You’ve heard it before – content is king. But that nice, catchy little sentence is meaningless without some knowledge. Not all content is created equally: Content writing varies enormously in terms of quality. One freelance writer is worth their weight in gold, another seems to just hurl words at a page and hope for the best. Content marketing can be incredibly powerful, but only if you know how to get good content.
This is where it gets tricky. You have a few split seconds to lure your reader in whilst also feeding the algorithm monsters of Google. In short, your content writing needs to zing from the moment your reader opens their eyes. Tough stuff. Your audience is a fickle beast and off they’ll trot off if you don’t please them.
Then, assuming you’ve got them hooked, you need to reel them in. You need to inform, educate and entice without being patronising, boastful or pushy. You need to be provocative, but carefully so. You need to be memorable, but only for the right reasons. Excellent copywriting is therefore not for the faint-hearted.
So, how do you go about getting exceptional copy on your website?
How Do I Get Great Marketing Content on My Website?
Before you even put finger to keyboard you need to put in a whole heap of effort. Why? Because good writers are themselves created and grown from a myriad of influences. They don’t just wake up one morning able to write compelling content marketing such as blog posts.
Great freelance writers know that behind their writing ability is an individual who is well read across a mass of genre and ‘print’ types. They consume publications, blog posts, forums, magazine articles, fiction and more – in obscene quantities. They have a mind full of resources to draw on. They therefore can weave a good story, play with tone of voice, and fundamentally get the readability spot on.
Beyond this, content writing involves spotting the unique angle of each and every piece of content and capitalising on it. Think about this: What makes you stand out from your competitors? That’s right – your USP. Each piece of content should have its own USP. This may be presenting information in a different light, arguing a different point, or providing a different insight. Fundamentally, this approach will ensure that your content writing is never bland.
The Magic of Content Marketing
Then you need a sprinkling of magic. This comes in the form of writing with your customer in mind. It’s a highly skilled freelance writer who can put their own ego completely to one side to meet the needs of the audience. It’s even harder for a business owner or insider who views the post, the product, their “everything”, as their baby.
Yet this is really important. Your content absolutely must meet your reader’s need if you want them to act on it or come back for more. It only acts as a platform for sales precisely because it’s not just going for the hard sell.
Now it gets more interesting. You see, your customer has expectations where content marketing is concerned.
Know Your Customer’s Expectations
Your customer is a savvy soul. What’s more, they know what they like. There are certain basics they expect. These basics don’t do anything more than give your customer the bear minimum they need to stay put and look further.
These basics include looking professional, having good imagery, perfection in user experience and functionality, and exemplary use of language (no typos!). They also expect information to be bang up to date. This applies whether the content marketing you are talking about is the homepage of your website or a blog post. You have to make your website so easy and comfortable to use that your audience hang around to absorb your content marketing.
In short – put your website visitors first, always.
In terms of your content marketing and overall website content, you need to consider the following:
- Simple and clear navigation: Organise your content and set it out in a user-friendly way.
- Simple language: You’re not writing War and Peace. Use conversational language, avoiding industry jargon.
- Give: We promise: giving something results in returns. So, give information and answer questions. The reality is that if your customer can’t get what they need, even if you ask them to contact you, the majority probably won’t bother. We know you want to talk to them, they know it too, and they don’t want to be lured in to hard sales. Give information they need freely and honestly. If they are a worthwhile customer for you, that’ll work.
- Make it snappy, or make it long: Your content marketing will differ according to where it’s being targeted. This means that your home page, most likely, needs to be snappy and to the point. Further in to your site, and in your blog, you want longer content which will become the content which keeps on giving.
- Be unique: You need your website’s content to be 100% unique for two purposes. First, your customer needs to know you are meeting a specific need. Secondly, search engine algorithms will chuck out repeat content with the trash. This means landing pages simply cannot parrot the same text with a few keyword changes. You need unique content for each one.
- Use calls-to-action: Use of a CTA is the way you can lead your customer to where you want them to go. You’re leading them down the garden path to the front door, but still letting them decide whether they want to knock. Therefore, every page of your website content should have a clear CTA.
- Use SEO tools: Think of SEO as the signpost. It’s not the attraction when you get there; that’s the content. However, to make an accurate signpost you need to know what the attraction is about. To get the most from your content marketing, it is therefore worth investing in some keyword research and then knowing how to use it without stuffing it like you would a turkey.
- Don’t forget offline content: Your content marketing focus likely centres on your website, fair enough. However, your content marketing strategy should include things such as your newsletters and your business emails.
- Use great writing: A good freelance writer is a gem you don’t want to let go of. They aren’t just about getting syntax, spelling and grammar correct: they know how to make words dance. A reader getting absorbed in to your content because it is enjoyable to read and gives them what they way, is one about to become a paying customer. You can order great content writing for your website right here.
Getting good content on your site pays. It provides ROI for a long time to come.
Chris Brown is chief copywriter at The Content Ninja. With a focus on SEO strategy paired with powerful writing, The Content Ninja does content marketing differently.
Image source Flickr