3 Website Copywriting Approaches to Consider for Your Next Redesign

Imagine your website, post-redesign. What comes to mind?

If you’re a visual person, you probably thought about colors, fonts, logos, and pictures. If you’re more technically oriented, you might have thought about fast load times, a nifty user interface, and a cohesive flow between pages.

No judgment here. To most people, these are the exciting aspects of a website redesign. And in many ways, the visual and functional features of a website are what makes it, well, a website. But while you’re dreaming about the web wonders to come, spare a thought for the copy (the written content).

Tens of thousands of years since they first arrived on the scene, words are still going strong as the most effective and efficient form of messaging.

A website redesign can make a difference with looks and user experience alone. But if it’s maximum impact you’re after, keep in mind: words matter.

What’s the Big Deal About Website Copy?

The written content of your website — from the headers that greet visitors to your homepage to the blurbs that describe your services to the articles that enlighten readers of your blog — has a critical job to perform. Your copy must strike a chord with two audiences:

1.  The people who are or might become customers of your business.
2.  Search engines.

In a way, these audiences are the same.

People visit your website looking for answers. Sometimes they’re searching for solutions to problems only your business can solve with your unique blend of expertise and experience.

Sometimes, the information website visitors seek is about your business: Can they trust you? Do you share their values?

The better you answer these questions, the higher opinion prospects will have of your brand, the more likely they’ll be to return.

And it’s important to recognize that answering a question well doesn’t just mean providing high-quality, reliable information (although it does mean that). How you deliver the information is just as crucial.

Think about the difference between a dry textbook and an inspiring professor. The information is the same, but which delivery method sticks with you longer? Which makes you fall in love with the topic?

There is an art to creating engaging website copy. The best inbound marketing agencies are both committed students and practiced masters of that art.

As for search engines (like Google), their goal is to connect their users to the best information possible. Complex search engine algorithms use your written website content to determine how authoritative you are on any given subject, and how likely you are to satisfy search engine users.

Search result dominance means understanding not only the questions your potential customers are asking but how to answer those questions in a way that impresses both search engines and their users (which is everyone). Otherwise, your beautiful, usable website will sit unvisited, overlooked, and under-appreciated.

Here are some eye-opening statistics about the value of written website content:

• Organic search engine optimization is 5.66 times more effective than paid search.
• Businesses that engage in content creation generate over 400% more search engine indexed pages than those that don’t.
• 66% of marketers said content marketing has been effective for their brand, and 77% said they would prioritize written content above every other channel.
• 78% of consumers say they trust brands that create custom content.

Three Levels of Copy Creation: What’s Right for Your Website?

When you work with an agency that knows their stuff, any website redesign project will include a conversation about copy. Experienced web designers understand that their job, at least partially, is to create a framework that helps your copy shine to humans and algorithms alike.

Here at Media Junction, we offer our clients three tiers of copywriting. Each level has its advantages and drawbacks.

There’s no “right answer” here. The level you choose entirely depends on the makeup of your business, the enthusiasm and bandwidth of your team for content creation, and your comfort working with outside content writers.

Tier 1: It’s All You (You Handle 100% of the Copywriting)

If you know what you want to say and how you want to say it, we’re not going to stand in your way. At this level of content creation, we handle the design, and you handle the copy.

Tier 1 is an excellent choice if you have content writers on staff or you’re already working with outsourced content writers you trust. It’s also worth considering if your business is so niche an outside writer could never wrap their mind around it. (Although, you’d be surprised at how quickly a professional content writer can get up to speed on complicated technical subjects.)

On the other hand, copywriting can be arduous and time-consuming. Your harried marketing team might have a million other things on their plates. Plus, people who excel at other forms of writing — journalism or advertising, for example — may not be up on the latest best practices for online writing. (Like, how does writing for the web differ from writing for mobile?)

This is why we’re happy to offer…

Tier 2: You Write; We Coach and Support

We firmly believe that almost anyone can become a great writer with the right guidance. At our second level of content creation, your company still provides the writers, but we work with your team to optimize the copy and your copy creation process.

Our services at tier 2 include helping you develop a consistent voice and tone across all your written assets, teaching your writers to craft copy that resonates with your target personas, and clarifying your message with a StoryBrand framework.

But if writing just isn’t your thing, and you’re pretty sure it never will be, no worries. We’re here for you with…

Tier 3: We Got This (We Take On 100% of Your Written Content Creation)

At tier 3, we turn the full power and capability of the Media Junction content creation engine toward generating copy that drives awareness of your brand and attracts inbound leads.

Here is how our process works:

• Strategy. We learn about your brand, your messaging, your voice, and your history. We conduct interviews (if necessary) with key stakeholders from your sales, marketing, and product/services teams. We assess your current copy to determine what (if any) is worth keeping. And we give you a chance to review our findings and approve the content creation strategy before we proceed.
• Creation. Starting with your main site navigation pages, we assign and manage our team of writers as they craft first-round drafts. We work with a designated contact person at your company for revisions and approval. We provide one round of revisions on each draft. Revision requests are due within three business days of receipt. (This keeps the project running smoothly and within scope.)
• Final deliverable. You get 200 to 800 words of sales- and marketing-focused web page copy, creatively written with engaging headlines. We include keyword research and related on-page SEO best practices (such as page title and meta description) with each page of copy.

Imagine handling all of this in-house. It can be done, for sure, but it’s a lot to take on. That’s why, at our third level of copywriting, we’ve assembled a content creation machine so that you don’t have to. Deadlines are nailed, the copy gets published, and the words sparkle.

What Does It Cost?

In a strictly financial sense, as you move up these three tiers of copywriting, our services cost more. (To give you an idea of what to expect, we typically charge $500 per page for our tier 3 option.)

But the more you invest in outsourced copywriting with us, the more you’ll get back in terms of support and accountability — not to mention the time to dedicate to tasks other than writing.

We do understand, though, that not every budget can support tier 2 or 3, and we’re happy to commit to your success at any level.

Finally, even at tier 3, our copywriting services aren’t entirely hands-off. We will ask that you review and approve our work in a timely manner (and we’ll work with you to set up an efficient review process).

Copy approval is a frequent bottleneck in website redesign projects. We want to make sure your new site is up and running and generating quality leads for you as quickly as possible.

Want to learn more about how Media Junction can help you get your message out to the ideal customers with maximum-impact website copy? Contact us today.