How to use strategic copywriting and sales tactics to increase website conversions

If you’re stuck trying to increase website conversions or write website copy for your service-based business, this is for you. Your website is a crucial part of your sales pipeline as a freelancer, and there are a few things you can do to optimize your website copy to increase conversions.

First, this blog post is going to go through the 5 more important pages that you need to increase website conversions and my top tips to optimize these pages. Afterwards, I’m going to share everything else you need to know to increase your conversion rate. Things like:

✨ How to write copy for a website in general. Aka… website copywriting tricks from a 6-figure copywriter.

✨ How to organize your website project to not only promise the best results, but keep yourself sane through the process.

✨ And how to know that you’re ready for custom website copywriting versus using website copy templates to DIY.

Altogether, there’s a lot to cover here, so let’s get into it!

The 5 pages you need to increase your website conversions

Increase website conversions with a home page that hooks

If you want to increase website conversions, the first place to start is by looking at your home page copy.

First, you need to identify your reader immediately on the homepage with a hero headline that not only resonates with them, but encompasses your big promise. The key is to use their words to hook them. Copywriters call this “voice of customer” and use it like data—these are the exact words we need to say if you want your website to hit home with your ideal clients.

Next, you can increase website conversions by remembering the goal of each page on your website. The goal of your home page isn’t to get them to go straight to your contact page or booking page, but to get them to the next step. Think in micro conversions—nothing that’s too big of an ask.

Your home page should direct traffic—where does the reader need to go next? How do they learn more? Think of these micro conversions like dating. You don’t just start with “will you go to dinner with me?” when you meet someone new… That would be awkward. It’s a progression up to that.

Overall, your home page is also good real estate to start building up your authority or to share a lead magnet that aligns with your core offers. Even if your website traffic isn’t ready to inquire about your services immediately, they may be interested in staying in regular contact via email marketing.

Increase website conversions with an engaging about page

Your about page copywriting is important to increase website conversions, but not for reasons you may think. Many freelancers try to make this page overly personal, and while YES you want your readers to have a chance to get to know you, it’s not the place for your entire life story.

It’s a place to build up your authority and credibility as it relates to them. Answer questions like:

• Why are you the best person to help them?
• How can you help them?
• Who have you helped before?
• Are you a good case study for your own services?
• What’s your big picture mission? This should be different than, but aligned with your offers. Because your business is so much more than the packages you currently sell.

Increase your conversion rate with offer pages that don’t overwhelm

This one is kind of obvious, but you need some kind of offer page. Depending on the type of services you offer, you may want a sales page vs a standard services page. A sales page would be best for a productized service. Ex. Something like an audit or strategy session that follows the same format for everyone. This wouldn’t require a custom quote. A services page is best for offers that require a custom proposal.

Don’t overwhelm them with info on your offer pages. Instead, give just what they need to know in order to feel comfortable taking the next step: Filling out your inquiry form. Remember that we are thinking in micro conversions in order to increase your website conversion rate overall.

Increase your conversion rate with an inquiry form that pre-qualifies

Again, focusing on micro conversions as a means to increase your conversion rate is the best strategy to improve the effectiveness of your entire sales pipeline. Your contact page and inquiry form is no different. Too often, I see either vague and unhelpful inquiry forms… Or ones that asks for too much personal information too soon.

Don’t overwhelm your leads with information. Do get them to put skin in the game by filling out a form. Don’t ask what their budget is—your business determines what it costs to work with you, not their budget. Because your offer pages and journey up to this point should address the money talk, this is where you can focus on what matters more to only those who can afford to work with you.
Bonus points if you can automate the lead inquiry and sales process with a tool like Dubsado.

Attract qualified website traffic with high-converting blog content

What’s next? Get traffic. All this work you’ve done to increase website conversions will mean nothing if there’s no eyes on your fresh, strategic website copywriting. I recommend a blog to most of my clients because this evergreen channel is a missed opportunity for service providers.

Include an opt-in or lead magnet on your blog and individual posts so you can at least collect the contact information of aligned leads who aren’t ready to work together yet.

