One of the main uses of web sites is to sell – everything from expensive property and high cost business services to things you want to get rid of on an auction site.
There are many different approaches to writing sales copy and, as a copywriter, I prefer the concise approach. Yet I have to concede that single-page web sites filled with text that seems to extend for many fathoms under my computer screen must be effective or businesses would not use them.
This doesn’t mean that I like or approve of them. Personally, when I am looking to buy something, I don’t like being treated like an idiot. I look for specific information, e.g. details of the product’s specification, price, delivery options. I do not want to be told 20 times that the product is “fantastic”. After all, I write marketing copy and I wouldn’t describe anything as fantastic, because the term has been over-used.
When I come across these long single-page web sites, I leave them unread. Perhaps the product is good, perhaps it isn’t, but the selling message has turned me away.
What does this mean? That different writing formats work for different people, so it’s important to address your target audience in a way to which they will respond. The wrong approach could alienate them.
I still won’t write text for long single-page web sites. At least, there are plenty of other formats I am happy to write and which keep me busy.
Robert Zarywacz
