TOC #216: Clients straight up don't care about this
(February 10, 2025) How to shift the focus to your reader in your copy
There is nothing I would rather brag about more than my 3 Bachelor's degrees.
Andddd my 2 minors.
Anddddddd the fact that I was one semester of French away from a 4th degree.
(Ironic, considering I ended up living in Quebec for a long after college… and my French was mediocre at best…)
But you don't give a single shit about that.
Sure, it's cool for me to say that I have degrees in Political Science, Criminal Justice, and Sociology, and minors in Philosophy and Paralegal Studies, but…
That has absolutely nothing to do with my copywriting career.
Although my Philosophy education is what inspired my brand name (I'm a professional at reading between the lines) and my Sociology degree definitely contributes to what makes me good at selling (knowing about psychology and all that good stuff)…
That's not what someone's looking for when they're looking to hire me.
They want to know how I can make their copy sound like them.
They want to know how many websites I've written.
They want to know about my research process.
They want to know about my turnaround time.
They don't want to know about whatever the fuck I put on my LinkedIn profile for my ex bosses and ex boyfriends to stalk.
They want to know about what's relevant to THEM — NOT about what is solely relevant to ME.
So, I *could* make my professional education and my credentials a big focus of my About page, ORRRR I could write about things my future clients and students actually give a shit about.
How To Shift The Focus To Your Reader
📢 You’re saying what YOU want to SAY, and not what your ideal clients and customers need to HEAR. 📢
I’ve said this before but I’m gonna say it again because it’s a huge contributor to lack of conversion.
Your website isn’t a billboard, it’s a conversation.
One of the biggest mistakes business owners make when DIY-ing their own website copy is not considering what their target audience *actually* needs to know in order to feel confident in making the investment.
Here are 3 easy questions to ask yourself to figure out whether you’re making this mistake:
1️⃣ Would someone reading your site immediately learn what you do and how your services/offerings can benefit them?
…or are you assuming they already know?
2️⃣ Does your website have any industry jargon on it that your ideal clients might not get?
…and are you assuming they think all that fancy word choice is making you look cool and expert-like? (Hint: it’s not.)
3️⃣ Was your website copy written in an easy-to-understand, actually-sounds-like-a-human-wrote-it manner?
…or were you sacrificing personality for the sake of coming off as “professional”?
If you answered “no” to any of the above questions, you’ll want to reevaluate your website copy to make it sound less like a Yellow Pages listing in a 1980s phonebook and more like an actual conversation.
HERE'S HOW TO FIX IT 😏
→ Start with listening.
All good conversationalists are good listeners, too.
Before you jump into the convo — aka before you write your website copy — consider who you’re talking to, and listen to their side of the story.
Pretend like they’re asking you for help. What would you tell them (relative to your business’s offerings) about how you can improve their current situation, now that you know what it is?
→ Write to one person.
The best conversations are one-on-ones. That’s how your website should feel to your readers.
Consider writing to ONE person on the other side of the screen, as if they were your good friend. What would they want to know? What would you say to them if you were standing in front of them, and they were asking you about your services?
→ Focus on the reader, not on yourself.
No one wants to have a conversation with someone who only talks about themselves.
Use the word “you” like it’s your job (to make it clear you’re talking to them and only them), and infuse your reader into every part of your site’s story.
Help them see themselves in the copy — not you.
→ Talk how they talk.
Use words that your ideal clients use (and understand).
Consider your specific industry (and their level of knowledge of that industry) and determine which terms/phrases are appropriate to use, and which are too jargon-y.
→ Be a person first.
If you wouldn’t say it out loud, don’t write it in your web copy.
People want to work with people not businesses. Don't forget that your end goal is to actually work with these people, so they WILL get to know you — meaning they will notice if you're a completely different person on your site than you are in real life.
Read your web copy out loud to see if it sounds good and normal, or if it sounds stuffy and weird.
WANT EVEN MORE TIPS FOR MAKING YOUR WEBSITE COPY BETTER? My website copywriting course, Site Series® SPRINT, is full of them — in fact, that's the entire point.
For the duration of this “FIX IT” series, you can use code ‘MILLIONAIRE’ for $100 off the course so you can learn exactlyyyy how to upgrade your website copy & attract more dream clients than ever before 💅🏼
How To Humanize Your About Page (With Examples!)
The Origin Story: How I Started My Business
How I Reach My Goals: My Step By Step Process
SIDE NOTE…
Me & my bestie Sarah Kleist are speaking They're The Best, a five-day event filled with real, unfiltered conversations between some of the smartest entrepreneurs I know.
(I'm not just saying that, either! I might be good friends with half the speaker list but… what can I say? I happen to have really smart friends.)
No slides, no fluffernutter vibes — just honest discussions about what actually works in business.
Kleist & I will be talking about some serioussss copy x design tea 👀 and sharing opinions we've never talked about before!
Tickets are only $97 right now for early bird pricing, and you’ll get lifetime access to all of the conversations.
It's happening March 24 - 28, inside a private community on Circle, and we're gonna have a great time.
I'd love to see you there!
Love, S
P.S. Don't forget to use code “MILLIONAIRE” for $100 off of my website copywriting course! Join right here 🩵
If we haven’t had the chance to *virtually* meet yet, hi! I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
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