Website Rewrite 101
Writing website copy doesn’t have to be a bummer, or a weight, or drag.
It’s a business-building activity.
When you’re ready to update your website copy, that is a fanTAStic time to think through your messaging, strengthen your voice, and get to know your best-fit client.
The words will take care of themselves. (More or less.) (I’m being optimistic, yes, but not without reason.)
Let's update our website copy together
For those who have a website, but need to update the copy for any of various reasons (doesn’t work, you don’t like it, lots of stuff to add or remove, etc.)
Once you have a reader on your site—congratulations! A lot of the work has already been done! Someone knows about you, or is curious about you, and is already doing the work to learn more! Whoa!
Your copy is all about moving the right people forward.
Let’s start with the intention to help our clients. Doing that will grow the business.
What is your website actually supposed to do?
First, let’s give your website a job.
(Want some of the common ones? Grab a list.)
Where are your clients actually buying from you right now? Via your email list, on discovery calls, in the DMs? Is that working for you? How can your site support what’s working?
How can your website support that?
Give yourself one priority for your website. Then, give each page its own job.
For example, maybe your “About” page will move readers to your “Services” page, which encourages people to book a discovery call. (This could work if your typical reader is ready to book a discovery call, or if you SELL THE HECK out of it.)
Now you have a business function for your website. Cool cool.
Figure out the customer's problem + the transformation you offer
All this needs to be laid out, plain and simple for your reader. Mine the gold you already have: testimonials, sales calls, reviews. The less guessing you have to do, the better.
- What does it look like to work with you?
- What does it feel like to work with you?
- Where is the transformation after working with you?
- What did they feel like before they worked with you?
- What other solutions were they considering?
What can you offer your reader TODAY, while they’re on your website? What would they value as a next step?
Get words on the page. Zero fussing, no fretting.
Okay. Now we need to figure out what stays, what goes, and what needs to be written fresh for your site. Map your messages to where they need to go. Then… write!
This is a quick overview, so it’s hard to talk about what to say and where to put it. Let’s talk about how to get words on a page without stressing and torturing yourself with a blank page.
Never start from a blank page. You should have your customer messages in front of you. Copy and paste them. Move them around. Some copywriters use notecards! Pen and paper do wonders in the age of AI, my friends. Don’t underestimate.
- Use voice-to-text
- Take the pressure off by calling it your “zero draft” or “crappy first draft” or “incredible adventure of doing my best here draft”
- Know that you’re the expert in your own biz
- Ride inspiration. Take breaks. Be nice to yourself.
Make the words good
Let’s make our ideas clear and specific.
Now that we have the words we need, in an order that makes sense, we want them ring clear and beautiful through the all time and space/the internet.
Here’s a trick: if you write in Google Docs or something similar, this is the time to format headings and buttons so they look at least a liiiitle like the page. It’ll make more sense when you’re making revisions.
Do you have enough information for your reader to move forward?
Are you selling the goal of the page?
Does everything speak directly to the reader?
Be kind to yourself through the revision process. Your keyboard is not a chisel. Nothing here is set in stone.
You did it! Yaaaay! Here’s what’s next…
Good news and bad news: copy is never finished. You launch, and make adjustments as you learn. No such thing as perfect. Just what works better.
Need extra help? No biggie.
Come hang out at Website Rewrite Workshop. Talk business with people struggling with the same questions. Get your questions answered. Build a business that works.
Stuck? Try a Quick Strategy Session.
Not enjoying the process at all? Let’s talk. I write things for people.