So, you've decided to start your own business. Awesome! Now it's time to connect with potential customers, investors and employees through your website. It needs to impress your readers, be engaging, and make your idea shine. Having a website that clearly presents your idea can be the difference between success and failure. No pressure, right? Andrea Goulet Ford of BrandVox™ shares her tips from writing hundreds of websites over the past decade.

1. Copywriting
for startups and entrepreneurs
YOUR 5-PAGE WEBSITE
with Andrea Goulet Ford

2. Agenda
Here’s what we’ll cover today:
1. Website Purpose & Goals
2. Understanding Your Audience
3. Creating a Simple Sitemap
4. Copywriting Secrets
5. Putting it All Together

3. Introductions
Hello, My Name Is…
• Name
• Business
• What You’re Hoping to Get Out of
Today’s Workshop

4. Important Info
House Rules
• Ask Questions as We Go
• Eat When You’re Hungry
• Take Breaks When You Need Them
• This is YOUR Workshop!

5. Website Purpose & Goals
Why Does Your Organization Need a Website?
• Find New Clients
• Share Information
• Sell Things
• Collect Donations
• Cultivate Community
• Showcase Expertise
• Promote Events
• Curate Ideas
Write down the reasons your business needs a website.

6. Website Purpose & Goals
What Activities Do You Want People to Do?
• Contact
• Purchase
• Download
• Subscribe
• Donate
• Sign Up
Once you have your list, put it in priority order.

7. Understanding Your Audience
Who Are You Writing To?
“Your audience is one single reader. I have
found that sometimes it helps to pick out
one person — a real person you know, or an
imagined person — and write to that one.”
- John Steinbeck
When I implemented this advice, people clamored for my writing.

8. Understanding Your Audience
How Do We Find That One Person?
Segments
Demographics &
Psychographics
Archetypes
Personas
Ideal
Customers
Data
Descriptions Collection
Don’t be scared by market research. Chances are, you’ve do it every day.

9. Understanding Your Audience
Segments
Broad groups of customers that are defined by a specific characteristic.
• Most profitable?
• Easiest to work with?
• Refers the most?
• Best feedback?
• Most loyal?
• Different uses?
Write down 3 - 4 segments for your business.

10. Understanding Your Audience
Demographics
Traits that are easy to measure and fit into a spreadsheet.
• Age
• Income
• Location
• Job Tile
• Gender
• Education Level
• Marital Status
• Ethnicity
Online surveys are a good way to collect demographic information.

11. Understanding Your Audience
Psychographics
Traits that are more difficult to measure, but tend to be more useful.
• Feelings
• Attitudes
• Beliefs
• Interests
• Lifestyles
• Values
In-person interviews are a good way to collect psychographic information.

12. Understanding Your Audience
Archetypes
Storytelling patterns that help identify core motivations.
• Caregiver
• Citizen
• Creator
• Explorer
• Hero
• Innocent
• Jester
• Lover
• Magician
• Rebel
• Sage
• Sovereign
Use the book Archetypes In Branding for detailed descriptions on over 60 archetypes.

13. Understanding Your Audience
Empathy Maps
A tool to help you quickly step into the shoes of a customer segment.
Complete an empathy map for each customer segment.

14. Understanding Your Audience
Persona
Description of a fictional character that is used to generate empathy.
Download this template at http://fakecrow.com/free-persona-template/

15. Understanding Your Audience
Ideal Customer
Use real customers in your descriptions to form the deepest connection.
Just like how smiling when you’re on the
phone makes you sound more friendly,
focusing on a singular person when
you’re writing is the best thing you can
do to improve the tone of your writing.
Image Credit: David Dodge
Write down real people to represent each audience segment.

16. Creating a Sitemap
What is a Sitemap?
Think of a sitemap as the organizational chart of your website.
Those boxes won’t be blank for long.

17. Creating a Sitemap
How Does Your Customer Make Decisions?
Mapping out your customer’s journey can help you understand which pages you need.
decision
phase awareness interest decision action
customer
thought What do you do? How would I use it? Is it a good fit? How do I get
started?
website
element home page headlines details buttons
Write down specific questions your customers will have in each decision phase.

18. Creating a Sitemap
Help Your Customer Make a Decision
Use every phase of the decision making process in your site map.
awareness
interest
decision
action
Your home page will have the most general information.

19. Creating a Sitemap
Page Labels
Finding the sweet spot between descriptive and general
descriptive ideal general
Verbs tend to work better than nouns.
specific
good SEO
long
expected
familiar
short
products
services

20. Creating a Sitemap
Scope Out the Competition
Find sites in your industry to get inspiration for your sitemap.
Image Credit: Chase Elliot Clark
Browse the web and look at 3 - 5 competitors websites.

