Oh giddy. We have a waffle problem. You know what I’m talking about. You land on a webpage and have to keep scrolling and scrolling through walls of text? And then at the end, you’re still not entirely certain what it is they do?

It’s like the webpage version of watching a YouTube video. The kind where you just want to learn how to do a screen grab on a Mac. But you have to listen to the person in front of the camera talking for three entire minutes about screengrab scenarios, other things you can use screen grabs for, the history of flippin’ screengrabs and basically anything else they can say to include the word screen grab as much as humanly possible before they tell you the tiny nugget of information you went there for.

You get my drift. You probably consider yourself time-poor. And so do your customers. If you can make it quick and easy for them to find the information they need, they’ll love you.

Here are my 5 copy tips to help you do that.

1. Make the information your customer is looking for clearly visible.

   State what it is you do, or offer, straight away. Don’t make them scroll. Like my homepage.

2. Don't use 20 words when 10 will suffice.

   Granted my blurb above was incredibly wordy, but there’s a time and place for that kind of writing, and it’s not your homepage or sales page. 

   Instead of:

   We help take your business to the next level with our expert coaching and consulting services. Get the business you’ve always wanted, but never knew how to achieve.

   
   

   Try:

   Our expert coaching and consulting services help you achieve the ultimate vision for your business. 

   
   

3. When creating video content, get to the point of your video as soon as possible.

   Don’t be that person. ‘Nuff said.

4. Review your content and remove repetitive and superfluous copy.

   It’s very easy to say the same thing over and over in a slightly different way. And I’ve been guilty of this. Personality-led copywriting can be a slippery slope, and while you don’t want your writing to be as dry as mud, you don’t want it to be a full-on mud wrestling pool either.

   
   Thanks for dropping by! If you’re here, it’s probably because you’re amazing and great at what you do; can’t wait to want to share your expertise with your fabulous community, and do your bit to make the world a better place.

5. Ask yourself "is this helpful/entertaining/important for my customer?" If the answer is no, delete.

   Sometimes you need an additional pair of eyes to tell you this. And, if you find it easy to come up with a long list of ‘important’ things your customers should know, try reframing the word important. Ask “will their life be better or changed for good by knowing this?” If the answer is yes, add it to your important list. 

And there you have it—five actionable tips for reducing your rambling.

Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash