So, you've elected to jump head first into the wonderful world of Web. After all, just about everyone has a site. You may as well join the craze. You hire a web developer and a graphic artist to design a professional site that promotes your business image.

The site looks great. But now what? Who is going to write the thing and put your ideas into words?

Making sure you wind up with the best possible web copy is as simple as following these guidelines:

Content is crucial

If you've invested in design and left the content as an afterthought, you may as well just throw your money away. Powerful - and targeted - copy is what sells your product or service, not pictures or flashy introductions.

Keep in mind that most people simply scan websites, with the average visitor deciding in 15 seconds or less to stay or not. Clever headlines with stimulating text will grab your readers' interest. Tight, focused, clear and concise copy will keep them there. How tight is tight? Write only about half of what you would have used in a hard copy version. Don't confront readers with long continuous blocks (yawn!) of text. And use hypertext to split long information into multiple pages.

To make your text easy to scan: · Highlight keywords using typeface and color variations (hypertext links are another way of "highlighting"). · Use meaningful, easy-to-scan subheads · Use bulleted lists. · Stick to one idea per paragraph.

Use headlines

And use them well. Your headlines should be powerful enough that your prospect wants to keep reading.

Talk up benefits - not product

Describe benefits your potential customer can see, hear or feel if they use your product. Show that you understand their issues and how your product addresses those issues. Write your marketing copy from the buyer's perspective. Sorry to tell you this, but people don't care about you. They're on your site because they want solutions. If you provide a solution to a problem they have, you're more likely to make a sale.