Stop writing bad web copy, startups

http://blog.webcopyplus.com/2009/01/07/web-writing-the-good-bad-and-ugly/

by purzelrakete • 16 years ago

25 9 16 years ago

blog.webcopyplus.com

Basic advice that is violated over and over again. Kathy Sierra also had a lot to say about this on http://headrush.typepad.com/.

Rust• 16 years ago

I'd like to add that good editing can make or break the copy, no matter who it's targeted at.

Their != they're != there Your != you're Then != than Of != have

Timothee• 16 years ago

Absolutely. I was recently considering an ebook about good web copy and read the following in the preview: "it's purpose is". That was a deal-breaker for me.

tyrelb• 16 years ago

Does anyone know what the cost for this service is - say for approximately 300 words, 600 words, and so on?

(rough idea)

Love this!

byrneseyeview• 16 years ago

It depends on a wide variety of factors. (And, in general, the more willing someone is to offer you a no-questions-asked quote, the more likely it is that their writing is, well, a commodity.) If I were bidding on something like that, I'd want to know:

* Whether it requires any special industry/technical knowledge.

* Who your audience is.

* Whether the page is designed to convert, or just informational.

* Your future content needs.

I've charged as little as $50 for that kind of writing (to an audience of laypeople, as part of a larger project, with no effort to sell) or as much as $500 (selling a to a narrowly-targeted audience acquired through PPC spending, as part of a one-time project).

I do write this kind of thing, by the way; email address is in the profile.

DTrejo• 16 years ago

They don't take their own advice; their homepage is so busy!

http://www.webcopyplus.com/index.html

markbnine• 16 years ago

Nice job adding the word "startups" to the title... It's sort of like adding "in bed" after reading a fortune cookie. Soon everybody will be doing it.

aminuit• 16 years ago

> This is where you hire a copywriter for your website and he or she fills the pages with cleverly crafted, delightfully delectable prose that oh-so-playfully sing and dance.

Prose is singular. The plural of prose is proses, though it's not frequently used. If you're going to chide authors on style, make sure you've got the grammar correct first. Also as a counterexample, I'd like to point out that woot.com typically exhibits playful prose to great effect. Honestly, I probably visit more for the excellent ad copy than any other reason.

lsb• 16 years ago

Based on the grammar, "that playfully sing and dance" refers to pages. The grammar works fine.

But it's clumsy, and should be This is where you hire a copywriter for your website who can fill cleverly-crafted prose into pages that sing and dance.

modoc• 16 years ago

I highly recommend: http://jasmineyoungediting.com for affordable rapid turn-around copywriting, editing, proof-reading, etc...

Stop writing bad web copy, startups

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