Does Your Web Copy Make Your Brand Look Amateur?
Copywriting is one of those things that seems deceptively simple. After all, most of us can manage to string a few coherent sentences together. However, if you want web copy that’s going to help you usher in the sales, it takes a lot more than good grammar and effusive adjectives.
There are many ways the words on your website can unintentionally give off an amateurish vibe. Let’s walk through 8 common web copy mistakes and how to fix them.
#1 Forced Tone
In general, forcing an unnatural tone makes for some awkward copywriting. It kind of comes off like this:
Trying to sound smart is one of the most common ways forced tone can make your web copy sound off.
This often happens when the writer is insecure about marketing, sales, or complex subject matter. It also commonly plagues writers who have recently transitioned out of academia where they were often rewarded for wordy, esoteric treatises.
But here’s the thing: when you’re trying to woo web visitors into becoming paying customers, you don’t want to make them work for it.
It’s been well documented that you don’t have web visitors’ attention for more than a handful of minutes- and then only if you’re lucky. So you don’t want to bury the offer, what it does, or how it will benefit the buyer in a sea of jargon and formality.
Being able to make complex subjects accessible is actually a HUGE indication of intelligence. As the famous saying often attributed to Einstein goes, “If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself.” Plus, discussing complex subjects simply and conversationally communicates confidence, ease, and mastery.
(You can use industry jargon, but only if your ideal customers will definitely understand it without having to look it up.)
Similarly, if you’re turning to Urban Dictionary to try to talk like the Gen Z cool kids, you likely sound like you’re trying too hard.
The Fix:
Authenticity and simplicity have a better chance of resonating with your target audience than any type of forced writing tone.
So how do you keep it real in your web copy?
One practical step you can take is to read your web copy out loud. If you stumble over anything or feel awkward saying it, rephrase it until it feels natural speaking it out loud.
#2 Too Long-Winded & Formal
Especially if you run a service-based business, you want your web copy to give the impression that it will be pleasant to work with you.
It would be difficult to have a relaxed, smooth conversation with someone who is super formal. It would be hard to let your guard down and be vulnerable with someone who is very pompous.
This is why wordy, formal web copy is often unintentionally off-putting. (This web copy no-no often shows up when the writer is “trying to sound smart.”)
Not sure whether this is you? Here are some clues that your web copy is too stiff and wordy:
You’ve got some run-on sentences. You can’t read them out loud without taking a break to breathe somewhere before the period.
You use words like “therefore,” “thus,” and “hence” to transition.
You spend a paragraph explaining something that could have been conveyed in a sentence.
Your web page is lonnnngggg. Lots of scrolling needs to happen before you get to the point.
The Fix:
Again, reading out loud should give you a good indication of where you’re getting too long-winded.
Not sure how to rephrase more naturally? Close your draft. Then verbally explain to a friend or your phone camera the points you’re trying to communicate with your web page.
How did you verbally switch between topics? Did the listener interrupt to ask you a question? Use these mental notes as inspiration for how to transition without saying “therefore,” “thus,” “hence,” etc.
Did you leave any parts out when you were verbally explaining? You can probably drop those parts from the copy then. If they weren’t key to communicating your point to the listener, you don’t need them on the page.
#3 Nothing Original To Say
This one is often an unfortunate byproduct of having done your research and seeing how other people write their landing pages- then trying to emulate them a little too much.
It also frequently plagues copywriters who are afraid of losing any potential customers and misguidedly aim to please everyone.
But, sounding like your favorite influencer or, worse, your biggest competitor, is a losing game. Copywriting is a waste of words if it isn’t helping you to develop your own, distinct brand identity. Also, you can’t win by trying to be a better version of someone else.
The Fix:
#1: Diversify who you’re following.
It’s actually really smart to follow brands you admire. But make sure you’re following several and taking inspiration from all of them rather than trying to imitate just one.
#2: Get vulnerable.
Share your story. Share why you care about what you’re offering. Share what this work means to you. Don’t sanitize your copywriting out of its ability to connect with people.
#3: Make your peace with pissing some people off.
Yes, your unique, vulnerable story won’t resonate with everyone. Your brand won’t be everyone’s favorite. You might even garner some haters when you boldly claim your vision and are guided by your values.
All of this is OK. You need your ideal customers to identify strongly with your copywriting and for bad-fit clients to show themselves out before they waste your time.
If your copywriting scares some folks off, it’s actually doing its job.
#4 Too Perky
Copywriting that is preternaturally positive is a good way to make your web visitors skeptical.
There’s a reason why the original The Stepford Wives is a horror movie, folks!
Perfection is unnatural. People are going to start looking for the catch. Promising too-good-to-be-true results often leads to distrust.
Worse, if they believe your overblown boasts, they’ll be incredibly disappointed with the actual results.
The Fix:
Err on the side of underpromising and overdelivering.
Don’t boast unless you have backup. Preferably in the form of social proof like testimonials, case studies, 5-star ratings, or a trusted third-party ranking.
Be specific about what you can actually deliver. It’s enough, I promise.
A Note On Mindset
If reading those last two sentences filled you with anxiety and imposter syndrome, you’re not alone. A lot of new business owners struggle to feel “good enough” offering what they offer- particularly if they’re offering a service that comes easily to them.
