Types of Web Copy

Whether you are a marketer looking to create better web copies, or an influencers trying to engage with your audience more, you need to know about the types of web copy. Long, short, or any length of web copy in between, you need to use it to communicate a message.

In this article, we will help you ensure that every message you distribute is communicated effectively to your audience (related article – Writing for your Audience). In able to do that, your content needs to be clear and concise, easy to read, well written and well structured. 

Additionally, you also need to consider the type of web copy you’re using. Usually, this can be divided into two broad categories: short copies and long copies. Check out their differences below:

Short Copy

Most of the time,content writers have very little time and space to get a message across on the web. Visitors have short attention spans, so you want to entice them to take action. Make sure your point is delivered right away. This is particularly true of advertisements for banners and searches. Listed below are the most important short copies:

Call to Action 

CTAs are one of the most important short copies across the web. As we said, there are limited periods of attention for users. So, when they visit a web page, they look for clues on what to do. Take the chance to say them. This is what an Action Call is doing. It’s a concise guidance that tells the reader clearly what to do.

For instance, when you visit a web page and you do not have the time to read through all of the content, you just look for the button that says “Click here” or “Buy now.” Be sure to use active verbs when you write, and hyperlink to the specific page you want to lead your readers to. 

You also need to ensure that your CTA is clear and enticing, this will help with your conversion process. It is important to know that Calls to Action are not limited to short copies. These can also be used in email newsletters, promotions, and more. 

A successful CTA is expected to align with the visitor’s activity. For instance, if you are looking to collect email addresses from your readers so they can sign up for your newsletter, the CTA button should say “Sign up” and not “Submit.” This will immediately let the reader know that 

they are signing up for something, and not just giving away their email addresses to the unknown.

Titles and Subject Lines 

Another form of short copy are the titles and subject lines. Yes, both of these are also part of a body of a long copy. However, they are also important enough to be considered as a stand-alone short copy.

Titles and subject lines lets a reader know whether or not they should read further. Again, most customers have short attention spans, so your title and subject lines should be catchy and informative enough to make them want to read more. 

Subject lines are very similar to headlines for emails. These make the difference between a customer reading your email, or sending it straight to junk without being opened. It should clearly state what the content is about, and how the readers can benefit by reading the email. 

Both should be persuasive and enticing to your audience. 

Search Adverts 

This is another important short copy that you need to think carefully of. Similar to CTAs, search adverts have very limited space and time to get your message across. Not to mention that there are plenty of competitions for a reader’s attention. 

Usually, search ads adopt the same pattern structure. There is also a strict character limit for each line. The lines are as follows:

• Heading (25 characters max.)
• Two lines of advert copy (35 characters max)
• URL (35 characters max)

The limited character count can seem daunting to communicate information that attracts the right people to click through the post.Creating such a short copy that differentiates you from your competition may also seem challenging.

The best way to create search adverts is by testing variations of it and deciding on what works best for your campaign.

Social Copy 

Next, we have social copy. Thanks to social media, brands can now communicate with their customers and audience. This is why creating content for your social media accounts is vital. Here are a few tips to help you create the best social copy:

• Do your research. Understand what your audience want, and what resonates with them more. 
• Provide relevant content.
• Content should be personable and appealing
• Write shareable content. It should be credible enough to make your audience want to share them.
• Avoid promotional content as much as possible
• Have a solid communication protocol.

Long Copy

Now we move on to long copies. This type of web copy allows you to provide more information to your audience. It also gives you a great opportunity to encourage your readers to convert into customers.

You may foster a friendship with a reader by long copies. However, in long copies, you have more words and psace available that allow you to bring a voice and personality into writing.

A long copy should be structured and formatted so it is easy to read and digest. There are different types of long online copy, some examples are provided below:

News releases

These are often used for public relations. Originally news releases are intended to provide information for journalists. This means that a new release should be written in the brand tone, and should be accessible to the public.

It also needs to be optimised and formatted according to the principles of good web writing. Additionally, a new release should also have a compelling headline.

Online Articles 

Online articles are in now way a direct promotion of your brand, so it can be less formal. Nonetheless, and online article should still be informative and valuable to your readers.

The SEO of the content should also be excellent, and should contain all the relevant key phrases. The goal is to provide something valuable for your audience.

Email Newsletters

Online marketers know just how valuable an email newsletter is. This should be valuable to the readers, otherwise, they can end up unsubscribing to your channel. 

The types of long copies listed above are just a few examples. There are plenty more of long copies such as blogs, website copy, mobile copy and more. We hope that this article has helped you learn a lot about the different types of web copy and how you can use those to your advantage.

© Image credits to Vraj Shah