What to write on your new website to make it magnetic?

When I wanted to create my website, I was all very excited and happy and full of energy.

But the moment, I sat down to write the first sentence, all that energy faded. I had no idea what to write. And even if I tried, one question kept on coming back like a boomerang hitting my face: "what if nobody likes it?"

So, I put off the task altogether.

I tried to find inspiration from different websites but each one had totally different vibe and I wasn't able to translate their words into my website. So for the time being, I just wrote simple sentences that weren't at least totally wrong while I determined to find answer to this burning question in my mind: "how do I know what to write? (and what not to?)".

This question led me to a journey and in the next few minutes, I'll share all my findings of 7+ years with you so that by the time you finish reading this article piece, you know how to think about your website's messaging.

Copywriting

This was the first major ingredient I came to know about.

When we are writing message for our website, it's clear we are not writing a story book or a research paper. We are writing about our business, with the goal of getting more clients, and hence more profit. That's where copywriting comes into picture.

It's using words to make people wanna buy.

It's not manipulation, not forcing, not persuasion (though it can be when aimed with this mind). It's using the words to educate prospects (i.e. future clients) on the problem they are facing, why they facing it in the first place and how that can be solved. Once, they are done reading copy, they are all pumped to contact our business.

But how do we actually write such a copy?

It's an entire science of it's own but, at it's core, it's using words that makes people want to read the next sentence. If you can do that, you've understood copywriting.

For example, notice the very first sentence of this piece: "When I wanted to create my website...". The moment our brain reads "When I" it wants to continue to read further. The phrase itself implies that something is missing and the curiosity comes in to make us want to finish the sentence. Then in the second sentence starts with "But the moment". Notice how starting with "But" again makes the brain want to continue to read and finish the sentence. And by the time brain reads the 2 sentences, the friction towards reading ends and before we know it we are already in the flow of reading. Win Win.

Maggie Stara covers this phenomenon so very well in her Instagram post:

So when you write, try to apply Maggie's teaching and you'll see your writing immediately becoming much more smoother and one that people want to keep reading.

But again, this is just tip of the iceberg. This works on long sections of text but what about headings and subheadings? After all, heading is the first thing someone reads on the site and the first thing we sit down to write.

Here's how you can write your website's heading in the next 7 minutes.

Headline

The goal of headline is just one: make people want to read the subheadline. That's it.

David Ogilvy once said (paraphrased into my own words), when we spend $100 on ads, $80 goes just in the headline. What this means is if the headline doesn't click with people, they're gone. And once people are gone, so are $80 dollars!

Even though, you might not be running ads, but a non clicky headline still means loosing a website visitor who could have become your client. And the thing that bothers me the most is that on internet we don't even know who visited our website. In real world when someone walks in our office, we see them and at least get the chance to talk with them and have a chance to answer their questions, to try to convince them if need be, but that's not possible on internet. If they don't click, they're gone. And we don't want that to happen to us.

So we want to write headline that makes people want to read.

After all, our best long form copy sits below the headline. But how do we do that?

Curiosity.

Our brain craves to find answers. When curiosity spikes, our brain commits to find answer until it scratches it's itch. For example, notice the following thumbnail of a YouTube video:

This thumbnail spikes curiosity as to what is the judgement? That makes people want to click. And if this thumbnail worked, you also right now must be feeling the itch to watch this video. And that's why this thumbnail works and has gained about 1M million views:

Likewise this thumbnail works well to spike curiosity on how someone can go from scrolling phone all day to doing things we actually care about:

And this thumbnail brought in about 2M views:

This curiosity is what gets the click. Even for website. Because when you think about it, this how your writing will appear in front of people:

...in a see of links.

Just like how thumbnails on YouTube want you to click on them, links on Google (and AI previews) want you to click on them. But how do you create this curiosity to make sure when your future clients see your link, they click on it?

Write a line that makes people want to question: "how?"

Take the headline of my own website for example:

The moment people read "Become the obvious choice" the mind asks, "how?"

Take this another headline I wrote for one of my client's website:

Here also mind begins to wonder: "how?"

Even Ahrefs uses this on their site:

So does Science of People:

This desire to know how this business makes this possible is what makes people want to continue to read.

So list out the benefits your business provides to people.

Think 10. If you can't think of 10, try at least 5. Then circle down which 3 are the most alluring and desirable. And then create 3 version of headline using that. By the time, you write 3 headlines, you will intuitively know the one to pick up.

How will you get that intuition?

Your brain will pick up one of the headline which has the most curiosity gap within it. Your attention will automatically go towards it. That's how you'll get the intuition.

But, before you begin remember: you must come with at least 3 versions.

