My Complete Website Copywriting Process
Website copywriting is one of my most-requested projects by most of my clients. From operations agencies to website designers to therapists, I’ve written for all kinds of small businesses. And after 5 years of doing this, I’m still refining my process — but it has definitely come a long way from when I first started.
Here’s what I’m doing right now ⬇️
Brand Intake Form
The first step for any website copywriting project is to send my client a brand questionnaire — and it’s beefy. I ask them everything from their journey starting this business to the skinny on their offers to everything they know about their target audience.
It takes them a while to fill out, but it’s worth it — because it gives me everything I need to write copy moving forward, and any other questions I have I can ask during an onboarding call — which happens after they’ve finished filling out their form.
On this call, I also tell my clients about next steps ⬇️
Research
Can you believe I used to not do research before writing website copy? ELECTRIC CHAIR. If you’re hiring a copywriter that doesn’t do research, RUN. This is the first and most important step to any website copywriting project, and you don’t want to half-ass this part. Because the most compelling, most impactful copy is insightful copy.
Market Research
Market research is deep digging into what’s happening in the industry and exploring opportunities you can pursue.
I always start by going to Google and using targeted search prompts to find the kind of information I’m looking for:
- “Statistics about (topic)” — BEST USED FOR: proving a point, learning more about the market
- “The importance of (topic)” — BEST USED FOR: proving a point, learning more about the market
- (“category) industry statistics” — BEST USED FOR: proving a point, learning more about the market
- “What should be in a (type of product/service/offer/piece of content)” — BEST USED FOR: offer creation/improvement and research for your copy
- “Industry-standard for (product/service/piece of content/topic)” — BEST USED FOR: proving a point, pricing research, and offer creation/improvement
You can also use the auto-fill suggested prompts Google comes up with when you type a keyword into their search bar, and add them to a bank later for your SEO keyword research. And you can use these search prompts on other research tools too! Like:
Consumer Research
Consumer research involves trying to better understand your target audience, identify market opportunities, and help you stay competitive and ahead of the curve.
There are a few ways I like to do it:
Secondary research → this involves using targeted prompts on search engines like Google, AnswerthePublic, SEMrush and Ubersuggest to find data from research other people have already conducted.
Steal these consumer research search promps:
- “Who uses (product/service)” — BEST USED FOR: learning about a target audience and their pains, desires, and motivations
- “Questions about (topic)” — BEST USED FOR: improving copy, finding content ideas, and getting ideas for a new offer
- “Target audience for (your field of work)” — BEST USED FOR: learning about a target audience and their pains, desires, and motivations
- “How many people (action)”; e.g. don’t wear SPF — BEST USED FOR: learning about a target audience, and ideas for new offers/improving your current offers
- “(product/service) reviews” — BEST USED FOR: competitor research, and voice-of-customer (VOC) research
Consumer surveys and/or interviews → I get to ask my client’s target audience directly about their demographic & psychographic info, buying behaviour, how they perceive brands like my client’s, how they consume content, etc.
An interview is always better than a survey in my opinion, but it’s hard to get people to agree to doing a survey let alone joining a call — so always start with a survey and work your way up from there.
Social listening and community engagement → I look at what my client’s target audience is saying in social media comments and posts to get a feel for how they talk, what they think about different brands, their buying habits and decision making style, etc.
Competitor Research
Competitor research is, what I like to call, depth lurking on other businesses that do what you do and have the same/similar target audience as you. Identifying their strengths and weaknesses, analyzing their products and services, and seeing how you measure up and what opportunities you can explore.
I always ask my clients who their top 3 competitors are in their brand questionnaire, but they might not always know OR consider another brand a competitor when they’re actually not.
So I’ll also plug this prompt into Google: “[your job title] for [your target audience]”
Example: Website designer for female entrepreneurs
I try to look for search results on the first page of Google, looking at the title tag and meta description to see if it’s a legit brand.
For example, this result for a brand is someone worth looking at because they do the same thing as my client, serve a similar target audience, and have a differentiation factor worth exploring.
After picking 3 competitors, I’ll analyze their offers, value proposition, SEO, brand voice, and social proof. And compare my clients to these competitors to see how my client comes out on top, and opportunities they can explore to do better.
SEO Keyword Research
If you didn’t know, SEO stands for search engine optimization. And the words and phrases you use on your website are a part of SEO. Not every website copywriter is experienced with SEO — in fact, there are some copywriters who specialize in just doing SEO copywriting.
I happen to focus on writing compelling, conversational, culturally-relevant website copy with SEO keywords integrated throughout the website, title tags, and meta descriptions.
There are other elements of a website that factor in to SEO — like image alt text, UX design, optimized url slugs, having a Google Business Profile, etc. But as your copywriter, I use tools like SEMrush to find the keywords and phrases we should try to rank for on every single one of your web pages.
I pull from the bank of keywords I started building when doing market & consumer research earlier, and then keep going. I look at the:
- Monthly search volume — which tells me how many people search for that term per month
- Keyword difficulty — how hard will it be for my client to rank for that keyword? Anything below 50 is good
- Search intent — are people searching this term because they want to get more information, because they want to learn more about your products & services, or because they’re ready to checkout?
