You know your business inside and out, like the back of your hand, with your eyes closed and your arms tied behind your back. But when it comes to writing about it, you’re tongue-tied.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
You may know how to run a business but those skills don’t always translate into writing ability or marketing expertise. Figuring out how to explain what you do to the people who need you isn’t always easy.
At a loss for words? Here’s how to write your website content.
Step 1: Plan Your Website
What pages does your website include? What pages should it include? You can’t just sit down, pen in hand, and get to it. You need to have a plan!
Determine how many pages and what their topics are based on your business, your industry, and your customers’ common questions or interests. You could do some research to compare how your local competitors laid out their websites, or refer to other sites you’ve found in the past that were well-organized. Plan your sitemap and navigation from there.
Once you’ve nailed down your pages – you’re ready to start writing!
Step 2: Write your content
Ok. Now you’re ready to get started, keeping in mind a few best practices and tips as you go.
Style of your content:
Web writing is not like academic or formal writing, so you can throw out most of the rules you learned in middle school. You can use number digits instead of writing them out, simple sentence structures, and contractions are encouraged! However, grammar and spelling are more important than ever in the age of spell check.
- Keep the layout and length of your writing simple. Online, readers want short sections of text (not long-winded walls) and be sure to break it up with subheadings and bullet lists for easy scanning.
- Leave the technical terms and industry jargon at home! Make sure the phrases and words you choose are going to make sense to someone who’s not in the business.
Tone & voice of your content:
Make sure your writing reflects the way you talk about your business in person, and sounds consistent with other marketing messages you’ve created. Your company has a personality – let it show!
Are you a one-man show just doing your thing and making friends everywhere you go? Do you pride yourself on being friendly and accessible? Or are you the established, trusted, old-school financial resource?
Use a writing style that reflects who you are, making sure your “personality” matches your industry and your customers’ expectations of what they would experience with you. You wouldn’t buy an expensive life insurance policy from someone who doesn’t seem to take their job seriously, would you?
Content of your content:
What questions do your customers always ask you? What are your most popular products or services? What do people most commonly want more information about? Use your current website’s analytics to determine where site visitors are spending the most time and take note of what you did well on those pages.
These are the things your customers are most concerned about, that you can answer up front for them. You might think this means they won’t call you (if you give up the goods too soon) but really this will make them more likely to call you! A well-written website means they already know if you offer what they’re looking for and feel informed on the subject. Now when they do call, you’re not making a sales pitch so much as sealing the deal with your charming personality.
Pro Tip: Writing content on the topics people search for most to find your business is good for your SEO!
Write thoroughly but simply on the topics that matter most to your customers. After all, your website is about them, not about you!
Step 3: Publish & Assess
Once you’re happy with your new content, fit it into your site and set it live! Now it’s time to see what happens.
Keep an eye on your analytics to see how your new content is performing. You can do before-and-after comparisons over time to see how visitor behavior has changed in the wake of updating your site content.
- Are they spending more time on your pages?
- Are you getting more phone calls and contact form submissions?
- Which pages are visitors bouncing off of?
Take notes, and then start the writing process over again where you see your site is lacking. Your website isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tool. It requires maintenance and regular improvements to keep it fresh and make sure you’re serving your customers’ needs!
If you follow these steps, you’ll never be at a loss for words when trying to build your website content. And when in doubt, find an expert who can bring some marketing magic to your content, putting words to work for your business!
