Tips for Writing Effective Website Content

Getting good, engaging content plugged into your website is just as important as finding that perfect image that delivers the "worth a 1,000 words"  message to your website visitor in three seconds or less. Your message must help the reader to understand, relate, get emotionally involved, and be compelled to take action... with you!

Easier Said than Written

Let's face it... writing content for your website or sales brochure can be quite frustrating, and time consuming.  It's funny how we can have engaging conversations with customers about what we do and how we can serve their needs, but when asked to put pen to paper to capture the same message on your website, then our mind freezes and we're at a loss for words! 

You're Not Alone!  One of the biggest challenges in building a professional website is getting good, engaging content from the client.   Don't get me wrong, they're very good at what they do... but sometimes doing takes precedence over writing content for their website.  Hence, the reason for this blog post.

Helpful Tips to Writing Website Content Yourself

Feeling ambitious?  If you're here because you decided to write your own content instead of hire a professional copywriter, consider the following pointers before you invest endless hours writing website content that may just leave your readers feeling helpless or confused. That is... if you ever get around to finishing!

• Identify your target audience.  Who are you speaking to?  What problems are they facing?  If they don't invest in your product or service, what then will be their fate?
• Make a bullet list of points you would like to get across to your website visitors.  Good examples include: Benefits, Common Problems, Noteworthy Advantages/Points such as years experience, awards & industry recognition, licensed/bonded/insured
• Make catchy headings for each main point
• Jot down ideas.  Spend a moment going through each point and quickly write down anything that comes to mind about that point. 
• Write excerpts that you will eventually want to inject into your content.  An excerpt is accentuated blurb of text extracted from the content for the purpose of getting the website visitor engaged and interested in reading the entire text. The excerpt should help support the point you're trying to get across without someone having to read the entire article.
• Address the concerns of your client rather than the details you think are important.
• Focus on the customer instead of yourself: What does your client/customer desire?  Remind them of their problems, but be sure you remind them that your products/services are the solution they’re looking for!
• Compel your reader to take action.  Examples include: Make a phone call, Submit a form, Sign up for a newsletter, Give their email in exchange for something.  Entice your reader to take a time-driven action for something of value.
• Keep it concise:  Don’t lose your message, but don’t write a book. 
• Remember to check spelling and grammar!
• Proof read. After you've written your web content, wait a day or two, and then proof read what you wrote.  Get someone else's opinion: Give your website copy to someone and ask them to proof read it and provide their honest impression.  Does the article keep their attention?  Does it compel them to want to talk to you?

Congratulations!  You're Almost Done...

Now that you've written your website content, be sure to hand it off to your SEO so they help to optimize the content for search engines and your website visitors.  You may have the best content ever written, but if no one can find it... well... you do the math.

I hope these tips help you save time, and get more response from your website visitors!  Happy writing!

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