Customer Reviews

Net Words: Creating High-Impact Online Copy

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If you are looking for a book that teaches you how to write web copy, this isn't it. After going through many of the author's articles on the web, I was expecting more from this book.

The author starts out promoting copywriters and how important writing good copy is. He constantly keeps repeating this point in several chapters. After reading the first few chapters you might tell yourself: "Hey, I do not need convincing that my website needs good copy! Get on already with telling me how I can go about writing good copy!" However, this never occurs. The author does give some examples of good vs. bad copy, but never gets to the point of telling you what route to take to better your own copy. There is no concise guidance in this book.

"Net Words: Creating High-Impact Online Copy" consists of pieces of information put together to form chapters without following a clear line. The focus lies too heavily on explaining the problems copywriters encounter while trying to do their job, rather than on teaching the reader how to write online copy. For example, the author writes about how copywriters do not have enough freedom to properly do their job, how they are not held in high regard by content managers, and how they need support and respect of the development team and managers to succeed. This book doesn't teach you how to write good online copy like its title pretends it will, but rather tells you what you can do to make the life of copywriters in your company easier so that they can produce their best work and consequently improve your website and marketing strategy.

So if you have a website and need convincing that writing good online text is important, and if you have the money to hire a professional copywriter, then buy this book. Otherwise, save your money and read the articles on the author's website; they are much more informative and educational.

This is more of a survey of copywriter's woes and the general state of online copywriting for Web sites and newsletters and for email. Not much meat and not much that can be of any real value to anyone short of those with very limited experience on the net.

If you're an experienced copywriter or someone who knows their way around, don't waste your money on this book.

I found it amusing how Usborne said that hyperlinks on the web page distract the visitor and should not be used while the author of Persuasive Online Copywriting by Bryan Eisenberg, Jeffrey Eisenberg, Lisa T. Davis is all for it.

In fact, there are no hard and fast rules and we copywriters are not at all sure which way works. My personal belief is that each site is different and that hyperlinks can and do work if you write your scan words just right. But neither book addresses this issue.

A novice would be, I think, better served by reading Bob Bly.

For non-copywriters, Nick Usborne provides a great foundation for understanding the fundamental differences between writing offline copy and writing for the web.

As an experienced online copywriter, I didn't learn anything new or groundbreaking. However for those transitioning from offline copywriting to the online environment, or for those who are simply looking for a set of guidelines to help evaluate the abilities and understanding of copywriters that they are considering hiring for an online project, Net Words is effective and easy to read.

Nick does provide a great overview of how the history and evolution of the net as a communication medium has influenced the most effective ways to write online copy.

The book also addresses the need for developing a consistent, customer focused voice across all channels of online communications, from your web copy to your emails. This is a critical point to understand, as most of the copy I find online, is far too distant and company focused (what Nick calls "Corporate Speak".)

If the only thing you take away from this book is the need to write copy in a more customer focused manner, you will have received your moneys worth.

All-in-all, even though it was not as in-depth as I would have liked, I found the book well worth the time I invested in reading it.

Nick Usborne, in his straightforward style, uncovers the dirtiest secret in the internet: The success of your site depends primarily on the copy. Unique graphics might get you noticed and win a few design awards, but without good copy, you don't stand a chance. Nick gets this message across by pointing out specific examples of sites that "get it" by using copy to establish a unique voice. He also show a number of examples of "corporate-speak" copy that is guaranteed to lose readers. By highlighting the differences between good web copy versus traditional advertising copy, the book teaches you how to write what people want to read on the 'net. Nick's approach to writing copy emphasizes bright, descriptive, no-nonsense and humorous text while eliminating stilted, boring, and unintelligible language. And the sections on writing sales copy (in the right place) is golden. Bottom Line: If you write for the web, especially if you're a one-person show, you need to read this book.

You and all your competitors are spending big bucks, duking it out online for customers, trying to cut the burn rate or increase profitability. The conversion rate on your site is about average; 1%, 2%, maybe even 5% if you are lucky, really lucky.

The conventional wisdom is, of course, to increase your marketing budget; spend more money to drive customers to that same site where 1 or 2 out of 100 becomes a customer, signs up for your mailing list, or requests more information. Your marketing agency, your media reps, and the sales folks at those CRM and software companies will reassure you that more visibility and more technology will be just what you need. Before you spend another dollar, buck the conventional wisdom and snap up a copy of "Net Words" before it sells out.

Simply put, Net Words will help you develop a competitive advantage, the ONLY competitive that your competitors cannot immediately copy or match with a big enough budget. That advantage, oddly enough is a voice, the words you use to connect with your customers; the words you use to touch, comfort, reassure, and connect with your audience. Can it really be that simple? Absolutely!

Nick covers online copywriting like no one else. While others have written about one to one marketing and the vast potential the web offers for this ideal, Nick shows you how to get there. He provides simple examples that clearly illustrate every inch of the process. You will learn simple methods for increasing the conversion rate on your site, improving the response to email marketing campaigns, and truly building relationships with your audience.

