The Website Copy Skim Test

Oh heeeyyyyyy!!! Let’s talk all things websites & copy!! 

Is your website working for you? Is it fully optimized? Your website copy is your number one champion for sales, or it can be your biggest deterrent! Why??

Let’s get into it! 

I absolutely love the way that Donald Miller of StoryBrand explains our brains’ reaction to reading copy. Here’s the deal, our brains don’t want to spend extra calories reading an 8 bajillion page website full of fluff!! Our brains want to SKIM for what they need for survival. We’re lying to ourselves if we think that every part of our website is going to get read by potential customers. So what do we do about that??

Your Website Needs to Clearly State What Problem You Solve

Every good business solves a problem, right?? We want our website copy to clearly and concisely state “this is a problem, and this is how our business/service/product solves it.” BUT you want to take it a step further and actually amplify that problem. Take it 5 layers deeper! Let’s walk through an example shall we? 

Bedding. Yep. We’re going to talk about bedding. Super exciting, I know. 

What problem does bedding solve? Well, everyone needs bedding! Not having bedding is a problem right?? Yes yes, but TAKE IT DEEPER. If you don’t have sheets you’re sleeping on that uncomfortable water protectant sheet which is all noisy and scratchy, and then you’re not sleeping well, and then you wake up exhausted and grumpy, and you suck at work, and your day is ruined!!!! Aaahh!!!

Phew! Ok! Are you convinced now that you need bedding!? Look back at allllll those problems that it solves! When you go underneath the layer of simply needing bedding there are soooo many other problems that not fixing that initial problem can lead to! You have to, have to, have to think beyond the initial surface level problem when you’re selling and incorporate it into your copy. 

Make It Easy For Customers to Buy

So now you’ve convinced potential customers of having a problem, but next you have to think about this question – how complicated are you making it to buy from you?? Have “buy now” buttons scattered allllll throughout your website! Seriously, put.them.everywhere. There are people who are going to read about the problem you solve and immediately want to buy! They don’t want to have to trudge through 14 pages of copy before they even get the chance to buy. You will lose the sale if they have to scroll all the way to the bottom.

Make Sure Your Copy is Crystal Clear

Additionally, make sure your copy is absolutely clear on every page of your website regarding the problem you solve, and what you are selling – about, home, shop, contact us, etc! Literally have a button to shop each of those pages! Even the about page’s purpose should not actually be to tell them about us, but to turn someone into a customer. Establish trust here and speak to their emotions – not just “I like tacos”. One of theeeee biggest missed opportunities I see on websites is when people only write cutesy stuff on their about pages!

See how your website copy can be your biggest champion?? You only get 30 seconds to convince people with your copy to become customers while they skim. The goal is to turn someone into a customer as fast as freaking possible! To be clear and concise is the winning ticket! Everytime someone is looking to purchase, they are on a river and it is your job to help them cross that river. By leaving little stepping stones in your copy it helps them cross that river and make the purchase! So, go skim your website right now! Can you read it quickly and it’s clear what you’re selling and the problems you solve? Are there ample buy now buttons? Are there stepping stones allll over the freaking place?

Love you guys!

Suzy