Analyze & Plan
After collecting all the research, I look at everything and see how we can answer it in the copy.
If I find a statistic that says “58% of Canadians who are frequent credit card users listed “receiving discounts/loyalty points/rewards’’ as their main reason for frequently using credit cards for purchases”, then we should focus on how my client — a financial coach — can help Canadians maximize their everyday spending to get more points that payoff in flights and hotel stays.
I do that with every piece of insight, then plan out all the pages on my client’s website before I actually start writing.
If my career were a video game, the blinking cursor on the blank Google Doc page would be my foe. Planning what to say in every section of every web page helps me not get stuck for too long! So when I actually start the writing part, I can focus on how to word what I want to say, and creative ways to get the point across.
But first, I need to make sure there are brand voice guidelines in place! And if they aren’t, I often recommend my clients let me do that next.
Brand Voice & Messaging Development
Another thing I learned is vital to the pre website copywriting process is having a brand voice guide. This is like my North Star when writing the copy, so it sounds consistent across every web page and aligns with their branding.
Most of my clients don’t have a brand voice guide, so I develop it for them! Crafting their:
- Mission & Vision statements
- Brand voice & tones of voice
- Writing style guidelines
- Copy examples so they can see it in action
- Brand manifesto, and more
I created a free resource for my clients who could do this before starting their project, to save time/money when working with me — you can download that here.
But it’s a very bare bones version of my brand voice & messaging development process — which is why I created a more comprehensive version that’s more guided, and still saves them time and money by doing it on their own. You can grab add my Comprehensive Brand Voice Guidelines Workbook to cart >>>
Often times though, my clients don’t know what to do even with my guided resources, or don’t have the time to do the work. Which is why they have me do it! Someone who’s experienced with developing brand voices for dozens of brands.
Website Copywriting
We’ve finally arrived at the website copywriting part of the project — it was a JOURNEY, huh? After 5 years of doing this, I’ve established a template I use for all kinds of web pages — the home page, about page, services page, contact page, shop page, event page, and more.
I’m currently on making a guided website copywriting template, and can’t wait to launch it so y’all can have the insightful resource you need to have your own high-converting websites. Sign up to get updates and early access to the resource.
Now, when writing website copy for my clients, it can take 10 hours, 17 hours, or even 25 hours. Because it includes the actual copy for every web page, the title tags and meta descriptions, and every SEO keyword in place to help my client rank on search engines.
How fast I can get it all done depends on the scope of the work, the complexity of my client’s work, and how satisfied they are with the first round. Which brings me to the next part ⬇️
Feedback & Revisions
After finishing the website copy, I record a Loom video walking through the entirety of the website copy document, and send it to my client with the link to review the document in a separate tab. I always get my clients to comment any feedback on the side instead of making changes to the doc, in case they want to keep some copy for future use but change it on the actual website copy.
After getting the consolidated feedback, I revise the website copy in a duplicated document and send it back for another review! If my client books a Premium Website Copy Package, they get 2 rounds of revisions. But if they have me do website copywriting in a Copy Retainer, they get unlimited revisions!
Website Designer Collaboration
Website copywriting should always come before website design. Unfortunately a lot of potential clients I meet with either already have a website design or hired a designer before me, which limits the copy I write.
It’s harder to write great copy to fit a mold. It’s a lot better to have the freedom to write great copy, and then mold a website afterward.
I always tell my clients I can work with their website designer at the beginning of their project, because often times the designer will want to have some copy to place in their wireframe. Plus, having design insight can help me craft the copy when I know how it’ll look on their actual website.
If my client doesn’t have a website designer, I recommend a few — as well as customizable templates — based on their budget.
Client Check-In & Updates
After their project ends, I try to check-in with my client within 6 months to see how their website is performing and if they need any website copy updates! I haven’t actually needed to do this much because when a client is satisfied with the initial work, they always reach out to me when they’re ready to work together again. But it is a part of my process nonetheless!
Website Copywriting for Women & BIPOC Brands
Want to see the end result of my website copywriting work? Check out my work from past projects!
To Wrap Up
There you have it! My complete website copywriting process from research to launch. This isn’t just about stringing words together — it’s about creating a strategic foundation for your entire online presence.
Your website should be your hardest-working team member, consistently attracting your ideal clients and converting visitors into customers. If your current site isn’t pulling its weight, it might be time for a website copy refresh.
My Premium Website Copy Package includes everything we’ve discussed:
- Comprehensive research (market, SEO, consumer, and competitor)
- Brand voice and messaging development
- Up to 10 pages of website copy
- Optional Figma wireframe
- Content marketing launch copy
- Two rounds of revisions
- 30 days of post-project support
I’m currently booking website projects for April 2025 and beyond. If you’re planning a website launch or refresh in the new year, now is the perfect time to get on my calendar.
Ready to create website copy that actually converts? Let’s chat about your project! Fill out my contact form to get started >>>
Remember: Your website visitors make a judgment about your business within seconds. Make sure your copy gives them every reason to stay, engage, and ultimately, become a client.
