to Action (CTA) clear, concise and appealing with these short phrases that pack a direct punch like your Aunt Sally’s signature cocktail she brings to the annual family reunion.
   • Join for Free
   • Sign Up
   • Register now
   • Claim Your Free Trial (Checklist, Starter’s Guide, etc.)
   • Sign Up With Google
   • What We Do
   • Get Started or Start Now
   • Download Your Free PDF
   • Get Access to 1 Month Free
   • Get Your [insert free offer here]
3. About page: remove clichés, show your personality and reflect on the clients you would like to attract with your story. This is where you can shine as an individual with your candor, interesting stories and your passion for why you do what you do. Play with our beautiful language, friends! I was watching a show with my girls and one of the supporting characters has a wee bit of a Scottish accent (okay, imagine hearing the accent when you read the rest) and he said, “Let’s squash ’em like a tomato (read to-mah- toe) in me armpit!” What he didn’t say is “Let’s squash ’em like a bug”.  The tomato in the armpit is a much more interesting image than the bug. We’ve heard it all before. Sigh. Let’s spark that language a wee bit ‘ey?
4. Elevator pitch is the answer to the question “What do you do?”, which in reality means “what problem do you solve?”.  This is important, guys! Anywhere you go, anyone you chat with online, networking events or online groups is a chance to forge connections. Have this same line or 2 ready and use it for everyone. It’ll eventually role off the tongue. And guess what? Pretty soon you’ll be known for the service or products you provide . When people refer you, they’ll use the same memorable snippet of info you share everywhere and mention to anyone, bringing high-quality leads AKA people you can help.  Make sure you’re confident, direct and show the value proposition for what your service or product is.
   •  My name is Mickey Mouse and I provide joy and magic with my ethereal presence at one of my many amusement parks.
   • I’m Elsa, some say I’m an ice queen, but I’m just a caring sister and leader to the Kingdom of Arendelle. I make sure my community thrives through my leadership and the occasional use of magical powers I’ve been gifted with.
   • Brand Spark Studio helps clear the calendars of overworked entrepreneurs by providing marketing management virtually.  We allow our clients more time to work on their business, while we grow it for them.
5. Landing page:  make sure there is only 1-2 CTA’s, the CTA button is in a different color from the page’s signature colors, make sure you mention your CTA in 2-3 places on the page, preferably top right, in the middle, at the bottom of the page for those who like to skip all the fluff and cut to the finish line.
6. Call to Action: clear and direct, applicable to the copy on the page.  It should be written in active voice and direct, not passive.  You’re a winner and you help others win.
   • Passive voice: emphasizes the object or person receiving the action
   • Active voice: emphasizes the person or object performing the action

Bonus Copy Tips – Emails:

1. Email Signature: This is a chance to get some love to your social pages or “learn more about my journey here” and link to your About page or you can invite them to download your latest freebie or even “learn more how I helped entrepreneur Jenny 10x her results by doing this one thing”
2. Email subject line Review what’s working and what’s not. Check your analytics from your newsletter stats
3. Email structure: Too long? Too short? Too much info? Again, refer to what emails have higher conversions and which ones bombed.  Test new formats and apply the tips I’ve noted before, if applicable, of course.

Copywriting Resources

1. Thesaurus
2. Keyword research tools:  Google Trends, Google Keyword Tool
3. Page Speed Insights (you might have to rely more on copy, layout and colors to garner attention rather than complicated design if your page loads slowly. People will abandon your page like their toenails are peeling off from waiting.
4. Competitive analysis: research competitors or mentors that are doing what you do
5. Grammarly

Now off you go! Clean up your copy.  If this task seems impossible given you’re a busy business owner and then some – set up a call with me.  Let’s see if I can take over the process for you.
Here is a list of services I can help you with to grow your business and save you time.