Plus, learn why website copywriting is a high-value project that warrants premium pricing as a freelance copywriter.

Are you ready to impress your copywriting clients with compelling, high-converting website copywriting? It’s time to learn how to create copy that’s on-brand and converts visitors to customers. Whether you’re working on a website revamp or crafting a site from scratch.

Website copywriting is a *key* aspect of a brand’s successful online presence. 

A stellar website sets the brand apart and compels customers to book. But it also acts as the foundation of an effective marketing funnel, which not all copywriters consider.

So – mastering websites from both a strategy and copywriting perspective is a high-value skill you can charge premium pricing for as a freelance copywriter. 

Ready to learn how? Keep reading to discover…

I. Understanding Website Copywriting Strategy
II. Website Copywriting Research: Audience and Goals
III. The Anatomy of High-Converting Website Copywriting (10 Key Sections)
IV. How to Become a High-Paid Website Copywriter

I’m going to share the exact website copywriting tactics I’ve used to help my clients build their online presence and ultimately generate millions of dollars in revenue.

You’ll learn how to incorporate elements that make websites much more effective, like: 

• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Brand messaging
• Marketing funnel strategy
  
  

These strategic considerations make your services much more valuable and high-ticket.

It’s my goal to provide my copywriting students with skills and strategy that sets them apart as freelance copywriters. Adding significant value is how so many Write Your Way to Freedom students skip low-paying job boards to work with high-paying, value-aligned clients.

(Wondering how to create a portfolio website for your OWN copywriting services? Check out this article instead. Keep reading to learn how to successfully provide website copywriting for your clients).

Understanding Website Copywriting Strategy

Imagine walking into your favorite boutique on the main street in town. As you stroll into the store, the owner behind the counter greets you with a smile.

The store is bright and inviting, with colorful artwork out on the walls. It gives you a positive feeling about the brand and the owner. As you browse the aisles, the owner tells you the shirts you’re looking at are buy two get one free, where half the proceeds go toward a charity.

You head to the “New Items” aisle as the owner continues telling you about all the benefits of shopping here. At checkout, they hand you a QR code that invites you to sign up to their email list to be the first to know about their sales, refresh on new items, and progress on the charity.

This whole interaction creates a bond with the brand and compels you to return.

But what happens when there’s no physical storefront to walk into? What if the only way for potential customers to learn about a brand is by looking it up online and clicking on their website?

A brand’s website is its virtual storefront.

Like a boutique shop owner shapes your in-person experience, compelling website copy shapes the virtual one. This captivates visitors and converts them into loyal customers. But your client’s website is about more than copywriting alone.

It’s a key piece of their sales funnel.
It’s the home base for their brand voice.
It’s their virtual sales team.

Website copywriting is extremely valuable because it’s a vital aspect of an effective sales funnel, and it can live on a website forever – driving results for years to come. You help the brand establish a foundation for their marketing!

But to achieve results for your clients, you need to understand where a website fits in the funnel – and how to write website copywriting that gets clicks and conversions.

Here are three strategy aspects to consider before you ever even start writing:

Marketing Funnel.

A marketing or sales funnel is the journey potential customers take with the brand. It starts from the point of first contact and ends with a purchase or conversion. A website plays a pivotal role at each stage of the customer’s journey.

• Awareness Stage: At the beginning of the funnel, the primary goal is to attract the right-fit customers. When a client clicks on a brand’s content or ads, they land on the website. This is where they’ll become aware of the brand and offers.
  
  Plus, website SEO can drive traffic to the website. This helps potential customers become aware of the brand they wouldn’t have otherwise known about. We’ll talk more about SEO in the next section.
  
  

• Interest and Evaluation Stage: Once the potential customers are aware of the brand and become interested, they’ll start to poke around the website to learn more. Maybe they read the resources, testimonials, and offers.
  
  A site that educates, builds trust, and positions the brand as the solution to their problems can pique the audience’s interest and make them consider the offers.
  
