• By Cathy Goodwin
• Published 03/18/2009
• Writing for the Web

Copywriting will increase your website conversions by targeting your visitors’ emotions. How do your visitors feel after visiting your site? Bored? Sleepy? Frustrated? Or do they feel excited and eager to act? A few copywriting techniques can help your website energize visitors. Your visitors will feel good as they read what you’ve written. They will want to hang around, learn more and ultimately interact with you. Think of how you spend time with your friends. After an hour with a good friend, you feel happy and strong. But an hour with some acquaintances will leave you feeling drained. You can’t wait to leave and you never want to go back. You certainly don’t ask questions or seek opportunities to build relationships with people who drain you. Website visitors react the same way. When they feel energized, they’ll want to sign up for your ezine and click through to your blog, articles and products. Copywriting energizes your site when you use strong verbs that carry an emotional charge. Think of words that make you wince when you hear them: Smash, Master, Crush, Triumph, Beat. Use these verbs in your headlines, bullets, and text. But strong verbs should be used as sparingly as cooking spices. When you toss a shelf of spices into your stew, nobody knows what they’re eating. And readers give up when they sense you’re trying too hard to impress them.

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ond, toss the welcome mat. Get rid of phrases like, “Please look around my site.” Your visitors know they’re welcome. Why would you put up a site if you didn’t want them? And of course you want them to look around. You have at least one menu bar — most likely two. Welcoming phrases will distract your reader from your main purpose: converting visitors to buyers. They signal, “We’re trying to be nice.” You want to signal, “You’ll find valuable, one of a kind solutions to your biggest challenges here.” Third, create authentic copy by using particular examples. Drop energy-draining expressions like “amazing,” “perfect life,” and “taking it to the next level.” Instead, help your visitors magnetize what they want: “Imagine yourself standing at the podium of your favorite bookstore, presenting your new book.” Or, “Imagine you’re enjoying your dream vacation at a resort on Maui.” Fourth, choose photos and graphics that reinforce your message. Remove photos of sailboats in the sunset (unless you teach sailing or sell boats). Stock photos make your site look cookie-cutter. Instead, add photos of you in action: holding a meeting a meeting, giving a talk or working at your desk. The right visuals help your readers become engaged. Boring visuals will cause their eyes to glaze over.

Finally, quote your own ideas. When you quote iconic figures like Deepak Chopra, you’re not communicating your own energy. Your readers won’t be motivated to hire you because you quoted a famous hero. They want to know how you think.