Website copy examples for writers
Nine pages, ten examples each. All of it written from the same short record: your customer is an editor or a marketing lead deciding in a minute whether you can write, the credential they check is working writer, and what they are quietly worried about is commissioning someone who misses the brief, or the deadline, or both.
- About us An About page has to answer one question fast: why you rather than the other three quotes. These are ten different answers to it. Ten →
- Bio A bio is read by someone deciding whether to trust a person, not a company. Length and person matter more than polish. Ten →
- Tagline A tagline earns its place by saying the one thing you want remembered. Ten angles here, not ten rewordings of one. Ten →
- Services page A services section has two jobs: help the right person recognise their problem, and stop the wrong enquiry before it reaches you. Ten →
- Homepage headline The headline is read in about a second, usually by someone who arrived from a search. It should confirm they are in the right place. Ten →
- Call to action Most calls to action fail because they ask for more commitment than the visitor is ready to give. These vary the ask, not just the verb. Ten →
- Elevator pitch An elevator pitch fails when it describes the business instead of giving the listener a reason to ask a second question. These end somewhere the other person can pick up. Ten →
- About me An About me page is read by someone judging a person rather than a company, which is why it is first person even when the business is not. Ten →
- FAQ page An FAQ page is where the objections go that the rest of the site is too polished to name. Answer the money question first or the visitor leaves to find it. Ten →
Writing for writers
What should a writer’s website say that a generic one does not?
Three things, in this order. That you are published. That you understand the thing people are actually worried about, which for writers is commissioning someone who misses the brief, or the deadline, or both. And what happens next: send the brief and the deadline and I will say yes or no within a day. Everything else on the page is decoration by comparison.
What does an editor or a marketing lead deciding in a minute whether you can write check first?
The credential, then the proof. For writers it sounds like this. I link clips rather than list clients. I say what I am good at and what I am not. I quote rates ranges rather than "it depends". Put at least one of those above the fold rather than on a separate page nobody opens.
What is the most common mistake on a writer’s website?
Writing about the business instead of the customer. "We have been established since 1998" answers a question nobody asked. "Send the brief and the deadline and I will say yes or no within a day" answers the one they are actually holding. If you only fix one thing, fix that.
How long should the copy be?
Shorter than you think, except where trust is being built. An About page of 120 well-chosen words beats 500 vague ones. The exception is anything explaining commissioning someone who misses the brief, or the deadline, or both — there, specifics earn their length.