Writing Good Copy
Writing good copy for your website is really important. It takes time to write copy people will read and act upon. It is the foundation for everything you do online, far more important than the technical side of website development. If you know html and css, it is an advantage but people read your copy and not your mark-up – so it’s worth making the effort to get it right.
Let’s assume you have a cause, product or service and need to make a better case than your competitors. With non-financial causes, you may have a message to share with the world and want to find others to share thoughts and discuss the cause. Sometimes you may want your readers to attend a meeting in real life (or a webinar) or else become a member or subscribe to an email list.
Imagine a spectrum from those who wish to simply make money online by any means available, through to those who have a cause and no desire whatsoever to make a penny.
In reality, it hard to occupy either extreme. The money-maker might want to make money at the start but is likely to discover they have something people value and find they take pleasure in sharing it. As they develop their reputation in this new area, they will naturally discover ways to generate income from it because they have that mindset.
On the other hand, those who have a cause often find it necessary to generate income to finance it. In real life this can lead to hours pursuing funding through grant applications and then to find the cause undermined by the need to generate outputs to meet funder’s requirements. If the cause itself can generate income independently of funding bodies, this can help keep the cause’s integrity.
Generating income and pursuing a cause are not always contradictory and online it is easier to do both together. Good copy can support both a cause and the need to make sales online.
If you’re serious about your cause then an income can really help. So you do need to consider carefully whether you or your organisation needs an income. Are you aware of websites that combine a cause with trading? How successful have they been?