Top Five Styles for Writing Sharp Website Copy

A writing style is a unique way of putting words together. There is no ‘ideal’ style for web copywriting, as each client may prefer a different writing style depending on their targeted audience and company policy.

Below are five of the most common writing styles generally preferred by businesses for website copywriting:

• The Formal Style: This form of web copy writing presents information in a clear and concise manner, with an impersonal tone, which some people may often consider bureaucratic. The formal style of writing is usually used for the websites of government institutions, educational institutions and other official bodies, that wish to appear superior and highly professional to their readers. Content in the formal style is generally written in the third person, with a generous sprinkling of jargon and difficult-to-understand terminology. Here is an example of the formal style of writing web copy: "Managing costs effectively can only take a business so far. What an enterprise really requires is accelerated growth. Whether it is entering new market domains, introducing innovative new products, or initiating transformational process changes, companies need to aggressively unlock the key value levers of their business".

• The Informal Style: The informal style of web copywriting addresses the reader directly in a pleasant and courteous tone, presenting some problems the reader may be facing and how the client company can help solve it. It is the most popular style of web copywriting, and usually has call-to-action messages to help generate leads for the company. Here is an example of the informal style of website copy writing: "Are you up to your head in debt? Have your debt problems turned your life into hell? If so, then our debt consolidation services may be exactly what you need. We have helped hundreds of people turn their multiple debt burdens into single, affordable monthly payments, and will help you do the same, with utmost ease. Contact us now for a free quote at..."

• The Persuasive Style: This style of website copy writing promotes the client company as one of the best in the market. It generally boasts about the positives of the business, and why clients should choose it, rather than any of its competitors. This persuasive-style of web copy writing has strong chest-thumping copy, and is usually written in the first person. Here is an example of the persuasive style of website copywriting: "If you are looking for a comprehensive branding platform to build your business, then mycompany.com is what you need. Our specialists are amongst the best in the business, and use the finest online strategies to work wonders for your branding campaign. Thousands of people have tried our amazing services, with outstanding success. Sign up now to experience the full range of benefits we can bring you!"

• The Guarded Style: The guarded style of web copywriting is a style preferred by businesses that fear legal action/malpractice suits brought on by customers; such as medical clinics, dental clinics and cosmetic surgery clinics. This style of writing involves using ambiguous terms like ‘generally, usually, in some cases, often’ in website copy, and a number of disclaimers. The guarded style of writing ensures there are loopholes for company lawyers to use, in case someone sues them regarding information displayed on their website. Here is an example of the guarded style of web copy writing: "Teeth whitening is one of the most common cosmetic dentistry treatments. Our dental clinic offers teeth whitening through in-surgery ZOOM whitening, home bleaching kits and other methods. An in-surgery Zoom whitening treatment can usually be completed during a single appointment, in most cases. Generally, most patients notice they look younger after such a teeth whitening treatment."

• The Humorous Style: Writing website content in this style is the most difficult, as humour is subjective, and may not be understood by all readers. What might seem funny to the company management or the copywriter, might seem offensive to the reader or result in a misunderstanding (especially amongst people from other cultures). While humour can be refreshing, the humorous style should always be used cautiously, after verifying that the humour is appropriate for the targeted audience and the needs of the business. A good example of the humorous web copy writing style is ClearWriting.com

Business content, like website copy, should always be professional. While selecting a style for your website content, the number one thing to consider is your targeted audience. What style would make your reader the most comfortable and interested in doing business with you? What style would best suit your business needs? Would you like a combination of styles? Discuss this with your content writing company before they begin work on your project, and you will be assured of sharp website copy that brings in the results you desire.

StarEdits.com has been offering high quality web copywriting services to hundreds of clients for the last five years. If you require well-written content for your website, just email us at info@staredits.com or fill in our Contact Us form today.

The Top Word of the Year - 2012

As 2012 draws to a close, the leading English dictionary makers have begun announcing their choice for the 'Top Word of the Year'. These words are usually selected based on how much they were used during the particular year, which is partly based on the frequency with which they were searched for and editorial choice.

Here is a list of the top words for 2012, selected by the major English dictionaries: 

• Merriam-Webster: This dictionary lists the words 'capitalism' and 'socialism' as the top words for 2012. These words were mostly searched for with reference to debates about these systems of government in the USA and Europe, particularly during the US presidential elections. 

