Here's a hard truth. If you can't write, don't try. Do
research. Provide every tiny detail. But hire a professional to write your pages. This costs. But not as much as poorly written copy. Face it. How long do you linger on a badly written site? It simply won't work. Period. Hire help you need or find another line of work.
It's Not Fair
Surfers become more demanding with each passing day. They simply won't tolerate errors on web pages. You can get by with one or maybe even two on an occasional page, but only if balance is flawless.
At first glance, this seems unfair. Most do not write well. How can such people demand that you do so?
Simple. They do know how to read. And they demand copy that is easy to follow. An error brings a stumble and annoyance. Much of either brings hasty exit.
Your visitors are, after all, volunteering their time to look at your site. Beyond a hasty glimpse at art work, unless it offends, their focus is on content.
That's what they came for. And that's what they want. You will be judged, and quickly, by how well you provide what they are looking for. And copy simply must shine. People won't linger long unless it does.
Bad Examples Give You An Edge
The abundance of poorly written sites offers opportunity. Put your site together in solid fashion, and you can put a lot of your competition out of running.
One of problems on Web is that most pages are self-published. There are no editors protecting against blunders as there are in print media.
As a result, sloppy or bad copy abounds. And if pointed out to webmaster, response is likely to be, "Hey. I wrote this. And I worked hard. If you don't like it, go away."
The point missed in comments such as above, is that visitors do go away. In great big bunches. They flee from patronizing or self-congratulatory drivel even more quickly.
It's a grave mistake to look at such sites, and assume you can be successful with such copy. Further, there's a hidden assumption you accept when you do so. You accept as fact that webmaster is "successful." Bad thinking, to put it mildly.
What's Required
You don't have to get fancy. Some who recognize their writing skills are not first rate, tend to become formal, even pedantic, when writing. That is, they put on "top hat and tails." Which is exactly opposite of what is required. For only great writers can pull such stunts.
You know your Perfect Customer. So just think about what you want to say, and how you would say it to him or her. In your shop. Over phone. Wherever. But just you and your customer. Nobody else.
Chances are you'd chat as you do daily with others. Do same in writing. If this doesn't work, say it out loud into a tape recorder. Then type what you recorded.
In speaking, we use a lot of incomplete sentences. And we have body language reflecting back at us that points out right quick anything not clear, misuse of a word, and so forth. But beyond cleaning up these kinds of things, write as you would speak to your Perfect Customer face to face.
To do otherwise, as in pretending to be profound, is to risk all.
Some Writing Tips
Here are some ideas often overlooked. Each notion can be greatly expanded. However, it is not appropriate to do so here. If you'd like more information about writing for Web, visit my site and click Topics in navigation bar to left. Then select Writing Skills. You'll find lots of good ideas and references here that may offer just what you need. Now to those tips, ...
