Some things copy really shouldn?t be doing.

You probably think there are enough things you should do without worrying about what you shouldn?t. But if it makes the difference between gaining customers and turning them off, maybe you should think about it as just as important. Here are few things to think about;

It?s been said many times, but targeting the wrong audience won?t get you very far. If what you?re offering is only likely to appeal to certain people, it stands to reason they?re the ones you should be trying to attract.

Making sure you use the words they?re likely to type into the search engine will be the signpost they?re looking for. That?s why it?s important to give as much thought to your title or headline as the rest of your copy.

Remember you?re writing for potential customers not composing a novel. Copy has to be short and sweet to make it effective. If you were writing a novel but had to turn it into a short story, you?d pick only the relevant bits of it.

You?d condense it into something that told the whole story but in a much shorter space. Which means cutting out a lot of background stuff. Using effective words instead of long paragraphs. And not wandering off course.

Copy is no different. There?s no place there for padding or flights of fancy. Being tough with your editing of it will make it work for even the most impatient reader.

Don?t treat them like idiots. They might well be, but no one likes being talked to as if they were. Of course they expect everything to be made clear and simple for them. And to find their way around your site without mishap.

It should be a straightforward process from start to finish. Making everything easy for them isn?t the same as doubting their capabilities of managing to do it on their own.

Copy shouldn?t be boring them rigid either. Keeping to the point isn?t the same as composing a list. It can still be friendly enough to put readers at their ease. Interesting enough to make them want to learn more.

And not feel as though they?re ploughing through treacle to get to the other side. Like everything else in life, copy is what you make it. And what you don?t.