Your website copy is the most important part of your website. It’s also the part of your website that gets updated the least.
Bethany Meyer knew her website copy was outdated and made her cringe. After working together, she ended up with a far more professional site she could actually bear looking at.
Today, I'm walking you through this case study of how I helped her achieve those results from beginning to end.
The Problem
Bethany Meyer is an indie author. That makes her the sole designer, publisher, and marketer of her books, in addition to writing them in the first place.
She’d made a Wix author site several years ago. She’d done her best on it, but creative writing skills don't often translate well into marketing copy.
The sparse, uninteresting copy was her website's biggest problem. It didn’t show her personality or leave visitors itching to learn more about her books. The goal of an author website is to inform and sell, and her website did neither.
I've been friends with Bethany for years, so she reached out to me to help. While website rewrites aren't one of my main services, I was happy to work with her on this project because I knew how a better website would help boost her career.
Besides being her friend, Bethany also chose me for this project because I'm also a wanna-be author. I know the necessary elements for a solid author website and how to write it compellingly. She knew she needed both of those things to help her website succeed.
The Solution
Bethany came to me with a list of things that needed improving on her website in hand. My clients aren't always clear on what they want, so this helped get the project started faster. After sitting down and looking at her list and the website together, we came up with two main goals for the project.
Goal #1: Rewrite the website copy to be more interesting and aligned with her aim of selling books.
Goal #2: Tweak the website design to look more professional.
Her website bio was one of the areas she wanted to focus on most. For an author, nailing the "about" section is equally important to selling books. It's how readers connect with you.
I spent most of my time focusing on writing her a new bio, along with a catchy tagline for her to use on her website, social media, and more. When I showed her a draft of the copy, she was ecstatic with how fun and like her it sounded.
With the copy nailed down, it was on to goal two– tweaking the website design. I maintain several Wix sites, so I agreed to do that, too, for an additional fee.
As a disclaimer, I'm not an expert designer or anything. But I know my way around the Wix interface and can make a decent-looking site (like the one you’re on).
The website itself didn't need as much work as the copy. I made the flow from one section to another smoother and updated Bethany's book page, but I left much of it alone.
The Result
When she came to me, Bethany had a website she’d cobbled together herself. It got the job done, but she hated looking at it.
After working with me, she has a refreshed website with brand new copy and a polished design. Now, she doesn't have to be embarrassed when potential readers see it.
Before and After
Homepage
Book Page
Newsletter Page
When writing this post, it's too early to tell what long-term impact this update will have. But I hope the changes we made will help Bethany achieve her goal of selling more books, especially with her upcoming releases.
I’m so happy I could help Bethany with this project, which was fun for both of us, and gave her a website she loves.
Are you interested in hiring a writer to help you with your website, emails, or blog posts? I’d love to chat! Click the button below to get in touch with me today.
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