Remember, just because it’s easy for you doesn’t mean it’s easy for everyone. This was a lesson it took me a while to come to terms with. I love copywriting for instance, and I can do it fairly quickly and easily. So, for a long time, I assumed that everyone could. However, some people actually dread writing about their business and their offers. Whereas it would take me 4 hours tops to write them a great, sales- and search-optimized landing page, it might take them weeks of endless revisions, anxiety, avoidance, and time away from doing what they actually love,
So, for many business owners, just hearing that we have the experience, creativity, and technical know-how to cross-website copywriting off their to-do list is enough to make the sale. That is, it closes the deal without me having to also boast they’ll suddenly quadruple their follower count or sales, etc.
#5 Lots of Adjectives, Adverbs, & Buzzwords
If someone tells you something is “really, really, really, realllllllyyyyy amazing”- do you think they sound confident? Like they trust you to trust them at their word? Like they’re being totally sincere?
When we lean this heavily into the adverbs, we give off “the lady doth protest too much” vibes.
Similarly, overblown language promising vague bounties such as “transformation,” “manifestation,” “optimization,” or “maximizing ROI” are too non-specific to mean much.
If your web copy isn’t specific, accessible, and clear, web visitors will have to read between the lines in search of meaning. And that’s work many won’t do.
The Fix:
Edit. Edit. Edit.
Make one of those editing rounds for grammar; one for ease, authenticity, & flow; and one to delete all unnecessary words.
Play a game with yourself to see if you can use as few words as possible to get the point across.
#6 Sloppy Citations Or None at All
Look, statistics are easily manipulated. From inappropriately small sample sizes to being outdated, to results being limited to a certain geographic region, to missing or omitted context, to the research methodology, to pay-to-play analysis, so many things can skew results.
If you really want a statistic to back up a certain position, you can usually go out and find one. Or just say one. (At an old job, a client wanted me to include “proven 300% ROI” in the sales page copy- with 0 indications of where on earth he got that number from.)
So whenever we see a numerical boast, particularly a dramatic one, all of us should be extremely skeptical if the source of that number is not cited… And if it’s not a primary source… And if it’s not recent… Or a relevant population to your use case… And so on and so forth.
Wanna look credible? Cite your sources. And only use good ones.
The Fix:
Only use numbers you can back up with a credible source- preferably ones that are open to the public.
Use primary sources, not articles quoting primary sources.
Don’t use old numbers- especially if you’re in a fast-moving technology space.
Be careful about just requoting a number a prominent person said. In some fields, like tech, it is common to say something like “80% of x population” without clarifying that this is an assumption off the top of the head, not based on research.
96% of statistics are made up, after all. 😜
#7 Typos & Grammar Errors
OK, I know I and others are telling you to post a lot consistently. While this does mean you’ll have to spend less time on perfectionism and more time pushing “publish,” you don’t want to totally sacrifice quality to hit posting frequency guidelines.
Spelling errors, bad grammar, sentences that cut off nonsensically or go on for ages- all of that is going to reflect poorly on your brand.
The Fix:
Again, the fix is to edit. There are some great free tools like Grammarly that can help with this, but they don’t replace the need for human editing.
As mentioned above, it’s best to edit several times. Preferably not all in one sitting. Ideally, you should give yourself at least one good night’s sleep before doing the final read-through and taking it live. (When you stare at something long enough, it loses all meaning. Breaks and fresh eyes do your editing cycle good.)
Hint: If you’re feeling freaked out about how to find time to edit your copywriting, now is a really good time to bring on copywriting help and/or to scale back on your marketing channels.
#8 Bad Formatting
Great website copywriting is formatted for the ease of use of the web visitor.
Is it easy to skim? Do the headings draw you in? Are there any headings at all? Are there block and pull quotes?
The eye won’t know where to look if there are no visual cues as to what’s important!
Good website copywriting is skim-friendly, with engaging headings, and accessible formatting. This way, web visitors just landing on the page have lots of opportunities to get interested and want to learn more.
Unless the web visitor already knows, adores, and hangs on every word of your brand, they aren’t going to just read the fine print. Their attention needs to be hooked by what they see when they skim.
The Fix:
You have four options:
Get intimidated and overwhelmed and avoid getting your website up and stymie your lead generation.
Half-ass your copywriting or pawn it off on your intern or someone else who doesn’t have copywriting expertise. Deter potential customers.
Do a ton of research on high-converting landing pages, web visitor behavior, headline & lede writing, search engine optimization, design, etc. Then write it yourself.
Hire an experienced copywriter who already knows how to do all that in a fraction of the amount of time it would take you to come up to speed.
Those are your choices!
Being A Good Writer Doesn’t Necessarily Make You a Good Copywriter
Look, there is no shame in needing copywriting help. Even if you’re a very good writer yourself!
Writing for marketing and sales is just a very particular type of writing that requires a lot of context and practice to get good at.
If you want to learn how to do it yourself, great! But be honest with yourself: do you really want to? Or would you rather spend the hours and hours and hours over years and years that it takes to become a good website copywriter on your clients and making your money?
Don’t make your brand look amateur with amateur copywriting. Instead, invest in finesse: either really devoting the time and effort to learn yourself, or working with someone who already knows how.
We know how! Take your web copy from amateur to expert with our website copywriting services.
