This is the final post in my series on dealing with objections in web content. The first two are here and here.

The story so far: We’ve established that, for any objection that might potentially get in the way of a person’s decision to buy your product and service, there are three broad types of objector: explicit objectors (those who have the objection and will voice it), latent objectors (those who have the objection, at least at some level, but won’t voice it), and non-objectors (those who don’t have the objection at all).

We then went further and divided each of these three categories of objector into a further three subcategories. And we finished the last post by saying that the way to deal with all these different types of objector is not to try to write something that will please everybody. So what do you do instead?

How to deal with multiple types of objector

I could deal with this topic at very great length (well, OK, I could deal with most topics at very great length) but I’m going to boil it down to five steps:

1. Think about the audience for this specific piece of writing.
2. Try to work out approximately what proportion of this audience will fit into each category of objector.
3. Work out how much impact answering the objection will have for each category.
4. Write your copy for the category of objector that looks most important taking both Steps 2 and 3 into account.
5. If you get the chance to address other categories implicitly, go for it.

So let’s take each of these in turn. read more >

As promised, a follow-up to my first post on objections. This is the post where I start to get pointy-headed. I have to warn you that not only will I divide people into three categories, I’ll also divide each of these three categories into three subcategories!

But as long you can deal with that much taxonomy before breakfast, this post should give you a more nuanced way of working out how different groups of customer might relate to a potential objection. And there will be donuts.

I’ll also briefly talk about how to deal with these different kinds of objector. But this will be mostly theory: the applied stuff will come in the final post in the series. (Yes, it’s a trilogy!) read more >

One of the things good web copy does is answer objections – the niggling blockages people have that prevent them from buying what you’re selling. According to marketing guru Sonia Simone, “FAQs” should really be called “FROs” – Frequently Raised Objections.

So when you’re developing web content, you should certainly try to anticipate objections your potential customers might have. But here’s something that might sound a bit odd: you shouldn’t answer every single potential objection! Let me give you a (rather gross) example to show why not.
read more >

This will be the last “ME! ME! ME!” post for a while, but while we’re in a housekeeping mood, I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the first few months of this blog, and set a loose agenda for the next few. I’ve no plans to go down the problogger path and introduce posting schedules and the like, but I do intend to be a touch more systematic about things.

Prologue: Why do copywriters suck at blogging?

When I decided to become a copywriter, setting up a blog seemed like a no-brainer. I was trying to get people to pay me to write stuff – what better way to promote my skills then, well, writing stuff?

At the time, I wondered why so few copywriters had blogs – and why, of the ones that did, so few of them were regularly updated. (There are famous exceptions of course.)

After a few months of running a copywriting business and a blog, I no longer wonder why most copywriters suck at blogging – on the contrary, I’m filled with admiration for the ones who manage to blog well and regularly. Although blogging might seem like the most natural fit in the world for a copywriter, there are a couple of major things that get in the way. read more >

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Anyone who runs a blog connected to a business should occasionally take time to explain what they do. This is doubly important when your idea of what you do changes on a regular basis! So here’s my attempt. I’ll try (for once) to be brief.

I’ll follow up this post in the next few days with another one talking about my plans for this blog over the next year.

My bread and butter: Flagship web content for small-medium businesses

Most of my projects at the moment involve working with a small or medium business person who’s building a new website, and wants the words on the site to be as professional and compelling as the site design. I mostly work on highly visible “flagship” static content like home pages, “about us” pages, product descriptions, FAQs and targeted landing pages.

As my business name suggests, my focus is on content that enhances usability – that helps people get what they’re looking for (information, products and services, or human contact) as quickly and enjoyably as possible. I like working with clients who believe in creating a great user experience as the best way of attracting new customers, and turning existing customers into fanatically loyal fans.

Anybody who writes copy for the web needs to know the basics of Search Engine Optimisation. I’m no exception, but because of my focus on usability I choose not to describe myself as an “SEO copywriter”. I want to work with clients who put the user experience first. If people need a specialised SEO focus I would rather refer them on.

My growing sideline: Stakeholder communication for large business

Last year I had the wonderful opportunity to work with one of Australia’s biggest companies, updating the Corporate Responsibility area of their website and producing a report on their programs in support of Indigenous Australians.

This is a kind of work I’d love to do more of. I think I understand how to write for multiple audiences simultaneously, and this served me well producing documents to be read by shareholders, employees, customers, community partners and the general public. Whether it’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) work or other kinds of stakeholder reporting (such as annual reports), I like to think this will be a growing area of my business.

Just starting out: Content strategy

“Content strategy” is a popular buzzword in the web industry at the moment. At its most basic, it means thinking systematically about your business goals and what kind of online content you need to achieve them – as well as the logistics of who will write it, how often, using what guidelines, and how it will be published.

I already do this in an informal way – for example, I frequently give clients advice about blogging and other kinds of regularly updated content that they produce themselves. But this is something I can see becoming a lot more systematic over the next couple of years. It might even end up being the main thing I do.

So that’s it.

I hope that satisfies anyone who’s curious. Need to say, if you need any of the services I’ve mentioned, I’d love to hear from you at angus@usablewords.com.

When a young woman called Cassandra Italia got in touch with me last year needing some web copy for her medical tourism business, Global Health Travel, I was a bit sceptical. I didn’t know much about medical tourism – the practice of travelling overseas for (usually low-cost) medical treatment – but my gut instinct was that it sounded dodgy.

Listening to Cassandra, though, I couldn’t help but feel reassured. Cassandra patiently explained that the best hospitals in Asia that service medical tourists have a quality of nursing care and facilities that matches the best the West can offer (and often exceeds it). She said she was dealing exclusively with hospitals that were internationally accredited, and doctors with a proven track record. She’d really done her homework and saw a gap in a very immature Australian market. (Medical tourism is a huge industry in the US and Europe.)

The challenge for the Global Health Travel website was to create a user experience that was as reassuring as a conversation with Cassandra Italia. We tried to minimise hype and steer well away from the “cheap facelift in tropical paradise!!!” tone of most of the competing sites. Instead, we focused on addressing people’s legitimate questions, fears and concerns.

I think we achieved that, and in collaboration with Acorn Web Studio and Communication Design we ended up with a site that virtually radiates a sense of calm confidence.

The result: Global Health Travel has got off to a great start, with a growing roster of satisfied clients. Cassandra even got herself quoted as an industry expert in Melbourne’s Sunday Age. It’s good when things come together.