Writing, more than any other creative service when starting a business, gets glossed over. Why? Well, one aspect is budget; not every new company is willing to pay a writer to create copy for a website or campaign. But I suspect there’s a bit more behind it. 

Few of us learned anything about graphic design or web development in our schooling. So, likely, you have to pay someone to do this for you. But pretty much everyone took English classes and learned writing basics in high school. Some even took Comp 101 or 202 in college. Given the opportunity to cut costs, this appears to be a logical place. “I got a B+ in Comp 202 my sophomore year, I can do this,” it goes. 

I’m not here to fault that logic. I understand and sympathize. But as it is with just about everything, you may have learned just enough to do damage.

I’ve worked with designers and developers for years. In doing so, I’ve been in various web development platforms and gleaned a few things about aesthetics. So, when I launched my first website, on an extremely tight budget, did I do these things myself? Hell no. I knew just enough to know that I knew not enough.

So, if you’re endeavoring to create your own copy, let’s chat about a few things to avoid, and some things that will help you along the way. And if you’re a beginning marketing copywriter (because many people in this field come from backgrounds with marketing strategy, not writing) you may glean a thing or two as well.

 

Things you don’t want to do

Simply put, there are too many to list here. But there are a few I see commonly, which screech to me like fingers on a chalkboard. They are amazingly easy to avoid.

 

Stop using exclamation marks!!!

Seriously, stop it! Also, if you didn’t get the intentional irony of how the last two sentences ended, and are indeed looking for tips on how to create better copy, I need you to go get a cup of coffee or three, consume, and then come back and start the article over. You’ll catch it next time. 

There are a few instances where it’s appropriate to use an exclamation mark. Are you having a sale where your inventory is 50% off for a limited time? Well then sure, use those exciting little bastards. Is it the emotive hook headline (here’s mine, for example) at the top of your website? Then no, don’t use them. 

Here’s why. While exclamation points are appropriate for discount brands, sales, and dialogue in fiction work, in general, they cheapen your message elsewhere. A good rule of writing is that if you have to use an exclamation point to prove that something is exciting or worthwhile, then your copy is weak. Convey import using compelling copy, not by tacking on an afterthought punctuation mark to try and persuade a reader that something is exciting. In short, use your words people.

 

In the name of everything holy, who are you quoting?

This is definitely my favorite mistake that I see. It makes me smile every time I encounter it, and that’s often. I’m not smiling out of malice, or because I think someone is dumb, but because of the simple oddness of the construction. 

What am I talking about? I see a version of this, either on billboards or on websites, at least weekly. Please note I’m typing it as it appears, not as it should be. 

Harken Tech Solutions

“The best B2B software solutions for small and mid-sized businesses anywhere!”

There are multiple issues (three, to be exact) in that piece of text above, which you might have caught. But we’re only going to focus on one. Who are they quoting? In all likelihood, this is their brand slogan. Meaning they’re saying it. Do you often put quotation marks around things you say? No. These are called statements. Otherwise, this whole article would belong in one long quote. Because, you know, I’m saying it.

There is, however, another possible reason it’s in quotes; someone else said it. Then of course, it needs to be in quotes. But you never use quotes without attributing what’s being said to someone. So, who said it? 

Are they important enough that their name will be widely recognizable and revered? Let’s say that Mark Zuckerberg, in his omnipresence, has somehow stumbled across the good folks at Harken, left impressed, and relayed the above quote to them. Then, for whatever deity, higher power, or cause you choose to believe in’s sake, plaster his photo and name in massive letters while attributing the quote. Hell, even keep the exclamation point if old Zucks included it (that was the second issue; you’re on your own to find the third, but hit the comment section if you’re wondering). Or was it your wife’s cousin Brian who told you this? Well…yeah, maybe let’s not use the quote and think of a better slogan. 

Basically, here’s the short of it: You’re writing marketing copy, so it’s extremely unlikely—unless it’s a customer testimonial—that you should ever use quotes.

Don’t use fancy words to prove you’re a fancy person or company

Yes, as a business you want to sound competent and professional. You don’t want to come across as a paleolithic troglodyte (Get it? Coffee working yet? If not, press repeat). But basically, people like concise, straightforward messaging. It’s something that politicians have perfected, and for good reason. If people have to think too hard about your message, they simply tune it out. 

Having an extensive vocabulary is a good thing. Using it in an attempt to prove a point isn’t. Here’s the thing about people who insist on using all of those big fancy words—they’re usually doing so from a point of insecurity to try and prove their worth and intelligence. And those people usually deploy those big words incorrectly, betting on the fact that the person they’re having a conversation with can’t define the words accurately and suggest the correct one (or just that they won’t, because they’re not a pretentious dick that corrects the grammar of another human during a conversation). Either way, the listener never appreciates it. They usually resent it. Your customers will feel the same.