Most people aim to write a killer headline in just one go. They think they can do it and can do it all within seconds. The confidence is great but sadly, it doesn't work.

Our brain becomes picky and attached to what it creates. So the moment you think of the 1st headline, it will resist thinking another one and will try to convince you with 5 reasons how the first version is the absolute best. It's like how a child convinces its parents how a toy they see in the shop's window is the absolute best thing in the world and that it can't live without the toy. But you have to be adult here and inspire the child in your brain on how much potential it has to think for not just 1 but 9 more great headlines. And then you begin to think and write.

Once, you have 10 versions in front you, then let your intuition work.

Pro tip (because why not): Try to begin headline with a verb (start, build, get, radiate...)

Verbs imply action. That too in the present time. So use verbs to convey how your business actively delivers the benefit.

Once, you've written the headline, people will want to read the subheadline.

Subheadline

If people are reading this on your website, you've won 80% of the battle.

Now your aim to to win the next 15%. That is done through subheadline. Subheadline has only one goal: to reinforce that what they just read is actually possible.

The question "how?" got them from headline to subheadline. So now you need to satisfy that craving or else people will feel you cheated them with a clickbaity title. So, answer how you are able to deliver the promise.

The way you answer this is by giving them assurance that you understand them. That you understand their problem. So list down the pain points, the sufferings, the obstacles your clients currently feel. Highlight them in your subheadline. Then continue by writing how you reverse that hinderance.

For example, take the subheadline of my website:

The problem businesses face when they aren't an obvious choice is because most of them get overlooked. And I reverse this condition with right combo of message + design + tech. This section answers the "how?" created by the headline.

I do the same in the subheadline of my client's site:

Even Ahrefs does it.

And so does Science of People:

So think of problems and reverse them to nail your subheadline section. Because headline + subheadline makes sure you've nailed 95% of your messaging.

For the remaining 5% we have social proof+ CTA.

Social Proof

Just because we say we deliver something doesn't mean it actually works.

How can people trust if they only see us talking about ourselves? Of course every company will praise their own product. That's why people don't trust businesses. People trust people.

Like when you see a long line outside a restaurant in a new city,

...you instantly think the restaurant must be good even though you never have been to that restaurant before.

In the same way, when you write your website's messaging you need to make sure you also write what others have said about you. Your social proof. And not just one. But all of them.

We can't cram 10+ testimonials all in the top but what we can do is to show faces of your happy clients.

Take my own website for example:

I've displayed faces of my happy clients who loved the website I built for them.

Likewise, I created social proof space on my client's website to show with happy faces of people he helped:

Even Surfer SEO does this on their homepage:

And so does Shipfast:

This thread of faces is exactly like long line of people outside a restaurant. When our brain sees happy people who have already tried and experienced the benefits delivered by the business, it automatically develops trust that it must be good only.

Pro tip: if you have Google ratings or Trust pilot rating, highlight those as well, like how I did for one of my client who had amazing reviews on Google Map:

This makes your messaging 93% solid. The next 2% comes from CTA.

CTA (Call To Action)

This is the text that tells what action you want the reader to take.

The specific action you consider as winning stroke: the very first step of your sales pipeline.

Once you establish your core offer with headline + subheadline + social proof, guide the visitor on how they can actually enjoy the benefit. The way to get access to you and get in touch with your business.

Don't make it weak and generic by saying:

You don't want to loose someone after winning 93% of them. Use action verb as the first word of your CTA and make sure your CTA is action enticing:

When done right, you're don with 95% of your website's messaging.

Why hero section matters the most?

So far, by writing correct headline + subheadline, showing social and selecting CTA we have created what we call as hero section of the website: the very thing people see when they land on your website.

And it clearly is hero because when it's strong, it drives 80% of your clients. You read that right 80%! Research by Nielsen Norman group found that, 80% of people don't even scroll past the hero section. That's why it's important to nail it down.

For the rest of the website, people start skimming.

This means people start scrolling and pause only on sections that relate with them. And this is where your opportunity comes to make them go wow.

Below the hero section

Below the hero section comes the long sections that continue your messaging journey from 95% to 100%.

The 5% seems like the effort to write it won't be worth it. But this 5% can make or break your client acquisition. It's like the dessert after a meal. If the main course (your hero section) was awesome but the dessert (below the hero section) turned out be salty, you can be ensured, the guests won't be happy the evening meal at all.

Somehow our brain remembers only the start and end feeling of meeting someone. If the first and the last impression are great, then people even forgive the messy middle but not the other way. That's why we need to make sure, we prepare our desert well, starting with the benefits.

Benefits

In the hero section, we covered only the most alluring benefit.

But this doesn't mean your business has only 1 benefit. Once, the hero section is done, we introduce other benefits and present them to the reader one by one like presenting cards from a deck. Make sure your each card is an ace.

