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Dan Furman. Do the Web Write
DO THE WEB WRITE. Writing for and Marketing Your Website
Introduction
Let’s Start at the Beginning
What Do I Mean by “Now What?”
Okay, Who Am I, and Why Should You Listen to Me?
What This Book Is
What This Book Isn’t
About the Pictures
A Note to Web Designers
A Few Disclaimers
Say It Again, Dan …
1. Understanding Website Conversion and Targeted Traffic
Website Conversion Basics
Hits versus visits
What is an “action”?
Establishing your conversion rate
So what is an acceptable website conversion rate?
How to Use Conversion Rates
Let me tell you a quick website conversion story
Website Conversion Rates are a True Indicator of Success
Targeted Traffic
What is targeted traffic, and why is it important?
How do you get targeted traffic?
Wrapping up targeted traffic
2. The Fundamentals of a Successful Website Today and Tomorrow
The Early Days
How the Web is Currently Used
Okay Dan, So How Exactly Do You Let Visitors Know They Should Use You?
Laying the Foundation of a Successful Website
A Successful Website Answers Six Basic Questions
Who you are
What you do
Why someone should do business with you
What locations you service
How someone goes about using you
When?
A Successful Website is Simple to Use, and Does Not Frustrate Users
A Successful Website is Easy to Read
Font size and style
Formatting
The writing itself
The “Furman 21” Website Questionnaire
To whom should you give the questionnaire?
So what do the answers mean?
THE “FURMAN 21” WEBSITE QUESTIONNAIRE
3. Page Order and Information to Include
A Word on Navigation
What Type of Website Will You Have?
Service websites
Product websites
“Informational” company websites
Information (Pages) Needed for the Three Types of Websites, and the Page Order
Page order and page information for a service website. First page: Home
Second page: Why Us (About Us)
Third page: Services
SAMPLE 1: STATIC SERVICES PAGE
SAMPLE 2: SERVICES “FLYOUT” EXAMPLE
Fourth page: Testimonials
Fifth page: Quote page
Sixth page: FAQ
Seventh and Eighth pages: About Us and Contact Us
Wrapping up the service site
SAMPLE 3: PUTTING SERVICES ON THE BOTTOM OF A PAGE
SAMPLE 4: HOME PAGE
Page order and page information for a sales website
First page: Home
Second page: Product(s)
SAMPLE 5: SALES SITE LINKS (MY PUBLISHER’S SITE)
Third page: FAQ
Fourth page: About Us / Contact Us
Fifth page
Wrapping up the sales website
Page order and page information for an informational website
4. Dan’s 11 Rules of Effective Website Writing
Rule 1: Web Copy Must be Scan-able
Headlines
Hype versus fact
Subheadings. What is a subheading?
The two types of subheadings
SAMPLE 6: SUBHEADINGS
SAMPLE 7: STORY SUBHEADINGS EXAMPLE
SAMPLE 8: MORE SUBHEADINGS: DAN’S HOME PAGE
How many subheadings to use on a page?
Story Subheadings instead of Informational Subheadings
Bullet points
SAMPLE 9: BULLET POINTS
Rule 2: Use Short Paragraphs
Three to five sentences
The one-sentence paragraph
As a call to action
As an introduction
SAMPLE 10: ONE-SENTENCE PARAGRAPH LEADING OFF A PAGE
As a paragraph summary
Rule 3: Don’t Dwell (Keep Your Pages Short)
Formatting
Content style
But what if I really need to have a long page?
SAMPLE 11: ANCHOR LINKS EXAMPLE
Rule 4: Throw Out the English Rule Book
The way we are taught to write is wrong (for business)
How many rules does your reader know?
Write like you talk
Okay, so what rules of English do you need to know?
Commonly misspelled words and misused phrases
In closing
Rule 5: Do Not Preach to the Choir
Targeted traffic revisited
What’s your problem?
What are they expecting from you?
