“How To Write Web Copy That
Rivets Your Target Audience”
by Eldo Barkhuizen
Before you begin writing your web copy you must know who your audience is, what their problems and desires are.
No point writing web copy aimed at chiropodists when your target market is chiropractors. Each audience has its own mindset with its own unique problems, and your web copy must be laser-targeted to achieve startling results.
Another big mistake the web owner or web copywriter makes is to write web copy that's too general, too vague, that doesn’t call out to any particular market segment. Web copy aimed at all comers will in reality reach none.
Picture this.
Your name’s Susan. You’re in a crowded room and someone at the far side of the room behind you shouts out “Susan!” Do you turn your head to see who called out?
Of course!
Everyone in the room named “Susan” will look round to discover who’s calling their name. The shouter zeroed in on everyone in the room called “Susan,” not on the room’s occupants in general.
Likewise, the web owner and web copywriter must do their homework, find out as much as possible about the audience they’re trying to reach ... and then write to one person in that market.
To do this, the web copywriter must ask lots of questions, build up a detailed mental picture of whom they’re addressing:
1. MALE OR FEMALE – If your target market is 70% female, you should obviously write your web copy with women in mind. Pointless writing for a male prospect if the target market is mostly female!
2. AGE – People over 60 will have a larger disposable income than, say, 20-year-olds. Web copy written for fundraising web sites, then, should aim at the mindset of the older person. People in their 60s think differently from 20-year-olds, and your web copywriting should fit their mindset.
3. INCOME LEVEL – This usually relates to the target market’s average age (see above point), but also to the type of work they do. Company executives have a lot more money than, say, schoolteachers.
For your web copywriting to be effective, you must know how wealthy your prospect is. Pointless writing web copy to sell a $20,000 product/service and then aiming that copy at people who earn just $20,000 a year!
4. POLITICAL AFFILIATION – Is your prospect politically conservative or a radical? Again, knowing this will give you a clearer picture of whom you should aim your web copy at.
5. SPORTS OR HOBBIES – Is your prospect the sporty type, or are sports a big turn off to him/her? If your web copywriting is aimed at golf enthusiasts, no point targeting tennis players!
6. MENTAL STATE – What is the person’s self-image? How do they see themselves? What gives them self-worth?
7. EMOTIONAL STATE – What makes the person depressed, angry, happy, and so on. What are their worst fears? Their greatest hopes? What gives them the greatest pleasure?
This will probably vary again depending on whether your prospect is male or female.
The difference between successful web copywriting (which sells) and failing web copywriting (which doesn’t sell) is usually due to how well the web copy has targeted the audience you’re trying to reach.
Web copy written for doctors will leave realtors stone cold!
So you must (1) do extensive research, to (2) know exactly whom you’re writing for, and then (3) target your web copywriting with laser-guided precision at that audience with the specific words that push their emotional hot buttons.
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