Anyone can write effective Internet copy. You just have to know a few copywriting basics known to journalists and writers as the 5 W’s. Throw one “H” in there and all your copywriting basics are covered.

Who? Tell the reader who your product will help. This should be your target market.

What? Tell your reader what your product or service will do to improve their lives. In other words, tell them the benifits they will receive, what’s in it for them.

When? When is the offer good for? If there is a special offer, when does it expire? When will the product or service help them, immediately or over time?

Where? Where can you order the product or service? Where will it work?

Why? Tell your reader why he or she needs your product or service. Why will it benefit them? Why should they sign up or order today? Why is the quantity or offer limited?

How? How do they register or order? How much will it cost? How much return will they see for their investment? How does it work?

Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? There is no trick – it really is as easy as that. Put yourself in the shoes of the reader and answer the questions you would likely ask or want answered about your product or service. Answer those questions clearly and thoroughly and your Web copy is complete.

These copywriting tips and copywriting techniques will work not just for Web copywriting but also for direct market copywriting, other online copywriting, and offline copywriting as well.

Below are a few other copywriting basics that will help you write your web site copy:

1. Keep it simple. No one wants to drudge through a long, drawn out confusing explanation. If you can’t say it simply, that’s fine. But by all means, simplify when you can.

2. Make sure your copy urges a call to action either in the body copy, or text of the article, or in the headline. Words like “Act Now,” “Limited Time Offer,” or “Limited Supply” will urge your readers to contact you sooner rather than later.

3. Keep it honest. Don’t make wild claims just to get business. Build a good reputation by being up front and honest with your potential customers. In addition to appreciating your honesty, they will recommend you to others as a business owner who is true to your word and claims.

4. If you make an offer, make it one that is hard to pass up. Don’t waste your readers’ time with small, worthless offers. Think about the coupons you see in magazines and newspapers. Do you take time to clip them? If so, it’s because the offer is of value to you.

5. How long should your copy be? As long as it takes to adequately answer the above questions for your product or service.

An unanswered question is considered an objection in your potential customer’s mind. So, be sure to answer all their objections.

Keep these Internet copywriting basics in mind as you prepare the articles or sales letters that will appear on your Web site. Don’t be intimidated because you don’t have any professional writing experience. Most people want to do business with an honest person who knows the product or service well that he or she is trying to sell.

You don’t have to be a professional writer to do that. The only requirement is that you truely believe in the product or service which you are trying to sell. If you do, your enthusiasm will shine through your writing. If you do not believe in your product or service, your lack of enthusiasm will shine through also.

So, in summary, answer the above questions as clearly and simply as you can, be honest, avoid hype, make an irresistable offer, and be sure to include a call to action.

If you do all these things you will master the copywriting basics and should have no trouble converting your Website visitors into customers.

For those of you who are not familiar with the art of copywriting, this article will focus on giving an introduction to the subject and why it is in such high demand today.

The field of copywriting is large and continues to expand every year. A way to describe copywriting is putting a creative message in front of a consumer. In the book, Copywriting, it is mentioned that copywriting is based upon three fundamental principles. When you are writing to a customer, there has to be an involvement between the customer and the seller. You must then make sure that you explain the rewards as far as when the customer is purchasing a product. The final piece is achievement and that is what you as the writer will be focusing on. Whenever you write copy, you are looking to have a certain effect upon consumers. Usually this effect will be for consumers to desire a certain product because they will want to gain certain rewards. You know that you’ve achieved your objectives by hitting certain sales goals that have been set for your copywriting. There are many writers in the world but there is a specific niche for copywriters. Copywriters are the ones who write messages but mold them in a way that it brings about an interest in a consumer. With the number of advertisements out there today, consumers will not respond unless it is something that specifically interests them. This is why it is more important than ever to have a clear focus when you are writing your copy so that you know which particular niche you’re trying to hit within the broader population.

