Why your right-fit clients are leaving your website
Okay, real talk: Even if your website copy says exactly what your right-fit client wants to hear, has beautiful branding to draw them in, and showcases your personality, it still might not be doing its job.
I know that may come as a shock since I am a website copywriter, but copywriting is more than writing.
It’s also about creating an ideal user experience. Which looks like making your website easy to navigate, intuitive to their needs, and strategic (I know, buzzword) in creating a conversion–whether that’s taking the next step in booking with you, buying your product, or signing up for your email list so...
What is UX?
Writing for user experience (known as UX) sounds very technical, but It all comes down to structuring the copy in a way that makes it easy for your reader to take the next action.
Have you ever gone to your health insurance’s website?
Maybe you got so frustrated because the page was too slow. Then you realize that the text is too chunky and kind of hard to read, but you're on a mission.
Finally, you make it to the patient section, but you get frustrated again because they make you sign up for an account. Even though you made one 2.5 years ago ( and you know you haven’t forgotten the password, no matter what the lady on the phone says).
You wanted a smooth experience for something that's, well, boring. That is what user experience is.
In other words, it's like having a bad customer service experience, except it’s on your website. And that is what we want to avoid.
Here are the common offenders (and of course, what to do about it).
1) You aren’t making it easy to take the next step
You may be leaving your readers hanging by not being clear enough on what to do next, what you can do for them, who your services are for, and why they should choose you.
You are most likely not going to be the only option they are looking at, so you want to make sure that you make it super easy to take action.
What to do:
Write like you are speaking to your grandma (or at least an 8-year-old). Don’t be afraid of being too specific because you don’t want to alienate people. In fact, you should be so specific that it’s obvious who your offer is and is not for. Don’t assume that people understand what you are about. It may seem obvious to you but trust me, it might not be to someone who is outside of your industry.
Use CTAs strategically (as in on purpose or intentionally). You can do this by:
Using them early and often. Remember people have shorter attention spans. If you have your (one) CTA at the bottom of the page, well, they may not even last long to scroll all the way down there.
Make sure to have one call-to-action. One that leads to the same page.
So your about page would lead to your services page. Then your services page would lead to your contact page so they can book your services OR your product page which should lead to the cart.
Too many options on different pages are confusing and confusion is the enemy of clarity (with the one exception of the homepage whose only job is to take you to the other pages of the site).
2)It’s not visually appealing to read
The first time someone lands on your website, they will probably skim-read. Because we all do it.
Not to mention that there have been studies that show that when going on a website we tend to read in a hierarchy and in a certain pattern. So we want to use that knowledge to make a website readable.
What to do:
Retain those skimmers with bullet points, subheadings, colors, different fonts, and points of emphasis (like italics or bold).
People will often read the first two lines of a sentence and skim the rest, so make sure that the first two sentences are powerful (at least enough so that they can’t stop reading).
And please, whether you are a product or service-based business, make it apparent on:
Who you are and what you can help with
How you can help them
What makes you different from the other options
What makes you qualified
3) You’re hiding your prices
A common question that I’ve heard is if you should share your prices on your website and the answer is a full-bodied yes. One of two things might happen:
a) In this world of online business, people are more skeptical than ever. If you are hiding your prices they might think something shady is going on.
b) Let’s imagine for a second, that the brand you’ve always wanted to work with finds you, they fell in love with your copy because it told them the story of transformation that your offer provides, but they don’t see your price on your website.
“Well, she must be expensive .”
So they bounce. That might not even be the case, you could be in their budget. But they don’t know that because you didn’t give them clarity.
c) They opt into a pricing guide and find out that they can’t afford you but have already given you their email when instead you could have been providing something actually valuable to them, like a freebie.
You may be thinking that if someone really wants to work with you, they’ll make the effort to reach out–and no, they won’t. People will always take the easier route and will always get distracted by the busyness of life.
What to do:
If your prices are custom and have a la carte options, then use…
a) Starting at $2000…
b) Clients have invested between 2k - 5k on average
c) If you absolutely do custom proposals…after our initial consultation, we will send a proposal listing scope and budget
If you are concerned about competitors trying to lowball you, then that is a sign that you my friend, need copy that shows how valuable it is to buy from you.
4) Your offers are not clear
I am a poet so I love a cutesy, on-brand, name, but your offers should be as clear as the sky during the full moon.
If someone reads your site and doesn’t know what you offer and how it can benefit them, then your website is not doing its job.
What to do:
Get rid of the industry jargon and use common names that everyone would understand. Make it simple.
5) The language you’re using is offputting
You ever read an email or book and thought, “hmm, that felt like they were calling me out?”.
User experience also focuses on acessible language. Yes, you want to be specific to your client, but you don't want to potentially isolating your audience with language that's outdated, doesn’t consider your audience’s abilities, or life stage.
What to do:
a) Triple check:
The best self-editing tip I ever got was to read through your copy two times and then the third time from the bottom. Don’t ask me the science behind it because I literally do not know, but you’re welcome.
b) Phone a friend:
If you aren’t sure, you can always ask two trusted friends (one in the industry and one who isn’t) what they think and see if they can spot any discrepancies in language that you are using.
6) You are thinking about your sales process, rather than their buying journey
At the other end of the screen is a human. A human who wants empathy, validation, and their problem to be solved. Your focus should not be on the sales process and how you are going to get the next sale, but how can you show them that you want to serve them.
By taking them on a journey where you show that you understand their problem, have a solution, have proof that it works, and paint the picture of the transformation that can happen.
What to do: Everybody loves a good story right? Whether it’s in the form of a song or a movie, we retain information when it is told in a story. But this isn’t a story of you and how your company started. This is the story of who they are now and who they want to be.
Then it’s applying that empathy on each page depending on where they are on the journey. For example, if they are on your contact page, but they have scrolled past the inquiry form, they’ve thought about working with you.
The next step would be inviting them to stay in touch by having your email opt-in form so that they can continue to form a relationship.
So go out there and talk to your right-fit clients to see where they are now, how you can position your offer to them, and serve them well.