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Home Blog Content MarketingDirect Response Copywriting for Websites – How Now Wows!
Content Marketing Web Development
Copywriting for websites is a craft easier said than done.
Establishing your relevance online through content marketing is one thing, but getting your audience to do something for you through persuasive copy is another.
What’s more, is that sometimes there are actions that you want them to make immediately. Not tomorrow, not next week, but right NOW. Examples can be getting people to avail of your promos, asking them to subscribe to a newsletter, or upselling them when they’re already on your checkout page.
How exactly are you supposed to do that then?
Fortunately, there is one type of website copywriting you can do that’s more geared towards your goals similar to the ones mentioned above.
Enter, direct response copywriting.
If you’re a website copywriter or someone who’s just getting started in the craft then let this veteran web design and development company help you learn more about it today.
Read on!
To become an effective website copywriter, let’s take a step back and get a quick overview of the major types of copywriting first before really digging into what direct response copywriting is all about.
Note that the following are mostly applicable to copywriting for websites:
Aside from digital marketing resources to help you understand copywriting you can use the previously mentioned as a reference to distinguish what direct response copywriting for websites really is.
In its simplest definition, direct response copywriting is getting audiences to do an action immediately after reading your copy.
Does that mean as a website copywriter you have to be salesy then? Not exactly.
For this to be possible, you have to tap into your audiences’ emotions and convince them that what you have is the only solution they’ll ever need.
New York Times bestselling author and copywriting expert Mark Morgan Ford explains this best through what he calls the ‘3 Fundamental Rules of Selling’:
The power of “now” in direct response copywriting banks on emotional resonance before rational reasoning. This speaks to your web design
Let’s take BrandYourself’s website for example. The US-based group offers services that answer the question “how do companies protect personal and private information online?” Their services safeguard your reputation from employers or other people searching for you on the Internet, and security from hackers who might get a hold of your identity.
Off-the-bat, you can notice the impact of direct response copywriting here. The website isn’t trying to sell you something. It’s just telling you what the service can do to make your life easier. You even get a “Free” CTA to scan your reputation online which comes with a demo.
Instead of being technical about how they actually protect your reputation online, the website copies use layman’s terms for you to appreciate the benefits. It’s simple, direct, and speaks to the emotional resonance of feeling safe and secure on the Internet.
After appealing to your emotional state the website then progresses in telling you the objective importance of the service. These points are justified by logic and reason.
And if objective proof wasn’t enough for you, then maybe social proof will do.
Did the website copies sell you anything? No. But did it strike a cord in you to choose them as your service provider? Yes, and if you were their target market you’d probably be availing their services as we speak.
Applying the concepts of the 3 Fundamental Rules of Selling to your direct response copywriting can do wonders for your website.
Now, here are the essential steps you need to be a great direct response copywriter.
Before you go on appealing to everyone’s emotions with your newfound skill, as a website copywriter you need to have the following laid out marketing strategy first:
The bottomline here is if you know who you’re talking to then you know what words and language to use. In effect, this already makes your audience feel that they are the target market giving you a foothold into their emotions.
To help develop this more, try to imagine the before and after state you want your audience to have and how your product or service is the only one that can help them reach their ideal state.
Lead with one idea or emotion, back that up with a single story, and close with a sole CTA.
Remember: You don’t have to say everything about yourself all at once. Avoid the “tossed salad” approach.
It might take in a lot of work but if you trust the process then the results of your copy performance will surely follow.
In conclusion, remember the following when crafting direct response copies for a website:
Want to talk more about direct response copywriting? We want to hear from you!
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