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Founded by an entrepreneur who wishes to remain anonymous, Raffle Nerd entered the marketplace with a unique concept, one that allowed people to enter a raffle for vintage games and rare collectables. It was a great idea, but the founder was stuggling to connect with potential customers. One look at the website and I understood why.
A raffle site for rare and collectable nerd ephemera
In addition to reams of sloppy, characterless copy, the site was poorly designed and looked very amatureish. This was losing the trust of visitors and costing the business money. With my experience in both copywriting and web design, the founder turned to me for help. There was so much potential in Raffle Nerd, it just needed unlocking.
I proposed a redesign that put the fantastic artwork front and centre. The copy would get an overhaul too, reducing the amount of screen clutter and bringing call-to-action elements to the forefront. Raffle Nerd's branding and colourway were fun and eye-catching, but they were lost in the white space of the original homepage. I planned to use them in a much more impactful way. Let's see what I did.
What's wrong here? For starters, the split-screen web design is dated, and not in a retro way, and the copy is flat and uninspiring. Worse still, the founder had commissioned eye-catching artwork, but it had been inserted without much thought, reducing its impact.
Would you risk spending your hard-earned money here?
Homepage
before and after
Notice how the 'play now' call-to-action button sits at the centre of the page, and in the middle of the artwork composition, pulling visitors into the money-making area of the site. The copy, meanwhile, has been pared back and moved out of the way, allowing the artwork to take centre stage and give an impression of quality and professionalism.
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This site seems much more trustworthy, no? But my overhaul didn't end there.
I scoured the site to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the copy. The tone was conversational and unpretentious, giving visitors a sense that they were among friends. Great! However, the copy was waffly and poorly written, and the pages were missing call-to-action buttons, which are important because they encourage visitors to click through to the money-making sections of the site.
Following my tweaks, things really picked up for Raffle Nerd. Visitors felt much more compelled by the bold new look and restuctured copy, and were happily clicking through to the company's exciting competitions.
Sadly, on an unrelated matter, the business ran afoul of the Gambling Commission, who had issues with their competition rules. The site was pulled while the two side ironed out their differences, but as no deal could be reached, the company was mothballed. It was a sad end to an exciting startup. But, hey, how about that homepage redesign, huh?
Sloppy copy is a red flag for potential customers. If the writing is unprofessional, it stands to reason that the company is too. I needed to fix this, and fast. In a world of high competition and short attention spans, web copy doesn't just need to be accurate, it needs to be punchy. My reworking of Raffle Nerd's 'how it works' section is a case in point.
Compare the before and after slides and notice how the new copy gets the same point across using far fewer words.
It was a similar tale in the 'about' section, where poor copy was detracting from the trustworthiness of the brand. Once again, the tone was warm and relatable, but the wording wasn't up to scratch. I used my experience to polish it.
In the before and after slides, the tone and information remain the same, but the rewrite presents them in a much more professional and persuasive manner. A call-to-action button has also been added to maximise click-through.
The 'about' section of a website is one of the most visited pages, so it is critical to put your best foot forward. Don't waffle, your visitors don't want an essay, and make sure your words are selling your service and experience. Every section of your site is a sales pitch, even the about section.
"Went above and beyond to get my site in shape and helped me see (and sell) the big picture to my customers. I can't thank him enough."
Anon - Founder
If this case study piqued your interest, hire me to bring your website to life.