We've all seen zombie copy--it's what lurks around the dark corners of even well-meaning websites. Copy they thought no one would read. Copy that was filled with over-used keywords and spicy catchphrases shoved into a faux-professional skin. Copy that, despite their best efforts, wasn't quite human.
It's usually the result of an attempt at content marketing via SEO, probably shrugged off because "no one reads that stuff anyway." It might even look good to other zombies, had they functional eyes and brains. But the problem is that mindless, impersonal, senseless copy drives away your mindful, wallet-watching customers.
And those are the ones that matter.
Your Audience is Made Up of Real People
If you're writing for the web (or via any other medium, for that matter) and you aren't familiar with the advice "Speak to your audience," you can turn in your keyboard or pen on your way out. You wouldn't speak to a group of sugar-cookie-overdosing Girl Scouts the same way you would inform a senior official from the United Nations that you won't make the dinner meeting. Just as you should speak according to how your message will be heard, your writing is more effective if it's composed for the audience that reads it.
Real people don't use your industry lingo. They use their lingo. Unless your business specializes in one specific market and your audience is composed entirely of similar specialists in that market, you'll want to go light on the technical and esoteric terms. Including technical or industry-specific content is fine, of course, but you'll want to make sure that it's intelligible to someone who isn't familiar with the subject.
This is particularly important because, if you're using your content to market your website, you want it to be found by those real customers. Even though you might refer to a product or service by its official name--"The Turbo Cleanser 3000"--you'll want to make sure you're found when customers search for the colloquial version--"fast washing machine."
Genuine Human Copy Represents and Sells Your Company Better
Your web copy is your voice online. Unless you would drone on down a list of keywords while on the phone with a customer, you shouldn't do it online either. Chances are, your company is also made up of real people. Use your online voice to represent your company. If your culture is relaxed, be relaxed; if it's professional, be professional. But don't forget to be consistent with the people that make up your business. Bring out their best aspects and let that be your voice.
Plus, if your copy speaks to your audience well, it's more likely to be passed around on social media sites or linked to in other blog posts. If your business has content marketing or SEO-type goals, this is a powerful element to consider when link building. No one is going to share or "like" zombie copy because people enjoy endorsing content they can relate to.
Write Knowing (Most) Real People Skim
Fundamentally, this is a usability issue. Not only should web copy be written for your audience, it should be designed to be digested the way your audience plans. It's a major reason many academic textbooks use short divisions in the text and call-outs to the side: they know high school Chemistry students are teetering on the edge of sleep. If you know your audience prefers bullet points, use as many bullet points as you can get away with. Don't simply divide your articles into subsections to maximize H2s for SEO purposes: if it doesn't make sense to the end user, it won't matter.
That's what all this boils down to: good content drives conversions, deepens customer relationships, opens discussions. It doesn't matter how much traffic robotic SEO tactics like keyword stuffing gets if your content turns them away.
When developing a content strategy for your company, research is imperative to high quality, effective copy. Know your audience and speak to them. Don't just mill out copy that will collect dust. Solve problems. Drop the jargon. Open a conversation with the person on the other end. They may just be your next wallet-watching customer.