Some companies are super technical, and there will be language not easily recognizable or definable to the general public because of that. If those words are understood to their audience, that’s okay. But particularly if your model is B2C, it probably won’t be appreciated. Don’t sit and stare at the thesaurus looking for a super long word to replace one that is easily understood (but do dig into a thesaurus to avoid word repetition). Speak to people plainly—while avoiding jargon and hyperbole—so that they understand your message quickly. 

 

More is not, in fact, more

I love longform journalism. It’s an art that blends investigation with storytelling, and done right, it’s compelling, informative, and beautiful. But a business website isn’t a news website. A business website should be easily digestible. More copy in a brochure is just a problem for the designer and makes it look like a catch-all closet that needs to be cleaned. Look for every possible way to reduce the amount of copy and eliminate redundancies. When a reader visits a website and looks upon a sea of text, research shows they gloss it over, take little from it, and navigate elsewhere. This is not what you want.

Say what you have to, and give the user the essential information they need to take your desired action. It’s not an essay. It’s not an editorial. Keep everything (including paragraph size) concise. 

 

You won’t find a unicorn. Don’t look for one.

Even those with a budget often fall into this odd trap of looking for one person to develop, design, and write their website. And probably perform SEO too. Why not throw brand strategy on top? I get asked how many of these I can do for a potential client all the time. It’s a red flag for me that a client isn’t going to take the end product seriously. I advise against it. Why?

 First, they’re different skills. Some people may have a couple, but they generally involve different areas of the brain and expertise. Second, even if you find the unicorn that is actually very good at all of these things, it would take a long time for them to accomplish all of the tasks. No one can do all of these things at the same time. 

If you do find this person, gifted in all manner and form, and they’re able to deliver on a tight timeline, kudos. If you get away with paying them less than $1000 per hour, I want to hear your sales pitch. If you think that you’ve found them for $40 per hour, you have, in fact, not.

 

So, what to do? First things first.

If you have even a small budget for writing, consider using it. By hiring someone, you’ll likely end up saving time and come out looking better. Oddly, even companies with plenty of funding to hire a copywriter choose not to sometimes. And it shows. But alas, if you don’t have a budget, let’s get sorted. 

 

Proof your copy

The most important thing I can say is to have someone look over your copy before it gets posted anywhere. I’ve been a professional writer and editor for over a decade. I have someone look over my copy before it goes live every time. When I don’t, there’s a good chance it contains errors or is at least unclear to the reader at some point. Proof every time your brand posts something publicly.  

A website—or any other form of marketing collateral—that contains spelling and obvious grammatical errors is pretty much the worst-case scenario. It’s worse than having nothing at all. If the world’s window to you conveys sloppiness, the customer will surmise that your services or products are sloppy as well. Use word processing software (Word, Google Docs), which will alert you to most of the errors. And then have someone read it. I’m shocked at how often even solid, reputable companies skip this seemingly obvious step. You shouldn’t. 

 

Use contractions

This is one of those areas where your schooling gave you just enough information to do it wrong. With red marks and condescendence, they trained this out of you with Pavlovian precision. Were they wrong? No.

In school, you were writing formally, basically in an attempt to sound academic. For that purpose (and in technical writing), contractions can make you sound too casual. But marketing copy is different. Most companies should aspire to be professional and conversational at the same time. Consider these two (bad) statements:

1. You cannot find better software solutions.

2. You can’t find better software solutions.

If you’re like most people, the first felt stiff, impersonal, maybe even pretentious. It’s subtle, and often subconscious. But I bet your brain liked the second one better. Most of the people that see your copy will feel the same. 

 

You aren’t your brand (well, some of us are)

There are companies for which you, the owner, are the brand. I’m one of such. But I still want my brand to have a slightly different personality and feel than me in my personal life. In my personal life, I’m usually extremely informal and often wildly inappropriate. In my professional life, that doesn’t usually work. 

If your business isn’t simply you, you need to dissociate these personalities even more. What do I mean? Well, often, when business owners are picking out their brand archetypes with a brand strategist, or explaining the tone they want to a copywriter, they infuse values that they want people to see in them personally, not values that will effectively connect with their audience or explain their services or products. 

This happens in multiple ways, but most commonly, this comes across as people asking for the jester persona, or to infuse humor in their website. (Examples of companies who successfully use the jester persona are Geico and Progressive.) It makes sense: We all enjoy people with a good sense of humor, and most of us like to think of ourselves as at least moderately entertaining. But stop and think before you go out and attempt it. Is conveying a sense of humor the best thing for your brand? Or is it something you want personally? For every archetype and tone, stop and ask these questions before you build your brand with the wrong tone.

 

Go forward, grasshopper

What’s covered above are just the basics. They’re the most common mistakes I see in marketing copy, but it’s not a comprehensive list. If you're serious about writing your company's website, I’d suggest digging into information related to brand strategy and content hierarchy as well. Those concepts will help you assess how to connect with your audience and present information in a logical, easily digestible manner. 

Finally, “thanks so much for reading this!” If you’ve had your coffee and still didn’t catch the issues in the previous sentence, I’d recommend hiring a copywriter.