Rule 6: Keep Your Audience in Mind, but Don’t Alienate Anyone, Either
Write so your audience understands you
Don’t alienate anyone
Dancing between the two
SAMPLE 12: EXPLAINING INSIDER JARGON
Lose the corporate jargon, again
Rule 7: Write with Confidence
Confident words and phrases
Rule 8: Use the Word “You” a Lot
How often to use the word “you”
One more “you” myth dispelled
Rule 9: Bolds, Italics, Underlines, Parentheses, Dashes, and Other Formatting Tricks
Bolds and italics
Different color fonts
Highlighting
Underlining
ALL CAPS
Dashes
Ellipses …
Overdoing punctuation
(Parentheses)
Why asides are important
In closing
Rule 10: Lots of Escape Hatches (Calls to Action)
SAMPLE 13: NUMEROUS CALLS TO ACTION
Rule 11: Be an Oreo®
What do I mean by “be an Oreo®”
Intermission
Short Recap
Moving Forward
5. Writing for your Home Page
The Three Main Things the Writing on Your Home Page Needs to Address
Tips on Layout
SAMPLE 14: TIGHTER FOCUS HOME PAGE EXAMPLE
SAMPLE 15: EASILY THE WORST HOME PAGE COPY I EVER WROTE
Keywords and Keyphrases
Wrapping Up the Home Page
6. Writing for your About Us/ Why Use Us Page and your Products/Services Pages
Your About Us/Why Use Us Page
Straight about us page
SAMPLE 16: ABOUT US EXAMPLE
Using a why page also
SAMPLE 17: WHY USE US EXAMPLE
Products / Services Pages
Services page(s)
SAMPLE 18: SHORT SERVICES PAGE EXAMPLE
Products pages
7. FAQ YOU
Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers)
SAMPLE 19: FAQ EXAMPLE
8. SEO and “Traffic”-type Writing (Blogs, Articles, Press Releases, Pay-per-click Ads)
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO Explained
The keyword myth
Beware of SEO companies
SEO Writing
Press releases
Writing press releases
All news, all the time (so they say)
Getting around the “news” requirement
Sneaking in some advertising
As easy as 1,2,3
SAMPLE 20: PRESS RELEASE EXAMPLE
Keywords and links in your press releases
One and done? Not by a longshot
Articles
How to write an article
The “list” article
The story article
How long should an article be?
Can your articles be funny / creative?
What do you do with articles once you write them?
Blogs
What to write in a blog
SAMPLE 21: QUICK BLOG POST EXAMPLE
SAMPLE 22: NONBUSINESS / HUMOROUS BLOG POST EXAMPLE
Keep your blog current
Some final thoughts on SEO
Pay-per-click (PPC) Ads
A very quick primer
Writing PPC ads
9. Alternate Landing Pages and Microsites
The Concept Behind Alternate Landing Pages and Microsites
Alternate Landing Pages
SAMPLE 23: ALTERNATE LANDING PAGE EXAMPLE
Alternate Landing Pages and PPC Ads
Microsites
Other advantages of using microsites
Domain names and hosting for microsites
10. Dan’s Bonus Chapter (Even More for Your Money)
Why All of This Website Conversion Stuff Matters
Do Not Put Up Roadblocks
Stop Hiding Your Phone Number
Stop Scolding Me About Copyright When I Right Click
If You Aren’t in a Band, Don’t Play Music
Keep Dates Updated
Answer Your Email / Quote Form
Turn Off Your Spamblockers
Make Sure I Can Do Business with You From Anywhere
Re-Read Chapter 4, Rule 7
Join and Participate in Online Forums for Your Industry
Write and Post Articles
Look At (and Learn From) Your Competition
Be an Oreo (Again)
Give Something Away
Internet Success Comes in Small Increments
Keep the Focus on Your Website Visitor
Check Under the Hood Often
Understand the Changing World
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Notice to Readers
Self-Counsel Press thanks you for purchasing this ebook
Contents