There will always be a need for copywriters no matter whether the economy is in a recession or in a boom. Companies must always put out a message to consumers and as long as this demand is needed, copywriters will be in high demand. If you are interested in working as a copywriter, you will have many different places to look for work. You can decide to work for advertising agencies, on the Internet, or be your own boss. There are many different markets for you in these three that were just listed.

When you are writing copy for a seller of a product, the key is that you must remember to put yourselves in the shoes of the consumer. This is done through doing extensive research and studying what goes through the mind of that particular consumer. Each niche or group of people will be different in what will motivate them to do certain things. By doing this research, you will have a better idea of where you need to go with the message that you are trying to convey to your target audience.

This article on copywriting is meant to give you a broad overview of the field. The demand for copywriters will always be strong due to the need of companies to send messages to their audiences to buy their products. If you do not employ someone to promote your product, you will be left behind. This is why copywriting is such a good field and is in such high demand.

Changing a few words in your copy can lead to double-digit increases in conversions. If that sounds like a bunch of hype from an online infomercial, stick around and I’ll show you how it’s done.

That’s really all that happened with Kneelsit.com, an Australian ergonomic computer chair manufacturer. They had what would be considered a successful site with a continual stream of orders. All the basic information was already included on the home page, but the owner felt as though something was not quite “there” yet. He wanted a fresh approach to the site’s copy, so that’s what he received. And the results were simply amazing.

The Problems

While Kneelsit had great rankings for their key terms (normally #1 to #4 in popular search engines) keeping those rankings high required some attention to the SEO piece of the puzzle. Conversions, however, were not at their maximum. The business was not suffering, but it did have room for improvement. So, after receiving a sample chair to use during the process, I set (or should I say “sat”) out to work.

Once I assembled the chair and rolled it up to my desk, I kept a notepad nearby so I could jot down benefits as I noticed them. In just a few days’ time, I had a long list of features and benefits to refer to.

As I read over the original home page copy (which can be seen here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/kneelsit-home-original.html), I noticed something else. Many of the benefits I had on my paper were referenced (at least briefly) in the original copy. Some were phrased differently than I would later phrase them, but most were there.

However, in this highly competitive industry, I wanted to be sure to keep the uniqueness of the chair on the forefront. Visitors needed to quickly see that the Kneelsit was superior to other computer chairs available. The changing of some verbiage and providing more details in some areas would help keep visitors reading and help them easily distinguish this chair from others on their comparison list.

Once my list of benefits was completed, I began relating these options to other kneeling chairs and to users of ergonomic computer chairs. I wanted to see which benefits on my list were unique in the marketplace. I also wanted to know about the users of these chairs. After all, the buyer is the center of the process and should also be the focus of the copy.

My research revealed some of the reasons users would need an ergonomic chair and also the biggest complaints about some of the current ergonomic designs. In addition, I discovered which benefits were common to other ergonomic chairs and which were distinctive.

The Solutions

Armed with the research results, I started crafting the copy to speak to that one person who was forced to sit at a computer all day, in pain, and who desperately needed help. This person had tried several other computer chairs before with little to no results and was getting skeptical about finding a solution.

I looked back over my list of benefits in search of the ones that would not be found in the competition’s copy. I focused on one exclusive, patented feature (the axle design) and the fact that the chair was customizable for every body type.

I laid out a plan for the new copy including keyword selection, keyword placement, benefits and key points to be mentioned.

Similar in many ways to the original copy, the new version had some subtle, but powerful, changes. The goal of the new copy was to show the true distinction of these chairs by highlighting the most impressive benefits.

I would also focus on incorporating keyphrases in headlines and sub-heads (where it made sense to do so) and throughout the copy. I had to pay careful attention to making the copy sound natural, as I never want the SEO factors to overshadow the message of the page.

In Part 2 of this series (seen here: http://www.marketingwords.com/articles/articles_subtlechanges2.html), we’ll take a look at what went into the rewrite as well as what type of results were achieved with the new copy.