Fill Your Readers with Confidence

Home
>
Copywriting
>
Fill Your Readers with Confidence

Fill Your Readers with Confidence

Site visitors generally stay with you for as long as they feel confident that they will succeed in achieving their goal.

It's a simple truth, but important. For me, it helps explain some sites I know that perform extremely well, but appear quite amateur in their design and architecture. Some shortcomings in appearance and structure are amply compensated for by the high level of confidence they inspire.

If the confidence of the visitor is so central to the success of your site, that puts a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the writer.

The writer needs to make sure that visitors feel they are in the right place, that your site is the place where they can achieve their goals. The home page needs to shout out, "Yes! You've come to the right place!"

And on each page, the visitor needs to find a link that says, "Yes! This is the best way forward. Click here to find what you're looking for!"

And the page the link takes them to has to say, "Yes! This is the next stage, the next step in completing your task!"

The process needs to be fluid, clear, obvious - as simple as turning a page in a book, the text from one page flowing naturally into the message of the next.

Easier said than done, for sure.

But while the copy on a site may not be the only way to build confidence, it is certainly a key element in making visitors feel they are in the right place, and on the way to achieving their goals.

Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Atty. Gen. Mukasey collapses during speech (AP)

AP - Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the no-nonsense ally in President Bush's war on terror, was hospitalized Thursday after he collapsed during a late-night speech and lost consciousness.

Aides: Obama plans to nominate Clinton (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, a new milestone for a former first lady and a convergence of two political forces who contested mightily for the presidency.

Most Asian markets rebound after Wall Street rout (AP)

AP - Most Asian markets rebounded Friday after days of sharp declines in stocks around the world as investors scooped up battered financial and technology shares.

Dems delay auto bailout vote, seek plan from Big 3 (AP)

AP - The $25 billion rescue plan for the auto industry, desperately sought by Detroit's beleaguered Big Three, collapsed Thursday as Congress drew the line at one more bailout and Democrats said they wouldn't even consider it until the companies produced a convincing plan for rebuilding their once-mighty industry.

China says 19,000 students died in May earthquake (AP)

AP - China acknowledged Friday for the first time that more than 19,000 schoolchildren were among the dead in the massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province in May.

Judge orders release of five terror suspects at Guantanamo (AP)

AP - A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release of five Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the continued detention of a sixth in a major blow to the Bush administration's strategy to keep terror suspects locked up without charges.

Report: Records search on Joe the Plumber improper (AP)

AP - An agency director improperly used state computers to find personal information on "Joe the Plumber," a government watchdog said in a report released Thursday.

Dr Pepper to deliver on its free-soda promise (AP)

AP - Dr Pepper is making good on its promise of free soda now that the release of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" is a reality.

Cell phone in man's chest pocket stops bullet (AP)

AP - A man says his cell phone saved his life. A stray .45-caliber bullet hit R.J. Richard's chest while he was mowing the lawn Â— hitting so hard he thought it was a stone kicked out by his tractor. He pulled out the phone. It fell apart.

Steelers defense controls Bengals in 27-10 win (AP)

AP - Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers know exactly how to beat the Cincinnati Bengals Â— with or without Chad Ocho Cinco.

Recovery from crisis seen slow (Reuters)

Reuters - Signs of distress in the global economy mounted, with shares in U.S. bank Citigroup Inc plunging on fears about its future, oil prices falling and the future of U.S. automakers hanging in the balance.

Obama on track to name Clinton as top diplomat (Reuters)

Reuters - Retired Marine Gen. James Jones emerged as a leading contender for White House national security adviser as President-elect Barack Obama worked on Thursday to assemble his foreign policy team.

Democrats demand Big 3 offer survival plan (Reuters)

Reuters - Democratic congressional leaders, seeking to salvage a bailout of the Big Three automakers, demanded executives provide a business survival plan in exchange for their support of up to $25 billion in loans.

Baghdad locked down for U.S. troop pact protest (Reuters)

Reuters - Iraqi forces shut streets in Baghdad and placed snipers on rooftops on Friday before a protest by followers of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr against a pact allowing U.S. troops to remain for three more years.

Citigroup eyes options including merger (Reuters)

Reuters - Citigroup Inc lost more than one-quarter of its market value on growing worries over whether it has enough capital to withstand billions of dollars of potential losses and despite new support from its largest individual investor.

Verizon staff had unauthorized access to Obama's cell (Reuters)

Reuters - Verizon Wireless said on Thursday that some employees had gained unauthorized access and viewed a personal cell phone account held by President-elect Barack Obama that is now inactive.

Attorney General Mukasey vital signs strong after collapse (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey was "conscious, conversant and alert" at a local Washington hospital after collapsing while delivering a national security speech at a hotel, the U.S. Justice Department said late on Thursday.

Bush takes financial reform agenda to APEC forum (Reuters)

Reuters - George W. Bush makes his last scheduled trip abroad as U.S. president on Friday, heading to an Asia-Pacific summit where he will seek support for global financial reform and hold talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program.

UN raises DR Congo troop numbers to 20,000 (AFP)

AFP - The UN Security Council approved an extra 3,000 peacekeeping troops to help end conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where fresh fighting erupted earlier in the day.

Military 'only solution' to piracy, says tanker firm (AFP)

AFP - A more aggressive military approach is the only answer to an escalation of piracy off Somalia, the world's biggest oil tanker company said Friday.

Fill Your Readers with Confidence

Copywriting Copywriting