Why is Writing Website Content so Darn Hard?
There are tons of reasons for project delays, but over the years I’ve noticed content is the most prominent and it pretty much can be boiled down to a few simple reasons:
- Time Constraints
- Unrealistic Expectations
- Lack of a Plan
- Inability to Write
How Do You Writing Website Content?
Writing solid website content is challenging, but not impossible. With planning, focus, and proper resource allocation you can create excellent content that entices readers and engages website visitors.
- Start With a Plan – Before you do anything, map out your existing website content via a sitemap. Decided what is dated and needs to be removed, then decide what is lacking. If you’re not sure what is lacking, place yourself in the shoes of your prospective customer or client. Ask yourself what do they need to know to get a comprehensive overview of who you are, who you serve, and what you do. Think about the questions people ask when they call your firm for the first time. And most importantly, make sure your sitemap matches up to your targeted keywords and phrases.
- Assign the Task to the Right Person – Understand that not everyone can write. They may be exceptional sales representatives, engineers, or software coders, but they may be horrible at writing web content. If they are horrible at it, they are also fearful of it. Don’t assign these types of people to write content. Instead of forcing them into a role where they cannot succeed, interview them and assign the actual task of writing to a true writer. Or someone else within the firm who has a natural talent for writing. If needed, higher a third party to write content based on an outline you provide.
- Use Customer Friendly Language – It is natural to want to talk in your terminology and not that of your visitor. Companies who sell in a B2B environment typically write content with their product names and internal terminology. They fail to think about what real people use for these same products or services. You may call your product “XYZ Gizmology”, but your prospective customer calls it “payroll software”. Unless you have exceptional off website branding, people are not searching for XYZ Gizmology. They are searching for payroll software. Make sure your content uses payroll software in it so people can find you via the search engines and understand what you produce and do.
- Write Readable Content – Content that is conceptually solid, but it just wasn’t readable. Converting this thoughts into easy to read and scannable information was all that was needed for turning a money pit into a revenue stream.