Most small business owners get stuck at the same point. Not the design they get stuck on, not the technical bits, but the words. You open the page editor, stare at it, and either nothing comes out or what does come out sounds like every other website on Google.
This is not a template. It is the method I actually use, with myself and with clients, when the words are the hard part.
Don’t start with “about us”
Nearly everyone opens their website and starts with the about page. It feels like the obvious place to begin. It is almost always the wrong one.
One client, Guerrilla Dub System (www.theGDS.website), had a generic about page when we started working together. It read like it could belong to any producer. We rewrote it around what they actually do, and the site now ranks high on Google for “roots reggae radio show”.
Write the page that does the work first. That is usually your homepage or a services page, not the about page. The about page gets easier once the rest of the site knows what it is trying to say.
Ask the one question every page needs to answer
Before you write a word, ask this: what does someone need to know on this page before they will trust you enough to act?
For Guerrilla Dub System, that question mattered because the band had pivoted, from music producers to DJs and radio show hosts. The old copy still talked about production work. Someone searching for a roots reggae radio show landed on a page that never answered their question.
Work out the one thing this page needs to tell the reader. Then check every sentence against it. If a sentence does not support that one answer, cut it or move it somewhere else.
Talk it out before you write it
If the blank page is the problem, do not start on the page. Start talking.
I wrote a blog post about voice journalling a while back, and it is a good example of this in action. The idea came from a voice note I recorded on my own doorstep, waiting for a Deliveroo, talking to myself while my wife could not hear me. A few weeks later, that note was a finished post.
Talking gets round the blank page because typing puts a filter in the way. You edit a sentence before it is even finished. Speaking does not work like that. Record yourself explaining your business to a friend who knows nothing about it. Then go back and pull out the sentences that actually sound like you. That is your first draft.
When to write it yourself, and when to bring in a copywriter
I would always use a copywriter myself, given the choice. That does not mean it is the right answer for everyone.
It depends on your budget and your ambition. If you are starting out, money is tight, and the page just needs to explain what you do plainly, write it yourself. Use the method above and you will get something honest and clear.
If the site needs to bring in leads, if you are chasing competitive search terms, or the words need to carry real weight, that is when a copywriter earns their fee. Budget is one part of the decision. What you are asking the page to do is the other.
Where to start
Pick one page. Not the about page. Work out the one question it needs to answer. Record yourself explaining it out loud, then write from that.
If a page needs to work harder than you can manage on your own, that is what copywriters are for. I work with small business owners across Harrogate and North Yorkshire on exactly this, and I am always happy to have a look at a page and tell you honestly whether it needs a professional or just a rewrite.
