Good Copy, Bad Copy

It's a fact: People don’t want to read much. All the more reason to choose your words carefully. Great copy is essential for a compelling customer experience. 

Here are two examples that plunge from the sublime to the ridiculous. The first is a description of a “Chenille Throw” from a Restoration Hardware catalog that’s so evocative I practically salivate with desire. The second is an excerpt from a multi-page ad promoting Phoenix as a tourist destination. Pretentious and silly, it makes me laugh out loud every time I read it.

Go ahead, read for yourself. Then think about what kind of impression
the copy on your site makes.

The 5-lb Chenille Throw

Chocolate truffles. Triple-cream brie. Ice cream cake. All areas
where more is, well more… where five extra pounds is a very good
thing, indeed. So it is with our chenille throws. Each is five pounds
of butter-soft, pudding-rich, rayon-cotton chenille, a guilt-free
indulgence, big enough to share.

Now that’s good copy! Combined with a lush, close-up photograph of the throw draped oh so casually on a tan suede sofa, I don’t know how anyone could resist!

Compare and contrast: [I’m not making this up].

Destination Phoenix. Amazing what you can do here.

Open your eyes the day you arrive and believe everything you see. Our
world is in constant flow and a stiff current of excitement and discovery pull you along.

Greater Phoenix is everything from shopping in world-class boutiques to dining that’s equally up to task. It’s lodging that may ease your body, but never relents on the imagination. And without a doubt, there’s so many entertainment options, your agenda will swell with the energy of a true cosmopolitan city- tempered by years of individuality and originality.

So while a stiff current of excitement pulls you along, your agenda
will swell with energy. Yeah baby!

Destination Phoenix? I don’t think so.

I’d rather curl up on my sofa with a good catalog and wrap myself
in a 5-lb chocolate triple cream butter pudding guilt-free hunk of
chenille. Yum.

Tips to improve
the copy on your site.

• Read your copy out loud before you commit to putting it on your site. Yes, every word.
• If your writing skills aren’t "up to task," hire a professional.
• If it sounds like "BS" to you, it will sound like "BS" to your readers.
• Less is more, especially on the web.

More Web Marketing tips

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