For example, one of my clients runs a kick boxing association in Salerno, Italy where he teaches kickboxing to people of all levels. But apart from regular kickboxing training, he also trains athletes who are aiming for professional competitions. So I created a section to highlight this aspect of his association:

And he even trains kids to become physically strong and mentally resilient. So I created a section to highlight that as well:

But how to write benefits that make them desirable?

Simple: repeat the formula of headline + subheadline.

Treat your benefit section like a mini hero section. Give it the same care and attention as you gave to the hero section. When done right, people's mind will keep going through the curiosity and loop and satisfaction of closing it. This keep your readers engaged, make them want to read till the end and build a mental picture on how awesome your offer is.

Remember, we are not manipulating minds. We are simply creating curiosity and fulfilling it.

Pro tip: If you are struggling to think of benefits, think of challenges and pain triggers you remove for your clients and write them in reverse to form them as benefits.

Like, one of my client created a course on communication skills focusing on charisma and rapport building. Her course is perfect for people who feel under confident initiating conversations, loose opportunities in workplace and are tired of generic advice found on internet. So I reversed the problems and challenges faced by her target audience to create benefit driven messaging:

Try to come up with 7 or more benefits. If that's difficult, aim for at least 5. Once you've brought together all the benefits, then you can start bringing in your awesome testimonials.

Testimonials

In the hero section, we showed faces of our happy clients. But what about their words?

Highlight them in your messaging to show what people say about you and your business. People trust what others have to say about you more than what you have to say about yourselves. Leverage this. After every 3 benefit card, draw one card of testimonial.

Pro tip: Try to keep the testimonial related to the benefit section right above it. This reinforces what you've said and establishes that you actually deliver what you say. This way you keep filling up the trust meter as people continue to read your website messaging.

For example, this testimonial from Dave for my client talks about how my client helped him reduce stress, get unstuck and increase focus in direction. This connects well with the hero section itself so I highlighted it right below it:

Process

You could highlight 10+ benefits, make 20 different promises but how do you actually make that happen?

People, especially the ones who use more of their logical brain than emotional side will not become your clients if they feel fishy about how you actually deliver your promise. So be transparent with your process. Show how does it look like to work with you. Paint that picture. Let the readers visualise like they are already working with you. Once they feel that sense of familiarity, skepticism goes down and trust in your process goes up.

This makes your messaging believable.

For example, one of my client helps B2B pharma companies streamline their supply chain operations for increasing their efficiency. Although, the sales cycle for B2B deals is large and his framework has multiple steps, I breakdown into 4 simple steps that makes it super simple to visualise what it's like to work with him:

FAQs

As final step, don't let doubts hold back people from reaching out to you.

In your conversation with past clients, you must have noticed few questions coming up repeatedly. Think objections and concerns in your sales calls. Answer all of them upfront in your messaging. Create a dedicated FAQs sections to answer all the questions that hold people back when they actually shouldn't.

For example, I often get asked if I build websites for e-commerce brands and if the sites I build will even rank on Google. So I answer all these questions upfront:

And my client who I talked about in the previous section, often gets asked question about his framework and strategies, and whether they will even work, or if they would be too hard to actually implement. As you can imagine, these questions act like wall of doubt preventing his target audience of executives from even reaching out to him. So, we answered these pressing questions and broke the wall ourselves:

This is important because not everyone will book a call with you or message you to get answer to their question and then become your client. Even in an ideal world if your potential clients do that, it doesn't mean you and your team might have time to answer 100+ questions in your inbox. Not to mention, it won't be best use of your team's time. So, help both your future client and your team by answering pressing questions upfront.

This way your conversion rates goes up because you removed the obstacle stopping people from hitting the CTA button on your site, plus you build up trust as a side benefit because of your transparency.

How not to complicate website messaging

If you've read so far, you must have realised how simple the steps are to actually write your website's messaging. The hard task is to let them remain simple.

There are tons of templates out which all look very beautiful and enticing. You must feel like your website should look like those templates. And in that desire, a devil comes up silently: to structure messaging that fits into that design.

Often in a template you will see list of items, 6 cards showing the stats of business, images of how cool the office is, and you feel like showing all that on your site. You will start to think the stats of your business to replace with the stats in that template. Don't fall in this trap. It will only complicate things and you will end up with messaging that nobody likes except you. Unless you are your own customer, stay away from that. Resist the temptation. First write your messaging following the steps in this piece.

Because what do you think makes the website magnetic: design or messaging?

Until next time,

Pratyush Goel

P.S. - If you've written your site's messaging, then head over to this next piece of mine where I breakdown how you can present your messaging through a beautiful, professional and minimal design.