Like a voice crying in the wilderness, direct marketers have been saying for over 50 years that successful marketing is about building relationships – in other words, that people only buy from people they know, like and trust.

Finally, social media has brought that concept into the mainstream.  Words like ‘relationships’ and ‘conversations’ have become buzzwords and social media has provided a way to find out what people want and give it to them.

Social Media Provides a Lesson in Effective Copywriting

This shift actually helps to explain the way we write web copy, because the most effective marketing copy, under almost any circumstances, is informal and conversational.

You see, the best copywriters don’t write as if they’re preparing a business plan or a technical white paper – we have business strategists and technical writers for that.  All that jargon and business-speak might make you sound super smart, but unfortunately it’s a surefire way to get your prospect’s eyes glazing over, their brow furrowing and their mouse clicking on the little X in the top right hand corner.

So – go ahead, don’t be afraid to dumb down your web copy.  Loosen your tie, or kick off your stilettos and try to imagine what your web copy says about you as a person.  Specifically, think about these rules (or maybe they’re just guidelines):

• Write in the same style and tone as you would use in a face to face conversation.
• Allow some personality to show through in your writing.
• Keep jargon and business-speak to a minimum, and avoid getting overly technical.  Again try to imagine if you would really use that wording in a conversation with your prospect.
• Write to the level of your least educated or informed prospect.

I know … it can go against the grain not to demonstrate your superior cognitive abilities and in-depth industry expertise with some strategically presented, multi-syllabic words and incomprehensible phrases.  But don’t!  Keep it simple, and keep it readable.  Your web visitors will thank you.