Jay LeonardDo You Have a Handle on Your Content Marketing Strategy?
Few things will cause consumers to click the back button on a website faster than bad copywriting. Long-winded history and purpose statements, bland paragraphs on product description, and boring lists of statistics are just some of the culprits that fail to inspire interest in potential customers and clients. The good news is that there is a slew of sites out there that know exactly how to draw attention from the customer’s first glimpse of their home page. They know that people who visit their sites want to see engaging, creative language. They know that customers want to see their comments and suggestions taken to heart in a personable way. Companies who struggle with web copy can learn a lot from these geniuses of copywriting. Here are seven companies who win customers’ hearts and business through clever web copy.
ModCloth
Visiting ModCloth.com feels like stepping into a fashionable, witty friend’s downtown loft. ModCloth knows exactly what their buyers want, and they’re familiar with the type of customer they attract. Their products feature creative names often based on puns. A pair of heels isn’t just described as a sparkly gold shoe. It’s named the “Sparkle an Interest Heel.” A breezy, lemony-colored dress isn’t just a yellow frock. It’s the “Zest is More Dress.” Accompanying the cleverly named products are fun stories that speak directly to the customer. They not only talk about specs, but also tell customers, using fun language, exactly why they need this product.
GrubHub
One area where company websites sometimes fail is the About Us page. It’s completely understandable that a business wants people to know where it came from and what its purpose/mission statement is. The best way to do that is to humanize the brand. GrubHub does a great job with this. “Like all good things, it began in a bar…” This eye-grabbing statement is highlighted at the top of GrubHub’s About Us page, and it does its job well. The company knows its target user and creates web copy that speaks to that potential customer. The casual language and laid-back vibe of the site’s history and mission statement give the brand a unique personality.
37Signals
The beauty behind 37Signals’s approach is simplicity. As number 5 says on their list of things that set them apart from other companies, “The Basics are Beautiful.” Having clever and creative copy doesn’t mean that every page has to be filled with witty explanations and trendy graphics. Here, minimalism reigns. Details are organized in lists and short excerpts, and there’s plenty of white space to keep things clean. The key to this successful minimalism is that 37Signals is able to explain aspects of their business in a concise yet still interesting way.
MailChimp
MailChimp, a company that helps users create, send, and track newsletters, is another brand that does a great job at giving their content personality. One way they do this is by showing the actual faces of who’s running the company and who’s writing the content. More importantly, the copy gets straight to the point and is easy to understand. Creating an email newsletter campaign might sound like a daunting task to people who describe themselves as technologically challenged. Clicking through MailChimp’s site eases the anxiety that some users feel when they consider taking on a project like this. The site’s blog provides useful information and updates on services and gives examples of how products and services are used. The writers succeed at explaining those services and products in an easy-to-understand way.
Zendesk
Zendesk is a company that provides web-based customer support for companies. The site excels at integrating clever web copy with eye-catching graphics and photos. They also know how to keep their copy consistent. Zendesk manages to show through their copy that every client, from the customer to the manager, is just as important as the next. Another important aspect in copy is to remind the potential customer of who you are and why they are visiting the site in the first place. Under the Why Zendesk tab, the copy reads: “Much like the art of Zen, the path to customer service excellence is a continuous journey that involves product, people, practice.” In this simple sentence, Zendesk ties in their brand name and stresses that customer service is important to both their client and their client’s customers.
UrbanDaddy
This website screams exclusivity from the very first glance. Delving deeper into the site’s content reveals some extremely witty writing. UrbanDaddy is an email-based online magazine that is “devoted to keeping you in the know.” Click on one of the ten major cities or three other categories on the home menu, and be drawn into a world of sleek and chic design and sharp copywriting. Features on the site cover everything from where to travel, what to eat, where to have drinks, and what the hottest new trends are. Copywriters use terms like “Coffee Narnia” and “Tweedy Magnificence” to describe products and places. It offers discounts on products like “the best damn umbrellas on the planet.” UrbanDaddy nails smart humor.
Dollar Shave Club
Dollar Shave Club is something of an of-the-month club for both the bearded and baby-faced, and they make their product very appealing through names and humorous description. “Be bold. A mighty razor will come to your aid,” boasts a headline that plays on a Goethe quote. Their economical products have names like The Humble Twin, The 4X (aka The Lover’s Blade), and The Executive. Product descriptions do more than just give dry specifics. Case in point: Dollar Shave Club claims that The Executive is “The final frontier; it’s like a personal assistant for your face.”
With all of these websites, the bottom line is that the copy doesn’t take itself too seriously. Call it business casual. It appeals to the customer on a personal level, giving the brand a face, a unique identity. From inviting email subject lines to witty product names descriptions, your web copy should be engaging while representing the exact personality of your brand.
Image credit: © Kitsen | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Jay Leonard.
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Love Modcloth’s product naming and descriptions. I’d ad Julep to this list as well.