I love writing website copy. It really tests your strategic thinking, creativity, and ability to generate maximum impact with minimal words.

And the more I do it, the more I realize something: Writing copy for your website is kind of like putting together a really complicated puzzle without a picture or any pieces.

‍Hear me out.

Think of it like a puzzle in reverse: you need to capture your own picture, create the pieces, then put it all together. Let me explain my process, for perspective.

‍The Big Picture

‍The first step in my web copy process is to get an idea of the big picture of the website. On one hand, that picture includes the technical details:

• What pages will be included in the wireframe?
• What’s the structure?
• How will each page be laid out?
• What action do we want visitors to take?

On the other hand, it also involves getting a high-level understanding of the space I’ll be writing about so we can sell it effectively.

‍The Pieces

‍Next up is a thorough discovery process. It’s vital to extrapolate every possible detail:

• Who are the ideal members?
• What are the space’s unique features? Its personality?
• How will people feel when they walk in the door?
• How will the space tap into their identity?
• What experience will members have working there?
• What is the coworking space’s brand positioning?
• What are its values?
• What is its pricing structure?
• What amenities does it offer?
• What do we want members to think or feel when they get to the website?

There are a ton of questions and details to cover. And each one is a single piece of the puzzle.

‍The Assembly Process

‍Now that you’ve got all the details--all the pieces of your puzzle--it’s time to put it all together. And this is the part that I find really fun and fascinating.

Why?

Because, when you look at all of your documents and braindumps and questions and answers, you know that everything you need to create incredible, sales-driving web copy is hidden in there somewhere.

‍But here’s the catch: unlike normal puzzles, this one adds another level of challenge: there are way more pieces than you need.

‍You’ve got 500 pieces for a 50-piece puzzle.

Now, it’s a matter of sorting through them all, meticulously examining each one, and determining if and where it fits into the big picture.

‍The Finished Product

‍Finally, once you’ve worked your way through the entire process, you’re left with the finished product.

‍Notice in the last point, I referred to a 50-piece puzzle. And that’s because, if you’ve done your job well, all of the potential pieces--all of the information and ideas and verbiage--have been distilled down to something ultra-concise and impactful.

No more than a few pages of copy.

And that’s by design.

Because when it comes to your website copy, less should be more. It’s a matter of identifying what matters most and letting go of less important details.

Creating great web copy is no easy task. It takes a ton of focus and demands a number of reviews with a fresh brain.

But the process is also a lot of fun. And, best of all, when you do write great web copy, it’s a quantifiably powerful tool for getting new members to sign up.