  
• Decision and Action Stage: At the final stage of the customer journey, the prospect is ready to take action. The website should compel the audience to take the next step, whether it’s to purchase or schedule a consultation.
  
  A well-optimized website with a smooth user experience, clear call-to-actions, and a seamless checkout or sign-up process can significantly boost conversions.
  
  
• Loyalty Phase: Another *primary* goal of a website is to compel the user to sign up for the brand’s email list. Emails are where the brand follows up with the customer and drives them to become repeat buyers.
  
  A few ways to compel the user to sign up for the brand’s email list is to offer a discount, an incentive like free shipping, or a valuable resource they can get in exchange for their email. Understanding this is so important and sets you apart.
  
  

Let’s walk through an example to illustrate how a website fits into the funnel.

Imagine a boutique coffee roaster, ‘Roast & Toast.’ They use social media and online ads to spread awareness of their ethically sourced, expertly roasted beans.

• Awareness: When a potential customer clicks on one of their posts or ads, they’re taken to the ‘Roast & Toast’ website. There, they learn about the brand’s story, their unique roasting process, and the farmers they partner with.
  
  

• Interest: As the website visitor explores further, they read blog posts about the perfect brewing techniques, check out detailed descriptions of different coffee bean varieties, and read glowing reviews. All this information convinces them of Roast & Toasts’ credibility and the quality of their products.
  
  

• Action: The website offers the customer a 10% discount on their first order when they sign up for the brand’s email list. Persuaded by the compelling website copy and no-brainer deal, they sign up and buy their first bag of beans.
  
  

• Repeat Loyalty: A few weeks later, the customer receives an email prompting them to buy their next bag. They had such a positive experience with the brand and coffee that they decide to buy it again.
  
  

The example above demonstrates how a website does more than just persuade someone to buy once. It should also consider how to drive customers into the next step of the marketing funnel – like the email list. There, the brand can create a relationship and compel ongoing purchases.

Brand Messaging Strategy.

When writing website copy for a client, understanding and integrating their brand messaging is vital. Brand messaging – like voice, personality, and mission – captures the brand’s tone and creates a consistent narrative with the audience.

• Consistency: Each page of website copy should use the same voice and tone. If you have a humorous tone on one page and a deeply serious tone on the next, it might confuse your customer. A consistent brand voice builds trust and recognition with the audience.
  
  
• Differentiation: Brand voice and personality helps a brand stand out from its competitors. When hundreds of the same products are on the marketplace, customers gravitate towards the brand they like and resonate with the best.
  
  
• Connection: A well-articulated brand message connects with the audience on an emotional level. It speaks directly to the audience’s needs, desires, and challenges. Plus, customers connect with a brand’s larger values and mission.
  
  

Incorporating brand messaging into website copy is more than just nice-to-have. It’s essential for creating a compelling, cohesive, and effective digital presence.

Pro Tip: Carving out a brand’s messaging strategy is a different project and scope than website copywriting. If a client doesn’t have a clear idea of their voice, mission, and audience, it’s important to take a step back *before* you jump into website copywriting.

You can offer to help them create their brand messaging strategy. This is an exercise where you define the brand’s audience and tone. This greatly benefits you and the client before you write their website copy.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the practice of enhancing a website to improve its visibility in search engine results. It’s a crucial factor to consider when writing website copy for a client, as it directly impacts the reach of their digital presence.

• Visibility and Traffic: When your website copy is optimized for search engines, it’s more likely to appear in the top results when users search for relevant keywords. This visibility can significantly increase organic traffic to your client’s site, bringing more potential customers to the top of their marketing funnel.
  
  

• Credibility and Trust: Ranking highly in search engine results can enhance a brand’s credibility. Most users trust search engines to provide relevant and trustworthy results. If your client’s site consistently appears for their target keywords, it can help build trust and authority with their audience.
  
  
• Conversion: By using SEO strategies like keyword research and high-quality SEO content, you can attract users actively searching for the products or services your client offers. These high-intent visitors are more likely to convert into leads or customers.
  
