Sometimes people look at me like I have two heads when I try to explain what I do.

In part it’s because I freelance and am not an ad agency nor do I work for an agency. I also work mostly with small-town local customers, not in the big city where folks like me are more common.

I usually tell people I’m a writer and and I write the content for websites. I also do search engine optimization so that sites rank well in Google searches.

People can relate a little better to that last sentence. They know about Google.

But writing content for websites? No. They just don’t get that anyone would pay for that and pay well.

Last week I was getting my hair cut, okay, getting the gray dyed out, too. While waiting for the color to process, my stylist got a call and a recommendation for a company she was interested in using. 

She is a super picky shopper. Much pickier than I am. She said to me, “I never heard of them.” Then she looked up the company’s website on her cell phone and went straight to the About page. 

She read it to herself and then said to me, “They sound good, really good. Listen to this.” Then she started reading it out loud to me. 

The text was informative, thoughtful, and friendly. It told a story. I could see why she was impressed.

I don’t know if the company had a professional copywriter or not. I suspect not because when I looked at the rest of the site I saw a lot of missed opportunities for other matters, i.e. good headlines, subheads, SEO, etc.

Yet  whoever wrote the page put a lot of heart into it and was successful in convincing my stylist. That’s the most important!

My example in this tip was of a service provider but even retailers can take the lessons to heart. Can you put a bit of friendly copy on your home page, not just your pretty products? Pay attention to your About and History pages; don’t just throw them away. Testimonial pages are another opportunity to add some heartfelt thoughts. Be creative.

Easy Web Tip 289: Never underestimate the power of the words on your website.