You have 15 seconds or less to make an impression on a website. That means your headlines better be catchy, your images captivating, and your content easily digestible. Let's talk specifically about headlines and content.
Goodbye, Adjectives.
I'm glad you think it's useful and trendy, but it's still just a free gift. An easy way to cut down on the fluff is removing some adjectives. Yes, describing your product is important, but most of the time a photo is going to do most of the describing. Keep your customer focused on the benefits and drop a few overly descriptive words to hold their attention.
Lights, Camera, Call to Action!
Without a doubt, call to action (CTA) buttons or links are driving your website actions. The name is pretty self explanatory, but for those who need a full definition consider this ... what do you want someone to do when they visit your site, your landing page or see your ad? That's the action. Keep it short, keep it actionable. Get the people to the place they need to be.
Are you talking to me?
The legal department of every major corporation wants to hit the X right now, but hear me out! If you aren't explaining things in terms that your customers will understand, they will end up confused and most likely upset. This goes for technical language, too. Your engineer may have created the product, but if you aren't selling to other engineers don't let them write the website copy. Make sure you are speaking the language of the site visitor.
Are you breaking up with me?
A list of items is generally better read in bullet points rather than separated by commas. Allowing the user to quickly scan information is an easy way to hold their attention and keep them on the page. You should use headlines and other visual breaks like images to keep the reader moving down the page. Nobody likes a paragraph (or blog post) that runs on forever and ever and ever ...
Let's recap how to hold a user's attention:
- Cut out unnecessary words so the reader isn't distracted
- Use clear CTAs to direct the user to the end goal
- Speak the same language your site visitor is speaking
- Break up content with bullet points and visuals