  

Not all copywriters incorporate SEO into their website copywriting offers, but it’s so important. Understanding SEO makes your website copywriting services more valuable and helps you stand out from other freelancers.

Website copywriting is a whole lot more than just listing out a client’s services. A website communicates a brand’s mission and plays a big role in their sales strategy.

This type of project is where all your copy and strategy skills come together as a copywriter. But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean that creating web copy has to be complicated.

Let’s break down the website copywriting process – starting with your research.

Website Copywriting Research: Audience and Goals

Before you start writing, it’s important to conduct thorough research on your client’s ideal customer and website goals. Gathering research sets your project up for success.

Brands often make the mistake of thinking their website is all about them. It’s true that a site is an important place to host a brand’s story. But it’s crucial to communicate that story in a way that resonates with the ideal customer.

When a potential client lands on the website, they want to know exactly what’s in it for them. How does the brand meet their needs and offer the value they’re looking for? Gathering information about your audience’s needs shapes your website copywriting.

Here’s a checklist of information to gather about your audience:

• Pain Points: Understand the challenges, frustrations, and problems your ideal clients face that relate to the brand’s offers. You’ll want to empathize with these pain points and position the client’s offers as a solution that alleviates their struggles.
  
  
• Desires: Uncover your target audience’s aspirations, goals, and dreams. What do they want to achieve? What motivates them? Understanding their deeper desires allows you to highlight how the client’s offers bring them closer to their ultimate goals.
  
  
• Objections: What reasons could prevent the audience from engaging with the brand’s offers? Identifying these objections enables you to proactively address them head-on within your messaging.
  
  
• Questions: List the common questions and concerns your audience may have about the offers. Questions are often objections in disguise, so answering them can address a client’s uncertainty or hesitation.
  
  

Remember, thorough market research is the foundation of effective copywriting. It’s crucial to understand your audience on a deep level so you can empathize with their experience – and communicate how the offer helps them get the outcome they want.

Here are a few places and ways to gather market research:

• Join online forums. Online forums like Reddit, Quora, and Facebook groups are market research gold. You can find groups where your ideal audience hangs out and take notes about what they’re frustrated with, asking about, and looking for.
  
  
• Send out a survey. If your client has an existing email list, you can send out a short survey to their audience to gather feedback on what’s most important to them. This is a great way to get actual voice-of-customer swipes.
  
  
• Create a social media poll. Does your client already have a social media following? You can conduct a poll with their audience. If not, you can still research similar brands and see what the audience talks about on their pages.
  
  

Research gives you insight into how to communicate things better. It might even reveal pain points that you hadn’t thought of before. There’s a good chance that what you *think* the audience wants is something different from what they actually want.

Conducting market research also shows your client that you’re a high-quality writer. Taking the extra time to help them learn about their audience’s needs is extremely helpful.

You could even deliver a document with audience insights to your clients as an added value bonus. You’re already conducting the research, so putting this together won’t take too long. But going the extra mile like this for your clients sets you apart.

The Anatomy of High-Converting Website Copywriting (10 Key Sections)

You’ve gathered your research and got all your ducks in a row. Now, it’s time to start writing!

When writing website copy for clients, I usually recommend creating a long-form landing page. This is a website style where all the information about the brand is housed on the homepage.

There’s still a navigation bar at the top linking to different sections – like about and services. But instead of opening a new page, they link to the corresponding section on the homepage.

The long-form format allows you to tell a cohesive story that moves the reader down the page instead of breaking it up into separate pages. Every time you prompt the reader to click away, you risk losing them.

Of course, it’s important to consult your client about their preferences. But the following section will walk you through the areas to include in a long-form homepage website.

Here are the ten key sections to include to tell a compelling story with the website:

1. Hero and Headline. The top section of the website should immediately capture attention. Use a headline that captures the brand’s unique value and piques interest. But make sure the headline makes what the brand offers crystal-clear.
   