Prefer to listen while you learn? Watch the full video on YouTube.

How to write copy for a website

Beyond having the necessary pages on your website, there’s a few other things you can do to increase website conversions.

Use strategic messaging to increase your conversion rate

If you want to increase conversions on your website, messaging lies at the root of it all. What does “messaging” mean though? Messaging is what you say, to who, and how you say it. Messaging guides much of the other key decisions that go into building a website that converts, like wireframing a website’s layout, photography, and the visual design. Without messaging, the rest just won’t be strategic.

You need to know what makes you unique, what you offer, and how it helps ideal clients before writing website copy if you want it to convert.

If you’re thinking uh oh—I don’t know this… That’s okay! Keep reading and I’ll walk you through the top website copy mistakes I see, how to fix them, and how to increase your website conversions with simple fixes.

Top website copywriting mistakes

I provide website copywriting services, coach new business owners and freelancers who are DIYing their website copy, and have website copy templates available in The Biz Bar, and have been doing all of the above for years now. Through my work, I’ve seen clients, coaches, and customers achieve massive wins and business growth directly tied to their websites. All this is to say that I’ve studied a lot of websites and have been involved in the creation of websites that convert consistently. Through my work, I’ve noticed quite a few mistakes that people make when writing their website copy that—quite honestly—is leaving money on the table. And we don’t want that, right?

I need to preface these top website copy mistakes with a few thoughts:

• Your website should act as a lead generation tool for your business. All too often I see websites that are actually digital business cards, which provide little to no information. When you start looking at your website as an asset to drive your business forward, it will become much more effective from the next actions you take to improve.
  
• It’s okay if you have made these mistakes. If you’re not a conversion copywriter, you’re not expected to know all the ins and outs of writing website copy that converts. I hope that you do gain some takeaways so you can improve on your own. And if you need a little more help, check out the template shop for website copy templates.
  
• If you’re stuck, analyze the data and try again. There’s always room for improvement, and much of marketing is educated experimentation that requires testing.

Now, let’s get into the top mistakes I see with website copy.

Your website copy isn’t engaging

People buy when they know, like, and trust you… What better way to help that along than to show up as your true self online? If your website lacks personality, it will look like everyone else’s boring website and won’t really connect with your dream clients. So stop censoring yourself, stop forcing yourself to fit in boxes, and ditch whatever flavour of vanilla you think you need to be this week. Your website will be so much better if you be yourself!

If you want to increase conversions on your website, you also need to consider how well the copy is written. Poorly written website copy won’t look professional or check all the boxes it needs to convert readers. If writing isn’t one of your stronger skills, there’s plenty of things you can do to get help: Either outsourcing it entirely, working with a conversion copywriter in a coaching agreement, or purchasing a website copy template to guide you.

The final mistake that makes website copy not engaging for the reader is that it doesn’t actually speak to the reader and their specific needs. I’ll explain this more in a further point.

Your website copy is unclear

Confused people don’t buy. Here’s a handful of mistakes that I see that make website copy unclear, which does nothing to help your conversion rate…

• Your services are too complicated. If readers aren’t sure how you help or what they actually need from you, then your website isn’t doing it’s job and isn’t going to convert well.
  
• There’s no call to actions and you aren’t guiding the reader. A good website that converts will guide the reader through each step. They land on your homepage—then what? They get to your contact page—what do you want them to do? Be clear at each step.
  

The information is overwhelming or there’s not enough. With websites, you need to be really careful with the balance of information that you offer. Too much feels overwhelming for readers, while too little might not entice them to reach out. Always consider what your reader needs to know at each stage and write copy that reflects exactly that if you want to improve conversions.

It doesn’t speak to the reader

I touched on this above, but your website copy needs to speak directly to the reader if you want it to convert. That means not only paying attention to their pain points and the solution you offer, but their emotions, desires, and interests. Speak their language throughout, using “you” to address the collective of readers if you want to better connect.

