Everyone on the web thinks they can write a FAQ. But then why are so many FAQs so lacking? How often have you read a FAQ and thought, “that didn’t tell me anything I needed to know!”?
Two Worst FAQ Writing Faux Pas
* Many websites don’t separate their FAQs for existing customers who need support from their FAQs for prospective customers who just want the information they need in order to decide whether and how to buy.
* Many websites that do provide a special pre-sales FAQ turn it into yet another advertisement–ugh! Your prospective customers need pre-sales information that truly helps them come to a decision.
Tips for Writing a Pre-Sales/Marketing FAQ:
* You should divide your FAQ into sections that will make sense to a prospective customer. Naturally, what sections you use will depend on the content of your own website and the nature of your business.
* If you have a complex business or website with many products and services and/or options for them, you may need to have a FAQ that is very long. Traditionally, webmasters would simply create one very long page for the very long FAQ. However, very long pages are almost never good web practice from a search-engine point of view. Multiple medium-length pages will get you more search engine traffic than one long page. If you have a FAQ that would go over 1000 words, you should put each section on its own page, and have one front page with a table of contents for the entire FAQ, linking to each section and providing a list of the questions in that section.
* Usually, a FAQ will have a list of all the questions up top, with links to the questions within the page, sort of a table of contents. If you have a briefer FAQ, you don’t need this.
* Keep your answers brief. If an answer requires more than two paragraphs, you should create an entire web page for it, and simply provide a link to that page in the FAQ answer.
* Your answers should cast you in the best possible light while still being believable. Do not confuse this FAQ for prospective customers with the more common support FAQ! You do not want your prospective customers to see a laundry list of everything that could conceivably go wrong with your product or service.
* In order to keep your FAQ believable and informative, do not fill it with marketese and hype. Keep the exclamation points to a minimum! Yes, you want to portray yourself in the best possible light–but the best possible believable and informative light.
In the end, remember this: your web visitors who read your FAQ are among the most qualified, interested prospects on your site. If your FAQ lacks your site may lack sales.
Joel Walsh, who has no affiliation with Amazon.com, writes on web content and business marketing. Contact Joel to discuss your business web content copywriting: http://www.joelwalsh.com
