Though nowadays I spend my days earning more sales and getting more dream clients in the books by doing website copywriting for a living, I wasn’t always the SEO-and-also-storytelling-and-also-strategy-slinging pro I am now. Because while it’s easy to write copy for website, it’s hard to write effective copy for your website. 

(And by hard I mean that writing web copy can sometimes feel near-impossible. Especially when you’re writing for your own website. And especially when you’re doing it for the first time.)

Because with the right words on your web page — you know, the strategy-backed, psychology-savvy, totally-intentional ones — you can speak directly to your ideal audience. See more qualified clients send inquiries to your inbox. And sail your way to the top of the search engine results pages. 

But with the wrong words?

You’ll just be left with an email inbox full of virtual crickets and a deep urge to hide your URL when a friend asks to see your website for the first time.

So what’s the secret behind writing copy for website that sells vs. writing just words that sit on a web page? 

Here are the four big mistakes I made when writing copy for website for the first time: 

Copywriting Mistake #1: I went too broad when thinking about my audience 

When I first sat down to write my website, I had a vague idea of who I wanted to attract with my words. But I was still working off the theory that talking to everyone was better than talking directly to just one person. 

It’s a pretty easy theory to fall victim to…

It’s logical to think that talking to everyone at once = attracting more clients, turning more visitors into leads, and making your brand story more accessible (and engaging!) for a wider group of visitors on the web.

But…nope. 

Writing copy under that theory leads to headlines like this…

Which…sure…doesn’t seem too bad at first glance.

But why is this web copy example likely to leave you with fewer clients and sales? 

Instead of speaking to one specific type of visitor in your audience (specifically your ideal one, which you might hear called a persona or avatar), this web copy example tries to engage ready-to-launch small businesses, growth-oriented small businesses, and million-dollar-ready businesses: all at once.

Which leads to confusion for all. 

Because the business owner operating a $800,000/year revenue-earning business will care about scaling up to 7-figures+, but they are well past the “getting your ideas launched” stage.

And the small business owner just starting out on their entrepreneur journey will likely find it difficult to imagine their “seven-figure scale up” coming anytime soon. 

And in my case: everyone who came to my website — no matter if they’d been in business for a decade or were still getting up the guts to quit their 9-5 — was left confused about who I served because of this headline. And (more importantly) they were left confused about whether my skills and services were the right fit for them.

How do you avoid Mistake #1?

Instead of repeating my copywriting mistakes, speak directly to the one persona that is most aligned with your business goals when writing your web copy. 

If you’re more interested in that middle-ground persona stage like I was (the one that wants to leverage their current success into growth through sound content strategy and website copywriting), write directly to them. This will lead to higher conversions for you in the long run. 

And lead to more compelling copy like this…

And by “compelling copy,” I mean copy that meets your ideal audience exactly where they’re at. And makes them want to work with you in a “where have you been my whole life?” kind of way. 

Copywriting Mistake #2: I was trying to fake it until I made it

I have a friend who has some beef with the phrase “fake it until you make it.” 

A psychologist by trade, she believes there’s a healthier way of looking at this process of overcoming the kind of momentum-stopping imposter syndrome that can hit entrepreneurs hard. 

She prefers the phrase:

“Think it until you make it reality.”

Why is “thinking” better than “faking”? Because by “faking” we’re working to mimic someone else. By “thinking” we’re looking internally at our own wants and beliefs. 

When I first started out, I believed that I needed to project a very specific personality in my copy for website. A personality that was professional, studious, and neutral. 

(Why was I all about those descriptors? I just thought that was the vibe that people wanted to see from a copywriter, so I ran with it. That was the entire “why” behind it.)

It’s not that these adjectives don’t describe me in some ways (anyone who knew me in grad school will tell you that I have plenty of studious bones in my body).

But neutral? Psssssshhhh. Heck no.

That brand personality wasn’t one I could sustain. 

And also one that no one in my ideal audience actually wanted to see. (Because as it turns out? 86% of consumers prefer a brand image that they feel is “authentic.”)

And by finally allowing myself to let that personality come out on the page, I ended up with a more consistent and compelling brand story. One that boosted my conversions. And made sure my clients were more aligned with my brand, vision, and goals. 

Copywriting Mistake #3: I didn’t understand how to optimize my web copy for SEO 

When you know SEO, it’s like you have some kind of small business superpower. 

Because by understanding SEO, you have the power-packed tools you need to attract organic traffic, make yourself seen in search engines, and become more visible to your ideal audience. 

But when I was just starting out, I didn’t quite know how to split the difference between writing for my audience and writing for the search engines. That turned into a lot of piecemeal copy that sounded robot-made and didn’t convert my audience very well. Which meant even if I could reel my ideal clients in on the search engine results pages…

They had no interest in sticking with me for the long run. 

So let’s just get this one out there, plain and simple:

When it comes to writing website copy for SEO, search engines are your second priority. 

You’re writing your web copy for people — not robots! — first. 

If that makes your heart seize up and your brain spiral down a hole of “how the heck am I going to get more clients if SEO is Priority #2??…just stick with me for a sec.

Making SEO your second priority doesn’t mean dropping lower in Google’s search results. In fact, around 2022 Google made changes to their algorithm so that so-called “people-first content” would get a higher place in the search results. Not a lower one.

How do you avoid Mistake #2?

Instead of making your whole page focused on tricking those search engines into a Top-10 result, focus on putting keywords where they count. Then write the rest of your page for the humans that are going to become your clients. 

If you want to do a super deep-dive into how to SEO, there are plenty of in-depth guides out there.

But if quick and easy SEO tricks are more your style, here are some of my favorite tips for packing SEO into powerful places on your site:

1). On each of your pages, you should have one main headline (also called an H1). Put one primary keyword (or one of the biggest keywords you want to be known for) in each of those main headlines.

2). Include that primary keyword somewhere else on your page at least twice—by sprinkling it into your body paragraphs and other headings in as natural of a way as you can.

3). Choose a few other keywords that make sense for your business and sprinkle them throughout the rest of your website copy, ideally using each at least 2-3 times on a page.

Of course, writing website copy for SEO is a little more complicated than just following these few rules of thumb. 

But these SEO tricks offer a good balance of making yourself loved by the search engines, while also being loved by the people who will be reading your page from the other side of the screen. 

Copywriting Mistake #4: I cared so much that I couldn’t get started

Maybe you’re not like me. Maybe you have no problems putting yourself out there to the world, showcasing who you are, and getting your website posted for onlookers. 

But if you are like me…

Then you know exactly how hard it can be to finally just click the “publish” button and make your site (or site edits!) go live. 

My best advice? Don’t let any perfectionist or fear feelings get in the way. It’s totally normal to have a few “Is it good enough…?” feelings when putting your website out to the world. 

And while you can always find an experienced website copywriter to help you optimize your website copy for conversions…just remember that when you write copy for website, getting started is the most important thing.

Because the sooner you get started, the sooner you can stop feeling the “web-errasment” that keeps you from wanting to direct potential clients to your site.

And the sooner you get to click that “publish” button. So that dream clients effortlessly swing into your inbox to book a call.