   
2. “Trusted By” Section. Social proofs like testimonials and client reviews are essential to include throughout the website. The section below the headline is a fantastic place to include any logos of credible brands your client has worked with.
   
   
3. Pain Points and Desires. It’s time to show the audience you know what they’re going through. Include a section that empathizes with their pain but tries to position them in a positive way. Help them visualize the pain-free reality they want to have.
   
   
4. Offers. Now that you’ve empathized with the audience, this is a perfect place to introduce the client’s offers as the solution to their pain areas. List out the different offers available – whether they’re services or products.
   
   
5. Testimonials. After introducing the offers, include specific testimonials and success stories from individuals who have had positive experiences with these offers. It’s powerful to also include their names and photos (with permission).
   
   
6. About. Offer more information about the client that relates to their audience. This is a place to highlight the transformation the brand went through that the audience wants for themselves. It’s also where you can include personality and credentials to build trust.
   
   
7. Approach and Philosophy. Clients want to work with brands they like and trust. Include a section highlighting the brand values and mission to build this credibility with the audience.
   
   
8. FAQs. Address frequently asked questions about the brand’s offers, process, and other relevant queries. This helps alleviate common concerns and gives visitors the information they need to make informed decisions.
   
   
9. Helpful Resources. Showcase any relevant resources the client has to offer, such as a blog or Youtube video content. This can drive traffic to those other resources while building the client’s credibility.
   
   
10. Contact Form. Be sure to provide clear contact details and tell the user exactly how to get in touch. Make it easy for the audience to take the next step, like scheduling a call or applying to work with the brand.
    
    

The ten sections above work well in that order to tell a story and walk the audience through their decision-making journey. But there are a couple of crucial elements to include:

• Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons. Place clear and prominent CTA buttons throughout the page, encouraging visitors to take the desired action. This button likely links to the contact form or application.
  
  
• Opt-In Form. Remember that one of the *primary* goals of a website is to compel the audience to enroll in the brand’s email list. So, include an enticing opt-in form – whether it’s a pop-up form or embedded on the page.
  
  

Using a long-form website format allows you to carefully guide the readers through their decision to work with the brand. You’re guiding them through each funnel stage – from awareness to interest to desire to action.

This comprehensive approach ensures that visitors are presented with all the necessary information to make an informed decision about engaging with the offers. And once you have the proven steps in place, you can go back and inject elements of personality and character.

Mastering the skill of website copywriting is highly valuable – and it’s also a really enjoyable service to offer. You get to communicate a client’s mission in a way that makes them proud while driving tangible results for their brand.

Become a High-Paid Website Copywriter

Are you excited to add website copywriting services to your list of specialties?

Maybe you love the idea of helping your clients distill their offers into clear, emotionally compelling language. You’re ready to help them get their valuable offers into the hands of people who need them – and get paid well to do it!

My copywriting education program, Write Your Way to Freedom, equips you with the strategy and copywriting techniques to become a sought-after website copywriter.

Get immediate access to:

• Practice Scenarios. Real-life case studies of how to assist clients with website copy. Learn how to diagnose what they need and make valuable recommendations.
  
  
• Offer Creation. Are you wondering, “How much should I charge for copywriting a website?” Learn exactly how to package your website copywriting offer – from what to charge and how to add extra value.
  
  
• Client Pitching. Discover where to find value-aligned clients and how to land high-paying projects like website copywriting.
  
  

You’ll have everything you need to launch your website copywriting offer, but this comprehensive program goes beyond just website copy. Expand your collection of high-value skills by mastering sales pages, whitepapers, emails, and more.

Plus, you’ll be joining a community of supportive, like-minded copywriters. Just imagine having peers to bounce ideas off of, provide feedback, and cheer you on. 🙌

Write Your Way to Freedom combines copywriting skills education with high-powered career advice to help you skyrocket your freelance career faster.

Schedule a strategy session to learn more and see if Write Your Way to Freedom is for you.