Another solo episode for you! This episode dives behind the scenes of a website copy refresh. I talk you through my approach to a copy refresh for Propegy as we prepare for a new website in Q4. We also explore some of the differences between a copy refresh and a rewrite from scratch to help you decide which is the right solution for your copy needs.
What is a Website Copy Refresh?
For me, a copy refresh is a website, sales page, or piece of collateral that has most of the pieces that it needs to be a complete deliverable. The piece of copy technically functions as it need to, but it needs a few changes to better align with the goals and objectives of the website, business, or campaign.
With a refresh, a copywriter may add a new section, update key pieces of information, or shuffle around existing content, but the goal is to optimize existing content – not reinvent the wheel.
Behind the Scenes of Propegy’s Website Copy Refresh
When it comes to the Propegy refresh, I know that I’m not really interested in starting from scratch.
First, I don’t dislike the copy on our current site. I think that it shows our personality and it converts pretty well. But, as the goals and objectives of our company change, I know that our current copy will slowly stop serving as well as it does now.
Second, I don’t have the time, energy, or desire to go ahead with a complete from scratch rewrite. I have some client feedback, but I don’t feel the need to dive into a full round of market research. I have a few tweaks to make to our messaging, but I’m generally happy with the foundation of it and the way that we represent our mission, vision and values throughout our site.
At the end of the day, do I need to rewrite my website? I don’t think so. So, I’m skipping a rewrite in favor of a refresh, and I think that this is a valid option for any service provider who knows that their website needs something else but doesn’t want to, doesn’t have the money to, or doesn’t have the energy to start over.
Where to Start?
Where do we begin with a refresh, if not a blank Google Doc with a blinking cursor staring back at us? What does the process start with? It starts with a review of our goals without looking at the current site.
What do we want our site to accomplish?
We want people to get excited about LinkedIn and choose to work with us to find confidence, clarity, and success on the platform.
Where do we want to drive traffic?
We have three to four different calls to action that we will use throughout the site.
The Lead Gen Archetype Quiz
We want people to take the quiz to opt into our email list and find their lead gen archetype. Not only will getting people on our email list help us serve them more intimately and consistently overtime, helping them uncover their lead gen archetype will support them in making decisions about where they want to focus their time and energy on LinkedIn.
Thought Leaders Collective
This is our weekly content membership that helps our members consistently create engaging thought leadership content on LinkedIn. It’s $27 a month and you can cancel anytime. It’s an easy entry point into working with us but more important than that, it’s an easy entry point to getting comfortable on LinkedIn and that is our main goal for anyone who visits our website. Whether they work with us or not, we want to see them show up enthusiastically on LinkedIn if that is what they want to do.
LinkedIntensive & Shop
The next two calls to action will be used less frequently but are still paths that users can take on the site and that will be to visit the shop or apply for a LinkedIntensive. The shop will consist of the bite sized courses and training that I talked about in the last episode. And the Linkedintensive is our higher ticket, done-with-you strategy intensive.
Answering these questions is the first step to a refresh. We know we want visitors to feel supported and confident, learning from us how they can show up on LinkedIn and we want to direct them to a number of different ways to choose to get support from Propegy, either through self paced education or a done-with-you service.
The Site Map
Next, we take a look at the site map. We start with our current site map and look at all of the pages and pathways of the site and decide what, if anything, can be or should be removed.
Then we look at our goals and tweak what needs to be added to the site map in order to support those goals. For example, our current site mentions the lead gen archetype quiz, but it isn’t as prominently featured as I would like, so I’ll note places to add a quiz CTA.
The Copy Audit
We use a copy audit to assess the third objective we outlined in the beginning of our refresh: the tone of our site. Where a new site gets to start from scratch to set the tone for the copy, a refresh gets to make small tweaks to improve tone without completely overhauling the site copy.
Gather the Copy
Fortunately, I have the Google doc from the last time I wrote the Propegy website copy. For this step, all I need to do is copy the document and begin my audit. After highlighting the pages and sections we decided to remove from the site map and noting where any new copy or sections need to be added, I’ll go through the copy page by page, line by line, and I’ll ask the following questions:
- Does this copy support the reader in their LinkedIn journey?
- If not, how can I make it more supportive?
- Does this copy make assumptions about the reader’s desires, struggles, or attitudes towards LinkedIn or their business?
- If so, how can I make it less presumptuous and more relatable?
- Does this copy guide my reader towards one of the four CTAs I outlined in my original project plan?
- Does every piece of copy have a purpose?
- Is there any fluff that we can take out or transform to make it more intentional?
Let the Copy Refresh Begin
After asking all of these questions for every single line, I have one very heavily marked up document. But most of the hard work is done at this point. Instead of staring at a blank page, I now have many very full pages with starter content and specific direction for how to make each line or section sound the way it needs to in order to support the goals of my site.
A lot of pieces of copy will remain untouched, but there will also be many subheadings and calls to action that I will tweak to support the new goals and messaging.
Once I’m done with that, if it was a client site, I would submit it to the client for their review and feedback. We would collaborate, make any changes, and then we would send it over to the designer for implementation. Because this is my site, once I finish, I’ll send it over to my designer for our refresh day, she’ll just pop it on the site and we’ll be good to go.
How to decide if a website copy refresh is right for you
A refresh is a great way to give your site copy a fresh feel without waiting weeks or even months to start from scratch. The refresh that I outlined for you here today takes just one week from start to finish, and it’s not even a full week. It’s bits and pieces every day. Keep your eyes peeled for the live version to pop up on thepropegy.com in late October when your site gets its makeover. If you’re looking for a refresh of your own, be sure to reach out to learn more about how I can help!
