Is your business part of the tech startup market, valued at $1.6 trillion in 2019?
If you are, it probably comes as no surprise to learn that US tech startups are leading the way globally when it comes to launching new products and services using the latest technological innovations out there to meet consumer demand.
Being situated within the largest global (and growing!) startup market comes with tough competition and an ever-increasing need to position your business as unique from the rest while connecting with the people who can benefit from your product or service the most to stay afloat and thrive.
The folks here at Galactic Fed know a thing or two when it comes to tech startup growth. We’ve found that a winning content strategy includes excellent web copy and, when paired with a robust SEO strategy, produces impressive results for turning site visitors or web surfers into happy, repeat customers.
Want to learn how your tech startup business can outshine the competition? Then, stick around! Continue reading and get a first look at Galactic Fed’s brand-spanking-new, in-depth guide to writing web copy that converts in the tech startup space.
What is web copy?
Before we dig into the specifics of tried and tested techniques to deploy in order to see results when it comes to tech startup copyrighting, it’s worth taking a moment to clearly define what exactly web copy is.
Web copy, web copywriting, or “writing for the web” is every word you write online that appears in online marketing materials, from ad copy and social media posts to website landing pages, to name a few. Well-crafted web copy should keep visitors engaged with the goal of persuading them to take some form of action, such as signing up to receive a regular newsletter, making a purchase, or requesting a demo.
How does web copy differ from web content?
In contrast to web copy, web content is all of the words that appear on your website in any form. The primary aim of your web content is to enlighten and inform visitors about your company, your brand, and your mission.
A key difference between web copy and web content is that the latter is not typically used for the sole purpose of selling or promoting your product or service. Content on your web pages provides insights and value to potential customers and your business. High-quality and information-rich web pages can help you gain credibility and loyalty with customers and nurture a relationship that ultimately leads to repeat customers that recommend you to friends and family.
Web content isn’t just the written word on your site. It’s also relevant images, videos, and infographics that support the text on each of your web pages, making the whole page more useful, engaging, and impactful with your customers.
Web content can help tech startups attract customers by creating consistent posts that are informative, interesting, and useful to visitors. If your web content provides answers to your target audience’s most pressing questions quickly and easily, you can build a connection with people and make your web copy resonate.
Five web copy tips for growing your tech startup
With an understanding of the difference between web copy and web content under your belt, let’s dive into our five top tips for writing web copy for your tech startup.
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Set the tone
Defining your tech startup’s tone of voice based on who your target audience is and their needs can make or break a newly blossoming connection with a potential customer.
Is your company’s tone of voice:
- funny or serious?
- formal or casual?
- respectful or irreverent?
- enthusiastic or matter-of-fact?
A consistent tone of voice crafted with your users in mind can be extremely powerful when it comes to building a connection with your target audience through your web copy.
Take Slack, for example:
Source: Slack
Their playful tone injects personality into their web copy, which reflects their reputation of making communication that takes place through work more straightforward and more fun.
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Steer clear of jargon
This tip is so very important, particularly in the tech startup world. By using tech jargon, you run the risk of excluding the people you are attempting to engage.
Your tech startup should strive to use the simplest, plain terms as possible. Make your web copy easy to read and scan by keeping it short and to the point. An exception to this rule would be if you have identified a very niche audience such as academics or topic experts.
Consider Mailchimp’s web copy. They craft consistently easy-to-read copy. They’ve also made their style guide open-source; have a look through to get inspired.
Source: Mailchimp
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Include an irresistible call to action (CTA)
What is the final action you want someone reading your web copy to take? Do you want them to subscribe to a newsletter? Buy one of your products or services? Follow your company on social media? Start at where you want your site visitor to end up when they interact with your web copy and work backward.
If your web copy doesn’t present a clear and concise call to action, you’re making it extremely hard for your users to act.
Get creative and try to go beyond the typical ‘Subscribe to our newsletter’ copy. Always ensure you’re telling the user the value they will gain from taking action. Weave in a storytelling element with your user as the main protagonist.
If you’re stuck on developing a CTA for your tech startup, check out the Galactic Fed guide to crafting a high-converting call to action.
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Humanize it
One of the most effective ways to connect with someone is to have a real and honest conversation with them. Craft your web copy as if you’re talking to a real human being. Of course, in order to rank on search engines, your web copy needs to include targeted, relevant keywords.
The truth is, people use Google to search the way that they speak. And with the rise of natural language for search, it’s more important than ever that your web copy is conversational.
Source: Google
By humanizing your copy, you can connect with your readers to nurture trust and brand loyalty.
Fed Fix quick tips:
- From ‘Buy bitcoin online’ to ‘what do I need to buy bitcoin?’
- How would you explain it to a friend or family member?
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Say it out loud; does it sound strange?
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Ensure it’s accessible
Lastly, it’s vital to remember when writing web copy for your tech startup that your users are going to scan very quickly to get what they need, even if they are using a keyboard or screen-reader.
To make sure your copy is accessible to the greatest amount of people possible, use readable and predicable language and build a strong page structure, using headings, subheadings, bold text, and bullet points.
Think beyond the actual words you write and zero in on how accessible the typography you use is if the font size makes it hard for anyone with visual impairments to read and if the color contrast of the text against the web page is bold enough:
Source: Galactic Fed
You can use the web accessibility evaluation tool – WAVE – to see how your website fares when it comes to color contrast, font size, structure, and more.
Fed Fix quick tips:
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Use Sans serif fonts like Arial and Public Sans will help your words and letters appear less crowded. Verdana, Tahoma, Montserrat, Trebuchet, Calibri, and Open San are excellent, accessible fonts too.
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Use a font size between 12 and 14. Some dyslexic readers may request a larger font
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A large line spacing improves readability with 1.5 preferred, if possible
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Try to avoid underlining and italics, as this can make your text appear to run together and cause unintentional crowding.
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Try to avoid using all caps/uppercase letters and small caps as they can be difficult for people to read.
Make your tech startup web copy shine while engaging the people that matter
Source: Giphy
By defining a tone of voice and ensuring it’s reflected in all of our web copy, you can build a connection with potential customers, creating a recognizable personality that can become familiar and trusted. Keep your words concise and straightforward and avoid techy jargon that could confuse potential customers.
Next, you’ll want to craft a compelling call to action that converts customers – be transparent about why someone should act and get creative with your copy to engage users. Humanizing your tech startup’s web copy can do wonders when it comes to nurturing a connection with new customers, write as you would speak, and keep it as conversational as possible to make users comfortable.
Finally, don’t run the risk of excluding any potential customers with inaccessible web copy. Make sure it’s readable to the most significant number of people and quickly picked up by screen readers.
From developing content strategies to boosting lead generation, and crafting copyrighting that’s a joy to read, Galactic Fed’s team of wordsmiths and content wizards have a ton of experience helping tech startups just like yourselves grow and scale. Contact us today if you’d like a helping hand with your website copy or any other digital marketing activity you’re stuck on.
