Just because something trends doesn’t mean you should follow suit. Think about it: Who should sport a muffin top?
Web copy is no different. Here are five web copy trends that belong firmly in 2010.
1. ‘Welcome to my website.’
You’ve heard me bang on about this one before. But it’s so offensive, it’s worth mentioning again.
Apart from the fact that it adds no value to your reader, it also tends to be the first thing on the home page, otherwise known as the most prime piece of real estate on your website. Prime to both your reader and Google.
Do you add ‘Welcome to my brochure’ front and centre on your printed materials? I thought as much.
2. ‘Hello. My name is Amanda and I’m a web designer’.
This one’s almost as good as ‘Welcome to my website.’ It does give a fraction more information, but it’s still all about you, and not your reader and what’s in it for them.
Ironically, web and graphic designers tend to be the worst culprits. Oh yes, they make it look gorgeous. But for what?
3. ‘Our mission…’
Just typing the words makes my mind wander elsewhere.
But what if you really have a mission? Like, a proper mission? Rephrase it, or keep it to yourself.
Remember, your readers/clients are selfish. They don’t actually care about your mission or goals. They care about what’s in it for them. How you go about this behind the scenes is your problem.
4. ‘I’m passionate about…’
Gah.
This is one of my personal favourites. It’s up there with ‘Your call is important to us.’ Why? Because just about every time it’s used, it’s rubbish.
And it lacks creativity. Tell me, how many times do you hear it? Can you really differentiate yourself from the competition by using the same (hollow) word they’re using?
5. ‘I’m an xxx guru/ninja/expert.’
Does anyone take this literally? I suspect not. But it does show you’re partial to exaggeration, an undesirable trait in a provider.
It also shows laziness. Surely there’s a better way to describe your role?
And frankly, you’re only an expert if other people say so. Even then, you’re pushing it.
Rather, let your work and testimonials speak for themselves.
Amanda,
Entire pages devoted to describing features instead of benefits, e.g., “We specialize in treating whooping cough. In the Victorian era, effective treatments of whooping cough were difficult to come by. Some doctors treated it with three phases of cupping and a slap on the back.”
Instead of “Relieve your whooping cough in five minutes with our clinically-tested formula.”
Absolutely, Brian.
In some cases, I do think the features need to be listed (such as product specs). But it should never replace the benefits; really, the star of the show.
Great article. I went through my about page carefully after reading this, just to be sure I hadn’t committed any of these deadly sins.
But as a proudly, tongue-in-cheek ‘Guru’ I obviously take issue with your last point!
My personal hate is pages and pages of keyword stuffed copy:
E.g. ‘I’m a COPYWRITER, that writes COPY in SYDNEY, and when I’m COPYWRITING…blah, blah’
I know we have to please Mr Google, but the customer counts too. Endless bolding, colour coding, capitals and large font, make reading the page unbearable!
Ta
Kate
Agreed, Kate.
Keyword stuffing is a deal breaker for me. It just demonstrates they don’t really care about addressing me as a reader/potential client, so why should I bother returning the favour?
Thanks for this Amanda, great post – as I’m in the process of rebuilding my site I realise, on reading this I’m breaking all the above rules. But I’m a coder and I’m clueless about marketing myself so what I’d love to read is a follow up post about what I SHOULD be putting in my intro etc. Can you help me with that?