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How to Succeed at Conversion Copywriting if You’re a Small Business Owner
How often do you have the opportunity to physically get in front of potential customers and speak with them about your business?
Probably not too often.
More likely your potential customers will read about your business online to get the information they need.
This means there’s a lot riding on what you say, how you say it and when it’s said—and it can all impact whether your potential customer decides to reach for their wallet...or not.
Simply put, website content improves sales. So mastering how you write website copy can make or break your company's chances of growing.
These five tips will help you write copy that makes your website visitors say, “Heck yah, I’m in!” In other words, let’s use copy to improve your conversion rate.
5 Conversion Copywriting Tips for Small Businesses
1. Know Your Dream Customer Inside and Out
The first step in knowing your dream client is to be able to point them out. Know their attributes, characteristics and demographics.
And before we go any further, don’t think that any and all people are your ideal customers.
Not every person is going to be in the market for your services. Some people may never seek your product or service so they can’t all be ideal.
Once you can identify your dream customer in a crowd, then it’s time to really get to know them.
Do you know their likes and dislikes? Can you address their pain points? What are their aspirations and goals? This is intimate stuff.
You may already have this knowledge in your head or on paper based on experience and interactions with your customers—and that’s great!
If you don’t, then you’ll need to spend some time asking the right questions and take the time to listen to the answers your customers provide.
The reason you want to know your dream customer inside and out is because the highest converting copy you could ever write for your website will address their distinct needs and present your business as the solution.
Let’s walk through an example.
Pretend you have a window cleaning business and your ideal customers are working professionals who live in a detached home with two kids.
They are proud homeowners but don’t have the time to keep up with the work. Their needs are balancing work & play and desperately seeking quality family time.
Here are two versions of some copy you could present to these potential customers. Which do you think is more compelling for the example ideal customer?
Although, based on the example, your ideal customer may be seeking the best in town since they care about their home, the copy on the right is more compelling.
The dream client in this instance wants shiny windows but doesn’t have the time to put in the work. And if they don’t have to clean the windows, they’ll have more time for other things, like family.
This is how you use the copy on your website to speak directly to your top clients and establish your business as the answer they’ve been looking for.
2. Lead With Benefits and Follow-Up With Features
Whenever you’re writing anything, you should have the person reading it in mind.
You need to always answer the questions every potential customer will ask, “What’s in it for me?” or “Why should I care about this?”
If the copy on your website can answer these questions, you can hook the customer.
With this in mind, lead with the benefits and highlight the features second.
Here are some examples to show you the difference between benefits and features:
Benefits of a window cleaning company may be sparkling windows, increased curb appeal and time savings for the homeowner.
Features of a window cleaning business may be soft wash systems, screen cleaning and track cleaning.
The benefits of hiring a carpet cleaner may include a germ-free space for the family, less allergens and confidence when company arrives. Features of carpet cleaning can include low moisture cleaning system and no chemical residues.
When you speak to the benefits first, you get buy-in from the customer and answer that “Why do I care?” question.
Once that’s happened your potential customer will want to know more details about the service(s) you carry out. The features will answer the who, what, when and where type of details. These nitty gritty bits are for someone much closer to the purchase point.
Just remember features always come after the benefits if you’re looking to convert more website visitors into leads.
3. Always Include Social Proof in Your Website Copy
Social proof is anything that qualifies or validates your business, as told by a third party. This may include reviews, testimonials, awards & certifications, social media mentions, etc.
You should always include social proof on your website because people trust what others have to say about your business. This will impact the purchasing decisions of your website visitors, and consequently your conversion rate.
In fact, 63% of customers are more likely to purchase from a site that showcases reviews.
The good news is that there are many ways you can highlight social proof on your website.
Adding any of these examples of social proof to your website will help earn the trust of future customers. If you can do this, they will feel more comfortable reaching for their wallet and booking with your company (and up goes the conversion rate!).
4. Clarity Beats Creativity When it Comes to Copy for your Website
Although you want your brand to stand out and stick in the minds of your customers, there is a time and a place to get creative.
When it comes to conversion copywriting for your small business website, clarity always triumphs over creativity.
This is because when a potential customer lands on your website, you have mere seconds to convey what your company is about and why the customer needs your services.
Get this: It takes 1/10th of a second to make a first impression of a person. It takes 50 milliseconds (or 0.05 seconds) for people to form an opinion about your website, which will ultimately sway their decision to stick around or bounce.
If you choose to go the creative route with your copy, you run the risk of jeopardizing that first impression and/or invoking confusion for the visitor. So although clear copy may not be as fun or cutesy as creative copy, it does promise a higher conversion rate.
Here are a couple of key things you want to be crystal clear about in your website copy (some of these things may vary depending on if you offer a product or service).
Ultimately, your website visitor needs to know where they are, what they can do on your site and why they care.
5. Breathe Some Life into it Your Website Copy
I know we talked about clarity over creativity, but this doesn’t mean you need to restrict personality. You can still breathe life into your copy with personality without sacrificing clarity.
A great place to do this is in the “Why Us” or “About Us” sections of your website.
This is an excellent way to connect with your customers and create an emotional tie. Don’t get put off by the word “emotional.” I don’t mean that you want to bond with them, but flash that human element of your business and your potential customers will immediately latch onto that.
After all, they’re hiring a person to do the job and want to know more about who’s behind the business and/or the individuals they’ll welcome into their home.
Personality in your copy can also come through in your business values. Showing your customers what you stand for as a business will allow them to find similarities or shared values.
This, like social proof, instills trust and helps your future customers feel comfortable with the decision to go with your business over the competition.
Personal touches you can add to your copy include:
Takeaways for Writing Copy that Converts for Your Small Business Website
With these five tips you should be able to get a good start implementing changes to your site, choosing the words that can help turn website visitors into customers.
That said, copy isn’t the only thing that can impact the conversion rate of your website.
If you would like help booking more jobs through your site, we can help. A Convert website guarantees 10% more sales booked through your website, or you don’t pay.
