Great writing can make a huge difference to the performance of a website. Here at LeadGenerators, we take the creation of mouth watering, effective texts very seriously – that’s why we have three full time copywriters on our team!  In the previous site conversion analyses, we showed you how we would improve graphics and layouts to communicate core USP better.  This month we thought we’d focus on the actual text itself and show you a “before and after” of how something can and should be described and sold.

Our case study this month is Italian Breaks, providers of luxury villas all over Italy. They’ve got some amazing properties on offer at competitive prices, but somehow their current copy isn’t doing them justice. We’ve taken a look at the text for one of their villas, the Villa Letizia, and we’ve overhauled their copy to showcase what a difference a few simple changes can make. We haven’t altered any graphics – the changes have been entirely to the layout and content of the text.

On the Villa Letizia page for Italian, the basic objective is to interest the reader in this particular villa to the point that they decide to make an enquiry or booking. But in order to do that, we need to convince a reader that this is the perfect villa for them, that it has exactly the facilities that they are looking for, and that Italian Breaks are trustworthy experts in Italian villa holidays.
 

First, we’ve added some mouthwatering description to the text. All too frequently, when it comes to describing what it offers (and this is especially true of websites that offer hotels and villas) a website will reel off a dull and dry “laundry list” of features. Good sales writing is about making a product or service sound perfect for the reader, and we’ve rewritten the copy to really push the relevant features of this villa.

We’ve also provided a clearer structure to the text. The original copy is a block of text without headings or any logical ordering of information. The new text has a clearer structure: an introductory section, a summary of the bedrooms, facilities and additional features, and a final concluding sales message. This structure is reinforced through the layout of the text, emboldened headings and the use of bullet pointed lists. This makes for a more logical presentation of information for the reader – they are introduced to the property, given further details, then given a sales message and contact details at the end.

In addition to making the property sound irresistible, we’ve changed the text to position the company as friendly experts. Sales copy can be a tricky balancing act –the reader has to be convinced to buy what you are offering, but also that your company is the right place to buy it. We often see travel companies spending pages of text describing why a particular country or city is a wonderful destination, but making no mention of just why the reader should book a holiday with that specific company. This is exactly what has happened on this page. In our revised text we’ve put Italian Breaks back in the frame, linking them directly with the wonderful property that is on offer.

Just because you are dealing with text doesn’t mean you don’t have to think about how it looks on the page: we’ve altered the font and layout of the text to make it much more user friendly.  Italic text is tough to read in large blocks of text. It’s fine to use for a single word here and there for emphasis, but it is off putting to see it in vast quantities. Bold text is great for breaking up the text with subheadings – at a glance, the reader gets an instant understanding of what the page is about and how the text is structured.

So, we’ve (hopefully!) persuaded the reader that this villa is the best villa in Italy through our persuasive description, and we’ve given them a clear and attractive rundown of its features and facilities. We’ve also subtly positioned our company as experts in the region who can provide the very best accommodation and service. They’ve read the page, so what do you want them to do next? Book the villa, of course! This is why we’ve added several calls to action.

These are one of the fundamental concepts of good sales copy – “Book today”, “Call us now”, “Order a brochure”, “Talk to an expert” and so on, giving your readers a little push towards making a purchase and telling them how you’d like them to do it. If they are left scratching their heads, wondering just how they gain access to this wonderful experience you’ve just described, they will quickly get bored, frustrated, and go to someone who seems more eager to sell to them. Use regular calls to action throughout your copy to really seal the deal!

Great sales copy is an utterly essential online marketing tool. Graphics can be a great way of establishing the tone of your website, but at the end of the day you will communicate with your customers through text. By following a few simple principles when writing web copy, it is possible to transform even the dullest text into sparkling sales copy.