This morning I decided it was time to do some research for my current copywriting client, a private chef. I just googled “private chef near me” to start with and clicked randomly on the first options that popped up.

Know what struck me first about the copy?

It was all.so.boring.

Honestly, the websites were all boring in general, but the words were absolutely NOT anything that caught my attention or made me smile or want to keep reading.

Now granted, I’m not on the market to hire a private chef at the moment. I wasn’t exactly looking to be captivated by the copy, and if I had been, I maybe would have read a little longer.

My experience this morning with the websites and copy of the private chefs in my area isn’t unusual. Body copy is one of the most underrated parts of a website, and, if website lurkers manage to keep scrolling or clicking, usually where potential clients get lost in the weeds. The paragraphs on a website usually fall somewhere on a spectrum of either long text boxes of jargon and background information that no one cares about, or itty bitty bits of copy that are overly cheerful and pretty much useless.

So, is it even possible to write body copy that is interesting, compelling, and keeps your dream clients reading?

It is, it is!

Let’s chat about some of the best practices you can implement as your write your website so that you can end up with body copy that’s not boring (and actually converts lurkers into shoppers).

#1. Start with actually helpful/necessary/crucial information

Maybe “start with the necessary information” seems obvious, but based on the websites in the world, it’s genuinely not. As you sit down to write the (many) pieces of copy for your website, start with the facts. What information do your future clients need to know? What is going to help tip someone over the edge into buying from you? Make sure your body copy includes all the details of your service or product, how it’s unique, and how people can purchase it.

#2. Write your copy as a human, to other humans

If you knew that at the other end of your website was an interested potential client who actually WANTED to buy your service or product, how would you write your copy? I think often we start with the assumption that no one is interested so we might as well mumble anyway (do the written equivalent of mumbling, that is). If they don’t really care, why even try to write copy that is interesting, laugh-inducing, story-telling, heart-warming? Why would you let your heart show, if no one cares?

While there is a place to edit your copy through the eye of “no one cares that much, how can I help them want to stick around”, I’m convinced that using that distant, no one cares attitude when you’re writing your copy is primarily going to damage your website. Write warmly, like you’re a person. Because you are! No one wants to buy from ChatGPT… or a person that sounds like a robot. To end up with body copy on your website that isn’t boring, write like you’re a human, talking to another human. Write from your heart.

#3. Don’t get too ramblyyy

Yes, write like a person! And as people, sometimes we ramble! I get that. My voice messages to my long distance friends often end up accidentally being ten minutes long. Your website, though, is not a voice message. Make sure to include the necessary information, and don’t get carried away with the business of equivalnt of “Yeah, it’s a really windy day today…Not sure what we’re having for supper tonight, any ideas?….My baby hasn’t been sleeping very well…”

Your potential clients want to know you’re a human, but they also will glaze over and click out if you lose them with bits of copy that are irrelevant. Stay on topic, and keep your paragraphs short and easy to read quickly.

#4. Make it skimmable

I absolutely learned this first from Ashlyn Carter of Ashlyn Writes, and now it’s something I can’t emphasize enough. Keep your body copy paragraphs short. Body copy should not be much longer than five lines without a paragraph break, a change of font, a heading, some bullet points, or something else to keep it easy to read. We’re all in a hurry these days, and if something looks hard to read, we probably will just skip it. Your body copy should be easy to skim, and then also captivating to go back and read more throughly.

#5. Be specific and then more specific

Perhaps specificity goes directly under “include important information,” but I have certainly seen some websites with body copy that HAD important information, but required *quite a bit* of wading through to find the important stuff. As I said before, don’t use jargon. Be precise. Use specific illustrations. Avoid generalizing. I think we often don’t want to be exclusive as we write our websites, and so we end up not really saying anything clearly or to a particular person or demographic. “Choosing a niche” has been a buzzy phrase for as long as I’ve been in business… but for good reason. If you aren’t specific with your copy, no one will understand that you are speaking to them and have something that they in particular will want to buy.

Shameless plug!

If the idea of writing body copy that is helpful, specific, skimmable, clear, and human sounds daunting to you… this is why Studio Tell exists! I would love to help you dive into your brand and come up with body copy (and headline copy, and brand copy and…) for your business that will speak directly to your dream clients. I’m booking copy clients for this summer. Click here to look through my packages, and click here to jump straight to my inquiry page. Words can create an entire world for your business, and I would be honored to help you as you go through the process of creating yours.

Here’s to copy that isn’t boring, websites that are a delight to read, and businesses that make the world more beautiful. ♥︎