22 Feb Too Much Website Content Is Hurting Your Business
Do people mistake your website for a novel? Hate to break it to you, but all of that website content is hurting your business. Unfortunately, this is a common trap that small business owners fall into, because…
It’s easy to write too much website content
So don’t feel bad!
It is super hard to write about your own company. You’re too close to it, so you can’t be objective and tease out the most important messages – the ones that will resonate with your target market, that will make them say, “YES! That’s exactly what I need!”
Instead, you try to say EVERYTHING. At once. So, you overthink things. You put everything on your website. Then you keep fooling around with the copy. You move words around, sentences around, delete entire paragraphs and then rewrite them.
By the time you’re done bludgeoning that poor website content to death, your messages are completely muddled. And you end up leaving people completely confused.
I see this happen all the time.
And don’t think that because I’m a copywriter I’m not immune! It’s super hard for me to write about Jansen Communications, but your company? No problem!
Why too much website content hurts your business
People have to dig for your value proposition
Your value proposition is the reason people buy from you. It clearly explains the benefits of working with you. If it’s on your website at all, it’s usually buried on the home page or about page.
They’re not going to dig
People are not going to hunt for that message. They’ll get shrug their shoulders and leave, never to return.
And they’re not going to scroll
Hop over to your Google Analytics, and take a look at how many people are visiting your website from their mobile device. It’s probably a bigger number than you thought. Do you like to scroll, scroll and scroll some more on your iPhone? Neither does anyone else.
They also don’t give a hoot about all those details
All those tiny details about your product or service’s features? Sum up what they do in one tidy sentence. List the details on your website, but not at the top of the page.
How to write less website content
Work with an experienced web writer
Seriously. You’ll save time and money – and you won’t lose any more potential clients.
If that’s not an option, here are some other tips:
Write an introduction for each page
This is where your value proposition goes. You can write up to 2-3 sentences, but no more than that. And yes, you can create value propositions for each of your products and services.
Keep paragraphs to three sentences, tops
The less you write, the better. It’s easier to read, but it also forces you to be clear and concise and cut out any extraneous stuff.
Delete anything repetitive
Writing short paragraphs will help control any repetition. You don’t need to say anything twice on the same page. If you do, delete the weaker sentence.
Use bulleted lists
Lists are your friends. Short phrases are easy to skim, and again, they force you to get to right to the point.
Need help with your website content?
You know where to find us. Drop us a line sometime!
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