Written by Bob McClain, Web Copywriting Expert

Website copywriting isn’t all seriousness and salesmanship. If you don’t believe me, spend a little time on woot.com. There’s an old saying in business: People do business with people they know, like, and trust.

Trust must be earned and one great way to do that before a transaction is to be likeable. And being fun is a great way to get liked.

Think before you crack a joke…

Obviously, you have to consider the content of the site, the client, and the potential customer before you decide to be funny. It is too easy to offend people’s sensibilities to just shoot from the hip. You have to be smart about it.

Obviously, in B2B sites, it’s very rare that the client will let you be fun. And just because they say they want to be “fun”, think twice before you get carried away.

I once wrote a website for a client who edited video, created voice-overs for videos, and put sub-titles on videos. They said they wanted to come across as hip and cool; different from their stodgy competitors. So I took some liberties and had some fun with the copy.

They weren’t amused.

Try to get a feel for what they “think” is hip and cool. Ask them for samples of other sites they think hit the mark. Their interpretation of hip and cool might be very different from yours.

Sometimes they will surprise you…

Sometimes you’ll get a client who really does want to stand out from the crowd because they realize that “if you aren’t stepping on any toes, it’s because you’re standing still.”

Two of the worst offenders of the copycat and look-alike website syndrome is accountants and lawyers. Not only are their websites all dreary and dismal and all look alike, but they also use all the same marketing tactics.

It’s very scary for conservative types like these to step out of the shadows and stand out.

I wrote the copy for a group of young accountants who were starting their own firm. Maybe because they were young and rather brash, they really wanted to stand out from all the other accounting firms.

I did some research and discovered that most accounting firm websites were so alike, you could literally swap the copy from one to the next and no one would know the difference. So I proposed something edgy (for accountants) and my clients loved it.

Here’s their Home page (since they are no longer in business, I’ve removed all identifying information):

If All You’re Looking For Is A Bookeeper, You’ve Come To The Wrong Place

We’re problem-solvers.

XXXXXX is a small business, just like you. We face the same challenges everyday that you do.

The difference is, because we’re accountants, we have systems and resources in place that let us discover and solve problems before they become major issues that rob us of our time, assets and money.

The same systems and resources we can bring to bear on your company.

If all you’re looking for is someone to count your money, we can suggest plenty of other accounting firms. But if you are looking for a problem-solver who can give you real advice and help as you grow and expand your business, someone who can put systems in place that give you real-time answers and information about your business, then give us a call at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or email us (XXX@xxxxxx.com).

We’re here to help.

The next time you have a client who seems willing to take a few chances, see if you can’t push them a little more towards the edge.