The number one reason a Web site fails is because of poorly written content. Words are what sell your customer, not pretty pictures or animated graphics. Sure, a professional looking Web site with good navigation is a must for a successful Web site, but so is content.
However, the majority of people will hire a professional Web site designer to create their Web site and then write the content themselves. According to the experts, only 13 percent of Web sites are written by a professional copywriter. The rest are home grown. Why is this a problem?
Let's look at some of the myths about writing Web site content:
1) To create content, all I have to do is put the content of my brochure and marketing materials on my Web site.
If only it were so easy. Unfortunately, the marketing materials written for offline use do not directly translate into online marketing material. The offline marketing materials are usually too wordy and need to be rewritten to reflect the uniqueness of online writing. It needs to be organized with navigation considerations and text links for optimum use.
2) I know the most about my product or service, so I should be the one to write the content for my Web site.
I actually heard a Web site designer say this to his audience during a workshop. He encouraged them to write their content because only they are the experts in their field.
I beg to differ. Yes, you know the most about your business, but that doesn't mean you know how to best write about your business. A good Web site copywriter will do an extensive interview with the client and find out everything she needs to know to write persuasive, mega-watt copy that gives you the competitive edge.
3) I know what I want to say and I'm a pretty good writer; I got A's in English when I was in school.
Good Web site writing is not just putting together a well written sentence or paragraph like you used to do for an essay in your English classes. Web site writing is like writing in another language because you are writing for search engines as well as humans.
Your content needs to be interesting to your human visitors and written in such a way that you get high rankings with the search engines. Not so easy to do for someone who's most challenging writing has been English essays.
4) If I decide to hire someone to write my Web site copy, it has to be someone who is familiar with my industry.
Sometimes my clients will ask me if I've ever written content for a certain industry. They think I have to know all about their industry to write about it.
Not true. Yes, there is a slight learning curve on my part when I interview the client. But, it is never a problem. In fact, it is often a distinct advantage because I can think like their typical customer and not someone who is completely knowledgeable about the industry. So, if a client tries to use jargon one the Web site, I point out why it would be a problem.
5) I can't afford to hire a professional Web site copywriter.
Actually, the truth is just the opposite. One of the best investments you can make is to hire a professional Web site copywriter. How many sales are you missing because your site content is poorly written? How many people are leaving your site because they are bored?
Return on Investment (ROI) is a common term in business and you need to look at the ROI of your Web site. How many sales do you need to make to cover the costs of hiring a professional writer?
Last summer I was hired by a client who was dissatisfied with the sales on her site. She was getting thousands of hits but very few sales. As soon as I went to the site I understood why her sales were so dismal, you couldn't figure out where to go to buy the products because the site was so poorly written.
I rewrote her site so visitors could easily understand what she was selling and how to buy it. Literally four hours after she put up the new content, she was pulling in sales!
Get the visibility you need on the Internet by having professionally written Web content that dramatically increases your Web site traffic and sales.