Copywriting Tips

6 Copywriting Mistakes to Avoid Like the Plague

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Accidental SEO expert and go to for  copywriting tips  and spiritual encouragement. No matter where you're at in life, I'll just be sitting over here cheering you on big time as you pursue all that God has for you!

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Is writing your website copy intimidating? (P.S. your website copy is all the words on your website designed to sell- basically everything except your blog) Does even the thought of having to string together your all-important homepage copy make you break out into a cold sweat? Or maybe you didn’t give It much though and just filled in the website template or (cough cough) used a competitor’s website as “inspiration”. Well, either way, I’m betting that you could take a look at this list of 6 Common Copywriting Mistakes to Avoid and make a few easy (but hugely valuable) improvements.

6 Common Copywriting Mistakes on Websites to Avoid Like the Plague

1. Being cute instead of clear is the worst copywriting mistakes you can make

  • This is the number one mistake I see with DIY website copy-or- can I be honest, even a lot of professional website copy.
  • The fact is, clear, is not always the more trendy or inspiring way to say something. But the fact of the matter is, if your audience cannot understand and easily process what it is that YOU do to solve their problem, they are not going to stick around long enough to make sense of your existential mission statement

2. Talking all about yourself on your homepage

  • I know that you are uper proud about how your business got started and all the hard work that you put in to get to where you are at now. And you should be! But don’t lead with that information. Your customer wants to know, but just not right away. Leading with your company history is like oversharing on a first date.
  • Save your sweet “how you got started” story for your about page and even then, don’t make it your main focus.
  • Pro tip to keep in mind: When your customer comes to your website they are not looking first for your work history and life story. They are asking this simple question: “how can you help me solve my problem.”

Read 3 Things That Might Be Missing on Your About Page

3. Not having clear ways to work with you sprinkled strategically throughout your website

  • If customers have to dig to figure out how to work with you, you are losing them. Make it clear. Make it easy. I’ll even go one further and say that I think 99.9% of businesses should have their prices listed clearly on their website. And if you’re not totally comfortable with people knowing exactly what you charge, at least put a “starting at” price.

4. Improper grammar is one of the worse website copywriting mistakes

  • Nothing says “I don’t really know what I’m talking about” faster than grossly abusing the English language. Now, I am NOT saying that you need to be an English major or that you need to speak in Shakespearean to be taken seriously. In fact, I am actually a huge proponent of letting your voice-as the business owner- shine through in your website copy and blog content. However, you do need to use proper grammar. Please. For the love.

5. Having too much copy on your homepage

  • As a natural-born wordsmith and lover of words, I get it. When C.S. Lewis said “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me” I felt that in my soul.
  • It’s so hard to not tell your people ALL the things on your homepage. However… your homepage is NOT the place to elaborate on every little part of your business, process, and mission statement. If you want to explain the 45 ways that your process is bomb-diggity, go do it on a blog (or several).
  • Pro Tip: You can also have a “cliffnotes version” of your services and an in-depth version of your services. explanation.

Want to have a killer homepage? Read 5 Things Your Homepage Must Have to Maximize Revenue

6. Getting too techinical in your copy is an often overlooked copywriting mistake

  • Sure, we all want to know what we are buying! But unless you are selling all the bare-bones parts for someone to build their own car from the ground up, chances are good that your customer is not as concerned with the technicalities of your product or service as you are.
  • Lead with the benefits, not the technicalities.
  • If this is difficult for you to do, sit down and make a list of the benefits that people feel after they use your product. Keep this list handy and sprinkle it throughout your copy and content.

Listen, I know that DIYing your website copy is super intimidating. And I certainly do NOT want that to be the thing that keeps you from launching your website. Believe me when I say that I truly believe that done is better than perfect! But take these 5 Most Common Copywriting Mistakes and re-evaluate your own website copy. And if you’re like “just help me, Faith” reach out to see when our next available spot is for website copywriting and if it’s the right fit for you and your business right now.

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WORDSMITH AND MARKETER SINCE KINDERGARTEN, BARREL RACER, wife, mama, AND WORSHIP LEADER

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