21. Creating a Sitemap
Fill in Your Sitemap
Which content modules make sense for your business and users?
Use this template to fill in your sitemap. Feel free to add pages if you need them.

22. Copywriting Secrets
People don’t “read” websites
Format your content to make it easy to scan.
Image Credit: usability.gov
Eye tracking studies show that people look first in
the top left corner and then bounce around a web
page in a pattern that simulates the capital letter F.
When people scan, they are searching for bite-sized
content that is worth exploring deeper. If the bite
interests them, they will look around it to see if there
is context (snack). Then, they will commit to diving in
and investing their time for a long piece of content
(meal).
When creating content, think in terms of bites, snacks, and meals.

23. Copywriting Secrets
Features vs. Benefits
This is probably the most important slide you’ll see today.
http://youtu.be/Gw-Amu4IGW4
Features: attributes
!
Benefits: why an attribute
matters to your customer.
Write a list of all the features of your business. Then, translate them into benefits.

24. Copywriting Secrets
Write like you sing.
Use elements of rhythm and pitch to make your content easy to read.
Image Credit: Basheer Tome
“If you put it to a beat, you
make it easy to repeat.”
- Sam Horn
Read your copy out loud to hear the lyrical quality.

25. Copywriting Secrets
Choose the sparkle word.
The thesaurus is your friend.
• Awesome
• Really
• Very
• Excited
• Unique
• Innovative
• Solution
• Process
• Value-
Added
These are examples of overused buzzwords. Take the time to find a better fit.

26. Copywriting Secrets
Use contractions.
It’s the law. (Well, sort of.)
In 2010, President Obama signed the Plain
Language Writing Act, which requires federal
agencies to use “clear Government
communication that the public can
understand and use.” Among the guidelines?
“Use contractions where appropriate.”
View the complete set of Plain Language Guidelines at http://www.plainlanguage.gov/
howto/guidelines/FederalPLGuidelines/TOC.cfm

27. Copywriting Secrets
Use “you” more than “we”.
Remember, everyone is tuned into WIIFM (What’s In It For Me).
Write your website like a
Choose Your Own Adventure
book. Put your reader in the
center of the action.
Psssst… This is also a Plain Language guideline.

28. Copywriting Secrets
Sprinkle with style.
Use alliteration, metaphor, similes, rhymes, and repetition. A little goes a long way.
Literary style in copywriting is
like a fine perfume — a little
goes a long way.
Technical and complex businesses benefit the most from using metaphors.

29. Copywriting Secrets
Turn “if you…” statements into questions.
Questions make your content much more conversational.
Want healthy food but can’t find the time?
!
Tired of working from coffee shops?
!
Have an app that needs some love?
Questions help break up your content, making it feel more like a conversation.

30. Copywriting Secrets
Hyperlinks should be obvious.
Get beyond “click here.”
Bad: Click here for a list of Value Proposition Templates.
!
Good: Check out our Value Proposition Templates.
It’s not 1994. People know how to use the Internet.

31. Copywriting Secrets
When in doubt, look it up.
Double check any questions you have about grammar, no matter how small.
Word Choice Punctuation
• stationary vs. stationery
• affect vs. effect
• ensure vs. insure
Does a period go inside
or outside of the
quotation mark?
Want to take it up a notch? Hire someone to proofread your copy for you.

32. Putting it Together
Wireframes
Sketch out your content before you put it online.
The more analog your wireframe, the easier it is to change.

33. Putting it Together
Home Page
Make your first impression count.
Focus on value propositions and calls to action.

34. Putting it Together
About Page
Tell a story of how you got here and where you’re going.
• Founding story
• Key staff
• Mission
statement
• Vision statement
• Core values
• Company
philosophy
This is the only page where the “you” rule does not apply.

35. Putting it Together
Product/Services Pages
Use benefit driven headlines and appropriate detail to encourage a decision.
Benefits draw people in and generate interest. Features help them make a decision.

36. Putting it Together
Contact Info
Make it easy for folks to get in touch with you.
Using forms to collect information can limit the amount of spam you receive.

37. Putting it Together
Headers, Footers, and Sidebars
Call out important information so it’s easy to find.
You can have multiple calls to action on each page.

38. Putting it Together
Testimonials, Logos, Case Studies
What other people say about you is 10x more valuable than what you say about you.
Ask frequently for customer feedback. For logos, put a clause in your contract.