If you think of website copy, or sales and marketing in general, as helping people rather than pushing something at them, it becomes a lot easier to write in a way that speaks to them. Marketing and sales requires a deep understanding of your ideal clients and a high level of empathy for their position. Without understanding and empathy, your website copy won’t convert.

Tips to increase website conversions with better copywriting

Okay, so now that you’ve identified some potential problem areas for your website copy, how do you fix it? And why should you bother when so many people say that a social media presence is enough for a business?

To start, those people are wrong. Social media is borrowed land, and you absolutely need to prioritize getting a website that converts up ASAP. A good website can be a ticket to hit those revenue goals that feel impossible. This is speaking from personal experience and through my work with clients. The month after I finally invested time and dollars into creating a professional website, I tripled my monthly income. And it’s only increased from there. For my clients, I’ve seen website copy help them:

• 3x their monthly income (just like I did!).

• Increase conversions by 266% within months of launching the new website.

• Hit 10k months as a solopreneur.

• Hit 6-figures as a solopreneur.

And so much more…

So taking your website seriously and actively working to improve it is a revenue generating task, not busywork. I don’t know about you, but I try to focus on the things that will generate revenue first.

Here’s my top tips to increase conversions on your website through strategic messaging…

Simplify your offers to focus on the highest converting ones

Do you really want to sell 10 different services? Or would 1-3 suffice? Even if you still offer these services, maybe they don’t need to be actively marketed. Before writing your website copy, take a good look at the services you offer and simplify as much as possible. Approach this step from your ideal client’s perspective with the goal of making the buying process a no-brainer for them.

Add your unique and authentic personality to your copywriting

I struggled with this for a while, to be honest! I thought I needed to show up in a way that was professional and proper in order to be perceived as valuable. However, that’s not the case. If you want to increase conversions on your website—or anywhere for that matter—you need to show up as your special self. If you want to grow your business by genuinely connecting with people who can’t wait to work with you, you need to show them what that’s like. Give them a taste of the experience through your website copy.

Consider the buying journey through your entire sales pipeline

Considering the buying journey is crucial to increase conversions on your website. What is the buying journey? It’s tied to the stages of awareness for your ideal client. Essentially, we want to consider your ideal client’s stage of awareness and use this information to guide them through each step of the buying journey: From your marketing, to your website, to your calendar. How should they move through your inbound sales pipeline?

Use social proof to increase website conversions

People like to know that others have trusted you and your business, and have seen the results that you promise. Social proof fills this gap! Social proof can be formal testimonials, reviews, screenshots of positive feedback from clients, case studies, and results stats. If you want examples, you’ll see all variations of these are scattered throughout my website.

How to organize your website project

Now that you have a list of new copywriting tactics to try, where do you actually get started writing website copy that converts? First, take the time to properly organize your website project… Regardless of whether you’re going to DIY your website copywriting, purchase a website copy template to help you, or invest in custom website copywriting.

Consider things like:

• What other branding do you need ready to build your website? Visual brand design, photography, etc.

• Who will be helping you accomplish the project and what’s your budget for this additional support?

• What’s a realistic timeline to complete your website project?

Website copy templates vs custom copy

The big and final question now: Are you going to DIY your website copy? Or hire a website copywriter to write custom copy for you? Or some combination of both?

This blog post will help you decide whether website copy templates or custom copy are the better fit for you. The short answer is that I typically recommend newer businesses start by DIYing their website copy, but with guidance. Because so much can change in the first year or so of business, you don’t want to invest in custom copy too soon. Website copy templates are a perfect option because when you choose good ones, they’ll prompt you with exactly what to say, and where to increase website conversions.

When you’re established and your offers are proven, custom website copywriting makes sense!
The combination option is going for something like my Intensives. These are a hybrid approach to your website copy—you bring a workable draft, and I can help you optimize it so you can continue to grow.

Increase website conversions with copywriting templates

If you’re ready to get started writing website copy for your freelance or service-based business, and know that you want some support, check out the website copy templates available in The Biz Bar.