Good business web writers write for the market, not for themselves.

That’s the point I tried to get across to a former colleague, who has a long history of reporting for various publications. He took exception to my most recent blog entry about ‘plain talk’, in which I stated, it’s important for web writers to put the flowery terms and egos away, and genuinely cater to websites’ audiences.

“Why dummy down my copywriting and limit my prose for others?” was the point he repeatedly made. To churn out his best work, he insisted, he must write for himself.

I respect his points, but speaking specifically about web writing for business, I don’t agree with his approach.

When you’re writing web copy for business, you are assembling the right words and messages to:

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Raising children helps hone your web writing skills.

They curiously ask questions and hang on your every word, forcing ‘plain talk’ in the simplest form.

While website content shouldn’t necessarily cater to toddlers, simple language does go a long way to promote readability and usability. In fact, when you’re writing for the Web, your language should generally hover within grade eight to 10 levels. But that can be difficult to achieve.

Kids naturally help refine communication skills. My son, who just turned three, asked me several questions today, including: what’s a hole? It took me a couple of tries to find the right words to give him clear answer. My initial response — “an opening” — just didn’t cut it as young children communicate in concrete or literal terms.

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I enjoyed this worthy article by essayist and programmer Paul Graham: The 18 mistakes that kill start-ups. Anyone planning to launch or grow a business should read it, and then print a copy for reference.

My only comment would be to expand item #12 to read: Spending too much or too little. Business owners can often gain ground by focusing on what they’re good at, and delegating the rest.

Not too long ago, Webcopyplus interviewed business expert Mark Wardell to discuss this exact topic. In the article Delegate or die: 6 steps to business growth, Wardell explains many entrepreneurs don’t employ this vital tactic because they fail to place value on their time.

Site after site, poor web copywriting continues to obstruct user experience. The problem is most businesses and organizations tend to treat copywriting as an afterthought.

While reading a newsletter posted by Icograda, I was directed to a poll with the following copy:

Current Opinion

State your opinion. Share your views. Vote on the weekly Opinion poll. Then view the collective results. Just click the check box beside your selection, then click on the “Vote” button.

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Businesses are starting to recognize it’s not the volume of online traffic, but the quality that counts.

Good traffic comprises relevant visitors who are likely to fulfill a desired action on your website, whether it’s to make a purchase, e-mail or call, subscribe to a newsletter or what have you.

Poor traffic, even in extraordinary amounts, is a waste of bandwidth. No matter how impressive the numbers, the wrong crowd won’t bring you desired results.
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Online traffic is useless unless your website content is able to connect with visitors. If it doesn’t, there’s probably little chance they’ll return.

Relevant website content is essential to engage your visitors in a bid to turn them into customers. Here are the basics steps you need to cover to connect with your target market:

Make sure your website content is scan-friendly and intuitively accessible to make it easy for visitors to find what they want. Lean web copy and well-planned site architecture can make or break your website.

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Too many businesses, large and small, turn people off with self-absorbed websites.

Does your website content merely brag about your company’s “industry leading” products, features and services? If so, you might be boring your visitors and helping out your competition.

Customer-centric content is a quick and effective way to engage visitors and turn them into customers.

Plus, from a branding perspective, how you communicate with your target market says a lot about your company’s true focus. Are you striving to provide clients solutions and opportunities, or are you just out to grab additional dollars?

To be a true customer-driven business, you should be orienting all business messages and processes to customer wants and needs. In fact, the driving force of your company and culture should be to meet those desires to the fullest.

Here’s a typical and all-too-common example of self-centric website content:

We’re the best learning management system

(Company name) is the revolutionary online training system. We’ve won awards…

What’s this company focusing on? Its customers’ needs? Supposedly not.

Here are some guidelines to help establish customer-centric website content:

• Get familiar with your target audience before writing. What are their concerns, for instance?  This helps to position your product or service as a solution to their problems.
• Promote what visitors want or need — not what you sell. Your product’s won awards? That’s terrific, but be sure to accentuate what it means to your visitors.
• Focus on benefits rather than features. What does your visitor have to gain from your product or service?
• Speak to, not at your customers. Build a rapport with your visitors by using a second-person voice, such as “you” and “your.”

By communicating to potential clients with content geared to their needs and wants, you’ll keep them on your website longer. And the longer you keep their attention, the more they’ll realize how you can fulfill their desires.

Remember, in the age of the Internet, consumers are in the driver’s seat. If you’re not catering to your visitors, the likes of Google, Bing and Yahoo will quickly guide them to a competitor that does.

To achieve business growth, you need to focus on your strengths and hire others to take care of the rest.

Unfortunately, entrepreneurs often fail to employ this fundamental business growth strategy.

Whether it’s driven by pride or fear, I meet many entrepreneurs who have difficultly delegating, including recently: a fashion designer who won’t let go of her accounting; a pastry chef who refuses to let designers get near his website; and a furniture maker who turns down professional help to arrange his storefront.

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More than 93% of Internet users indicated they favour speed and readability over appearance when visiting websites, according to a recent online poll conducted by Webcopyplus.

When Internet users were asked what’s likely to drive them away from a website:

• 51.2% indicated “slow load times”
• 42.2% specified “weak web copy”
• 6.6% noted “poor visual presentation”
• A total of 258 users participated in the web writing service provider’s online poll during a four-month period that ended in April of 2007.

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Clients and students frequently question why website writing should hover around a grade eight level.

The purpose is to promote readability.

It’s well known in the web writing community that the vast majority of online visitors don’t read word-by-word — they scan.

That’s why plain language works well on the Web.

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