Good writing is the fundamental element of all your small business marketing strategies. A thoughtful, well-crafted message will do more to connect with your customers than any other element. This is particularly true for Web sites because, although the Web is a visual-driven medium with sites using flashy graphics, sounds and other fancy features, success still comes down to what you say and how you say it.

Web site content differs significantly from that for, say, brochures or display ads. With only a few seconds to capture and hold the readers’ attention, Web copy must be brief and to the point, but engaging enough for them to want to see more.

L-A SCORE Chapter vice chairman and counselor Bob Kennelly recommends a few basics. First, “Focus on establishing credibility. The content on your site must be crisp and intelligent. What you say should grab a visitor’s attention, pique their interest and motivate them to action.”

Another tip from Kennelly: “Don’t make your Web site look like an ad. We are all bombarded by ad images every day, and the last thing we want to see on a site is another ad. Yet many small business sites seem specifically designed to look like billboards, an appearance that should be avoided.”

People go online for information.Your site should provide help, not hype, with the feel of editorial, not advertising. Web visitors consider themselves active participants in a shared online experience. Even though you’re writing for an infinite number of potential readers, your copy should read like a conversation. That is why many successful sites use common, everyday words, not platitudes and overused cliches that show off the writer’s dictionary knowledge. Using the second-person “you” in addressing readers also helps create a personal bond with your visitors in conveying your sincere interest in helping them with their business needs.

For more advice about starting or improving your small business, contact SCORE, a
nonprofit organization of more than 10,500 volunteer business
counselors who provide free, confidential counseling and training
workshops. In the Lewiston-Auburn area, call
L-A SCORE at 782-3708 for additional information and an appointment; in
Rumford-Mexico call 364-3123; in Oxford Hills call 743-0499. Or contact
SCORE at www.SCOREMaine.org.