By Colin Kennedy
Claude C Hopkins wrote in his timeless classic ‘Scientific Advertising’ that “people will not be bored in print”. The same holds true for your website content.
He goes on to write: “They may listen politely at a dinner table to boasts and personalities and life history etc. But in print they choose their own companions, their own subjects.”
People who visit a website are not interested in when the company was established, or by who, and neither are they particularly engaged by a history of its achievements.
What people want is information, news, benefits, advice and amusement.
The challenge is that they will rarely move past the headline and the first one or two paragraphs of your content. If your website does not capture their attention in those first few seconds, you’ve lost them.
A good way to capture attention straight away is to identify a common, but specific, problem that bugs your customers and talk to it straight away in the headline.
For example: “Control Eczema in just 4 hours.”
I couldn’t actually find how long it takes to control Eczema, but you get the point. If you’re an Eczema sufferer, the prospect of quick relief will get your attention.
Then go on to tell your website visitors why your therapy works so quickly, and back it up with evidence such as testimonials, photographs and video.
Colin Kennedy offer copywriting, content marketing and public relations. For more information, email colin.kennedy@ironroad.co.nz
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