Gone are the days of people obsessing with having the prettiest website with lots of flair yet completely overlooking the content (photos and text).
In fact, over the last couple years everything I believed about copy has shifted largely due to The Middle Finger Project and indirectly to Maren Hogan for pointing me to that resource.
You see, years ago (and even still today) people would maintain two voices: one for their marketing material and one for their face-to-face interaction with prospects. Dissociative Personality Disorder of sorts if you will. This mental copywriting disorder knows no discrimination. Companies of all shapes and sizes fall victim and it continues to plague the advertising industry. Not to worry, though. With a little bit of marketing therapy and professional copywriting counseling there is hope yet.
Analogy aside, the truth is that there doesn’t need to be two voices when it comes to copywriting. The way you talk to a prospect should be the same regardless the medium.
We’ve personally tested this theory with great results. Last year with the previous version of our website (hayWire Version 2.0) we kept the same design, but completely changed the content to be relatable and conversational. All things equal, we saw a 25% increase in inquiries the following week. Coincidence? Maybe. I’m inclined to believe otherwise.
So what does this mean for you?
As someone who might be in the deciding stages of which web company to use, you should ask them what their beliefs are on websites. In fact a GREAT question would be: “What, to you, makes a great website?”
Leave it at that and let their answer be enough for you to decide.
Or if you’re looking for a completely unconventional approach for your existing content, hit us up!
