Stop Writing Flowery Website Copy | Beware of the Website Madness

I’m continuing my March Madness series where I’m breaking down dangerous obsessions that strike small business owners and marketers.  These diversions distract us from our purpose, waste time and money, and confuse our customers.  

Today I’m discussing a particular madness that masquerades as “clever marketing,” but is anything but that. It’s unnecessarily confusing and complicated. If you're caught up in it, you’re probably losing customers. 

What is it?

The “Website Madness,” our obsession with writing flowery website copy instead of being clear about who we are and what we do. 

Your Website Is NOT an Advertisement

Many of my recent ideas came about when I was talking with my friend, Alex, who owns an emergency home restoration company. His company cleans up homes after a disaster like a fire or flood.  We were talking about branding and he admitted he wasn’t quite convinced I could actually help him.  At first I was surprised, but as I learned more about his business, I realized he was right.  There were some assumptions I’d made about branding that just didn’t hold up for his industry. 

First, I came to the tough realization that not all businesses benefit from social media accounts.  You really need to ask some tough questions and understand how your business gets and retains customers before jumping into that. 

Second, I had some breakthrough ideas about how to design websites, specifically the kind of language to use.  

Instead of clearly stating what we do, an insanity often takes over our minds when we create a website. We start looking at websites as if they’re advertisements instead of actually building a website for its appropriate use.

We start using this really lofty, flowery language. Our website becomes filled with value propositions, promises and benefits.  There’s a lot of advertising lingo, but not much straightforward, obvious information. This ends up making new visitors to your website very confused…instead of ready to purchase. 

Throwing Red Hat Under the Bus

I recently rolled out a visual rebrand of my company.  It wasn’t significant, but it involved updating my color palette and typefaces. One of the typefaces I selected was from Red Hat, so I went to their website to see how they're using it and get inspired. 

And that’s when I really saw the Website Madness. The idea had been building up in my mind, but it was now on full display.

Here’s what I saw:

Website image from Redhat.com accessed 2/22/2022

I got stuck on the opening banner. As I was reading this flowery promise, I noticed something was happening internally: I'm reading this promise and then I'm working out what they're actually trying to tell me. I’m trying to figure out what it actually means. My mind was trying to reverse engineer this promise into practical information so I could understand what they do.

When I opened up their website, I was hoping to quickly answer this question: “Who are they and what do they do?”

Instead I find: “Our code is open. Clouds that compete can still connect. See why open source works.”

Huh? What do they actually do?

I showed Red Hat’s website to a friend who responded, “Oh, I'm guessing if you're in the industry, it would make sense, right?”

But even if I was in that industry, I’m still trying to figure out exactly what they do. It’s not clear. All I see is a weird value promise that likely only makes sense if you work at Red Hat. Context is required to understand it. 

Why Marketers Don’t Make Road Signs

Although I was putting in the effort to understand what Red Hat does, I wondered how many people would apply themselves to the challenge. 

Then suddenly it dawned on me:  This is why marketers don't make road signs. Because if we did, people would just die.

Instead of seeing a clear sign for “I-40,” drivers would encounter a sign reading: “This superhighway connects the East to the West. Enjoy the ride.” 

What??!  That’s not helpful at all. People just want to know what road they’re on.

Suppose a regular exit sign was replaced with this: “Explore your possibilities for rest and refreshment.”

Umm…no. Please just tell me what's on the exit. No weird promises. Just give me the facts.

And so I started realizing that marketers are under the false assumption that a website is an advertisement - it’s not. An advertisement will get you to the website, but it’s not the purpose of the website.

A website is like a road sign. It needs to provide clear information on who you are and what your customer should do next. Instead of using flowery language, I’d like to see this: talk like a human and say exactly what you mean. 

So how does all the flowery language end up on websites? Here’s my theory: a copywriter starts out with a list of meaning and messaging she needs to communicate on a website. She knows she’s writing a website, so she goes into website mode. These words must feel like a website so she translates the meaning into flowery promises. Basic information now becomes value statements and inspiring benefits. She can’t just simply state what the business does, she must spend a lot of time thinking to transform these basic words into interesting copywriting.

Now the copywriting is one step removed from what the company actually does. It’s been altered into value propositions and promises. But it’s just the beginning…

Now the copy goes through a series of revisions which further removes it from the facts and meaning you started with. You end up with something that needs industry context to solve the riddle. I see this most often in B2B websites, but it could happen to anyone.

When we sit down to write a website, we often don't think through this question: What is a customer thinking about when they show up at our website? What do they want to know?

Instead, we look at our competitors to see how their websites are structured. We assume that must be a fairly good indication of what a customer expects to see on a website, so we just match the formula.  This Xerox website business…a copy of a copy of copy of copy…just continues on. 

Ultimately, you get the Website Madness. Lots of flowery language and confused customers everywhere. 

Rethinking Your Website Copy

So perhaps it's not our fault that we’ve been swept up in the madness, but once we see it, it's our responsibility to change it. We don’t want to give our customers riddles to solve; we want to provide clear instructions. 

For example, when a potential customer arrives on my website, I want them to do something: contact me, purchase a program, sign up for coaching, or download my lead gen. I want them to stay on the website long enough to consider working with me so I can help their business grow. 

I don't want someone to jump on my website, not find what they were looking for, then leave and do nothing.

Basically, you want customers to go into your funnel once they arrive at your website. You want to make the next step for them very clear: what button to push, where to click, or which action to take. 

Instead of keeping it simple, we often get overwhelmed on websites. Too many pathways and buttons to choose from. Once people see too much information, they’re likely to bounce instead of trying to figure it out. Think about the one thing you want customers to do once they land on your website, then focus on making that very obvious.

If you want to go deeper on this, I recommend  “Obviously Awesome” which is  about crafting obvious value propositions so when potential customers encounter your brand, they know immediately what you do and the value you provide.  The author recommends avoiding all these lofty, weird statements that hold no ground and aren't anchored to anything. Instead, focus on making what you do as obvious as possible. 

Focus on Your Customer’s Story

How can you start writing a website that works?

Start thinking about your customer’s story and the journey they’re on.  What are they expecting to see along the way? Are they hoping to be confused by flowery statements on your website? Or are they hoping to understand who you are, what you do and how you can help them once they get to the website?

They are looking for those three answers immediately! So what do they need to see from you to answer them?

So instead of giving them riddles, let’s give them what they want: obvious, direct, and simple answers to their questions. 

Since we now realize our websites aren’t advertisements, let’s start thinking about them as traffic signs. Recognize that people won’t actually read your website - they’ll scan it for the information they’re looking for. They’re looking for keywords. They aren’t in learning or entertainment mode - they’re in quick scan and answer mode.  Once they find the answers to the three important questions (Who are you? What do you do? Can you help them?), they’ll relax. And if they’re intrigued, they’ll spend more time exploring. 

Intriguing doesn't mean “cloaking what you do in this mask of mystery and challenging your prospect to solve that mystery.”  Being intriguing is communicating that transformation you’re going to provide. You’re reminding them of the ultimate character transformation that will occur by doing business with you. They can almost taste the success.  

That will get them excited, not make them confused. You want to provide the information the need immediately, then bring on the fireworks. 

At the end of the day, your website needs to be as obvious as possible. There’s no need to stress out about using flowery language or trying to sound unique.  Being clear and obvious will actually help differentiate you from the competition. While your competitors have confusing websites, yours will show your customer exactly what you do and how you can help them. It makes the connection with your customer happen faster.

I recently kept all this in mind while redesigning my website. What do you think?

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