This past week while I was driving home from Dodd’s, a gentleman spotted my Word Whisperer-branded SUV and took down my phone number.
Last night he left a message on my answering machine saying he wanted to know more about what I do.
So, as soon as I felt it wasn’t too early to return his call (around 9), I dialed his number and we had a rousing ten or fifteen-minute conversation.
He’s an automotive and RV repair guy, so I sent him a link to show him what I did for Chuck’s Auto Repair in Seattle and a few other live sites. I think he’ll be impressed. I still am, on the rare occasions when I visit the site.
My copy took the site from “where the hell are we?” in search engines (about page 11, as I recall) to page one in under six months. Based on that stellar result, Chris Galbraith, the owner of Chuck’s Auto, has hired me for a couple more of his sites (non-auto related) since then. He’s one of my biggest boosters.
I notice he hasn’t changed any of the copy I originally wrote for him. (If it ain’t broke, it doesn’t need to be fixed!) I enjoy reading it from several years’ distance every year or so. It’s extremely pleasant, welcoming and visitor-centric. It doesn’t come across as boastful or arrogant because it answers the question, “What’s in it for me?”– which is every visitor’s perspective when they click on a website.
It doesn’t say, “We do this… We have this… We know this… We’re the best…”
It says, “When your vehicle needs this, we’re here to help” and then it gives their USPs and credentials: ASE-certified mechanics, Voted Best of the Northwest (KING TV awards), etc. In a single sound bite, it’s a soft place to fall. There’s no one virtually standing in your face telling you they’re the best. They let their awards and clients do the boasting. Their copy appears focused solely on keeping the kudos coming by way of being a responsive, welcoming, comfortable place to bring a vehicle for repairs.
A lot of websites make the mistake of coming across like carnival barkers: “Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! Witness the amazing bearded lady with your own eyes!” They’re over-the-top self-promotional and (as a sad result) off-putting.
I’ve sung this song before, but it bears repeating: your website should be a soft place to fall, a welcoming breath of fresh air: no pressure, no bragging, no self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
If business owners (and newbie and hack copywriters) could just memorize this one rule, they’d be miles ahead of the game. But sadly, they don’t seem to get the picture. They tend to present themselves either as the greatest thing since sliced bread or hat-in-hand petitioners. Neither way gets the job done.
Customers are savvier shoppers these days. They look for genuine connections. They look for legitimate customer reviews. They look for awards won.
They look for providers who truly give a damn about them. Websites that don’t make “we care about YOU” perfectly clear lose out to the ones that do.
And it all starts with the copy and content on your website. (Actually, it all starts in your heart. Unless you’re the Grinch or Scrooge, you should be able to make a decent living in your niche, and a great impression on your website and in your business. You can’t fake it. People have a sixth sense about genuineness. You can’t pull the wool over their eyes for very long…)
My branded SUV is a little mysterious (Word Whisperer) but it says one thing loud and clear: Weaving Words into Wealth–YOURS!!– by Turning Your Browsers into Buyers.
