Monday, January 23, 2006

Do You Want Content Or Copy?

I am holding off on my entry on business heroes till next week, because…

…I’ve got to get something off my chest.

I want to nail down the difference between “content” and “copy.”

Let me boil it down: all copy is content, but not all content is copy.

What exactly does that mean? Let’s have a look.

Everything on a web site is “content”…the home page, about us page, articles, etc. But out of all that, what is copy?

The goal of “copy” is to get people to take action. On a web site, this can mean opting into a list, buying the product/service, contacting for more information, or whatever.

Anything that doesn’t get people to act is just content. So, an informative site will have nothing but content. If your site is meant to sell, then you want "copy."

Lots of people who have web sites are always asking me to write content, but what they really want is "copy". They want a web visitor to take action on their site.

Some say it’s just semantics, but I have dealt with too many web site owners who asked for "content” and they ended up with informative content. And the result?

No sales, no contacts…no action.

Knowing what you want is an important step in boosting your web sales.

If you’re writing your own web content, decide for yourself first what the purpose of your site is.

If it’s to sell, you should write copy. A few things you should do when writing web copy are:

Write a compelling headline.

Write like you talk.

End with a call to action (call me at XXX-XXX, click here for more information, etc.).

That is a basic guideline. If you are unsure about how to do this yourself, then you should think about hiring a professional copywriter.

Enjoy your week,

Carlon Haas

No comments: