Most internet marketers know that content creation is an essential component of their overall online marketing strategy. But some see content as strictly a traffic generating tool. They subscribe to the “numbers game” philosophy of online marketing. If they slap up a website with a lot of keyword rich content and one percent of their visitors buy something, all they need to do is increase the number of visitors and they’ll increase the number of sales. Of course, they do that by increasing the amount of keyword rich content.
That’ll work OK, I guess—at least until the search algorithms start changing.
But what if you could increase the number of visitors, and increase the percentage of visitors that buy something at the same time? I’m no math expert, but that seems like a much more profitable numbers game to me. And the way to do that is to develop content that creates and nurtures a relationship with your visitors.
Rudyard Kipling said:
“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
Most website publishers already use words to appeal to the search engines. It’s called search engine optimization (SEO). But when you begin to use words to also appeal to the consumers of your content, you’re creating a relationship that will go far beyond the single site visit, and single purchase. And any marketing expert will tell you that it’s far easier to keep existing customers than to constantly attract new ones.
The good news in all this is that you don’t have to be an English major to create good content. Quite the contrary. In fact, the first step in creating great content is:
Forget What You Learned
In school they taught all the grammatically correct ways to write. That’s how people wrote, and read, a hundred years ago. But people don’t want to read that way anymore. Today, people want to read the same words you would say if you were speaking with them in person. So write in short, active sentences. Of course, correct spelling is still appropriate and desirable.
Provide Value
The value of your content lies in the quality of information you convey. Whether you’re writing about some great new technology, or something that’s more commonplace, the information should be relevant and useful. Remember, your visitors found your site because they were searching for information. So don’t disappoint them. Make it relevant.
Much success,
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