Net Words is simple, honest, and maybe even obvious, too obvious. You remember the emperor who had no clothes, well; the online emperor has no c-l-o-s-e. Large and small companies alike, Net Words will help you change that.

Three years from now the most important person on your web team will be your copywriter. Increasingly, Copy - or rather finely tuned, accurate verbal content - talks to search engines and customers alike. Talented writers who understand your market AND the search engines are already both rare and valuable. As the Search Engines become better and better at "understanding" the copy on your site, you'll be increasingly dependent on good copy with content; and increasingly free of tricks and scams to achieve high rankings on search engine results.

How do you learn about writing copy for your website. You read Nick's book. Period.

The book is very compact and well written. Nick Usborne wrote this book based on his own experiences as online copywriter. You can tell, because he provides a lot of examples of issues that are exclusively Web related and also about differences between copy writing for the "real world" and the unique challenges and subtle differences to the copy writing for the Internet. Some things that work great offline in its specific environment such as print magazine or Television don't work the same way online, because peoples behaviour and expectations are different.

People are still people, be it "offline" or "online" which makes a lot of the classic rules of copy writing as true on the Internet as they are in the real world.

This makes the book a good choice for offline copy writer who want to start writing copy for a Website, Blog or eZine as well as for Internet Marketers who want to learn the basics of Copy writing to improve the copy on their existing Websites.

Just FTI, Nick Usborne has an Email Newsletter you should sign up for. Search the Internet and I am sure you will find it.

The basic premise of Net Words-how good copywriting can make a Web site more effective-is as fundamental in 2006 as it was in 2001 when the book was published. Net Words is recent enough in terms of technology to still be relevant, and author Nick Usborne, a prolific and respected copywriter, is unquestionably an authority on this topic.

Writers interested in reading this book should not assume that it is a handbook or guide to practical online writing. Writers should read the book with an understanding that they will learn some important Web marketing principles and a few theories for writing business-related online copy, but they should not expect Net Words to be an educational guide.

Many of the guidelines and tips for copywriters are most likely already known to writers with any persuasive writing or basic marketing skills. The book certainly is useful to offline writers who are unfamiliar with the Internet or the way marketing copy differs from other kinds of text.

Business owners wanting to improve Web site conversion rates and designers who would like to get a better handle on what the copywriting process involves will benefit from reading the book. Some of the chapter headings are "Allow copywriters to do great work: Copywriting online is not bad," "Only words will set you apart: Set your company apart online," "Writing newsletters: The best way to hold your customer's attention," and "Close the sale: When and how to close the sale online."

Usborne provides numerous examples of good and bad copy from actual Web sites, offering the reader a chance to visit these sites and analyze Web content. He also reviews the benefits and disadvantages of different kinds of online communication, such as newsletters, e-mail, and discussion boards.

Usborne writes with a pleasing style-humorous, honest, and straightforward. He elevates a subject that could be tech-heavy to a level comprehensible to nearly all readers. There are occasional uses of jargon that may be troublesome to some readers, and the book does have a repetitious feel toward the end.

Nevertheless, reading Net Words is an enjoyable experience that will certainly benefit those in decision-making positions of business, Web developers, and writers new to creating marketing copy.

Nick Usborne shows how to make the most of the limited time you have to capture and hold site visitors' attention. This book is easy to read - it's actually fun to read - and is full of that practical, solid advice that you can put to work immediately.

This book is extremely vital to anyone that has a web-based business! Writing online for a website is very tricky, and if you don't do it right, then your business will not succeed. Nick has portrayed writing high-impact online copy in such an easy-to-understand way, that you don't have to be a rocket scientist to put his valuable advice to work - to your advantage."When it comes to communications, words are the simplest and MOST effective of tools," and he's right! He couldn't have said it better. Sites depend on easy-to-understand language, and the 'simplicity' of your site is ultimately what sets you apart from your competition. This is one of the most valuable lessons that I've learned as a web-based business owner, and the most helpful. My favorite chapters are all of them that he has written, as each gives such meaningful and clear advice, tips, ideas, and suggestions that WORK, and that WORK WELL. Nick also puts you into other people's shoes, so that you can think like a direct marketer, close the sale, think like a customer, and so much more. I could think of nothing better than to have such a 'comprehensive' personal approach to writing online. He has addressed the whos, whats, wheres, whens, whys, and hows of strong online copy, especially in the last two chapters. I keep this book next to my computer at ALL times, and refer to it at least three times a day, often reading it cover to cover at least once a week. The best thing is, is that I learn something new every single time I read it. It's been a lifesaver, plain and simple. I can't recommend this book enough, but if you're ever looking for that 'one perfect book', this is it. Thank you so much Nick for writing such a phenomenal book.