• Dictionary.com: This online dictionary has chosen the word 'bluster' as its top word for 2012. Bluster means 'loud, swaggering, often empty boasts, threats, or other comments'. 

• Oxford Dictionary, American edition:  This dictionary has selected the acronym 'GIF', which is  pronounced 'jif', and stands for 'graphics interchange format'. While this tech term is not new, it has recently become popular because of humourous GIF animations shared on Facebook and other social networking websites. 

• Oxford University Press, UK: The editors of the British version of the Oxford dictionary have selected the word 'omnishambles' as their choice for the 'top word of 2012'. Omnishambles is a word which means 'a thoroughly mismanaged situation loaded with bureaucratic errors'. 

What do you think of these top words for 2012? If you had a choice, which word would you select as the top word for 2012?

StarEdits.com is a top writing and editing company, which offers high quality copy writing services to clients from all over the world. If you require well-written web content, marketing copy and articles, just email us at info@staredits.com or fill in our Contact Us form now.

What is A Behaviour Event Interview?

A Behaviour Event Interview or BEI is a backward looking interview process, through which candidates are short-listed based on the desired competencies required by an organisation. It is a revolutionary HR technique, which many leading companies have begun following while selecting candidates for filling various vacant positions.

The Behaviour Event Interview technique differs from the traditional biographical job based interview, which focuses more on job descriptions and technical knowledge. In contrast, BEI is more flexible, and helps select candidates with the desired potential as per their competencies. During such interviews, a candidate is asked questions to get them to recount a specific example or event, related to a particular competency the HR managers may be looking for. Such questions usually begin with the phrases “Tell me about a time when you...." or "Can you provide me with an example of when you....".

A Behaviour Event Interview helps you locate high performers, and it is always useful to know who the star performers in your company are. StarEdits.com is a Corporate Communications company and HR consultancy, which is experienced in defining competencies and developing structured questionnaire formats, to help companies conduct BEIs in their organisation.

What we do:

• We assist you in conducting a job analysis of the various jobs and roles, within your organisation. Based on this job analysis, we determine the key competencies that an employee needs to have for him/her to be successful in a particular role. 
• After an in-depth study of the various jobs, we will determine various threshold competencies based on the maximum job performance required from all employees in a particular competency. We will conduct interviews with senior managers to identify outstanding performers, who would be differentiated from average employees, based on exceptional characteristics and behaviours.
• We will create questionnaires to help guide your HR managers during the Behaviour Event Interview process.

A Behaviour Event Interview results in reduced recruitment costs, as it focuses on competencies. This means that only those people would be recruited, who already posses the required competencies, beforehand. Such individuals would be better learners, as they would be easier to train even when job descriptions change, due to changing technological and competitive environments.

How Will A Behaviour Event Interview Benefit Your Company?

Behaviour Event Interviews or BEIs, would bring your organisation several benefits, some of which include:

1. Better job-person match: While job descriptions might change over time, competencies don’t change. Hence, there would be better job-person matches. 
2. Training employees for leadership positions: Since employees with the desired competencies have already been identified, they would require less training, once they are promoted. 
3. Decrease in turnover costs: When a candidate joins, the candidate would be informed about tasks to be performed and options for career development. This would result in fewer employees leaving your company in a given year. 
4. Assists in developing a competency-based performance system: We study your organisation’s performance systems, and help develop new strategies for competency-based performance management. 
5. It is reusable as it is modifiable: When employees are recruited on the basis of their competencies, HR executives can re-define competencies, whenever job descriptions change.

Get Professionally Written Behaviour Event Interview Questionnaires

Drafting a Behaviour Event Interview questionnaire can be a time consuming process, and is often outsourced to consultants who develop competency based models for companies. Outsourcing this task to a highly experienced corporate communications consultancy like StarEdits.com ensures an objective view of your organisational processes, and helps avoid discrimination. This expert validation and better analysis, is sure to improve the functioning of your organisation.

Whether you are a big company or a small firm, if you require professionally drafted Behaviour Event Interview Questionnaires, just email us at info@staredits.com or fill in our Contact Us form now!