All words are not created equal. Some words stay with us for a lifetime. Most fade into obscurity. Good writing helps a website connect with it’s audience. Ask yourself the following, concerning your website text and blog articles…
Is it Original?
No idea is 100% original. That’s okay, but being original means doing more than restating what you read on your competitors website. Taking the time to think about what you want to say can differentiate you from the pack.
When you take the time to be original you establish yourself as an authority. People will come to you because you provide something they can’t get elsewhere.
When writing articles to attract traffic, look for a new angle on a topic. See if you can answer questions that others aren’t answering. Writing about your industry not only attracts customers, it makes you a better, more aware business owner.
Is it Entertaining?
Entertainment affects us on an emotional level. Humor, drama, story-telling, creative photos and cartoons breath life into your material, making it vibrant, memorable, and even enjoyable.
Try including a personal experience (or even a made-up story) to dramatize your point and humanize your topic.
Humor can be charming and disarming. A witty blog is fun to read. Quirky homepage text can make you look confident and trendy, but it’s not the right approach for every website.
Is it Meaningful?
It’s entirely possible to have sentences or entire paragraphs that don’t say anything. Don’t write to fill up space. When you do, you’re guaranteed to loose your readers. Read through your website. If you find text that doesn’t add anything, get rid of it.
“What if I cut too much out?” Don’t worry. It’s better to have 3 meaningful sentences than a page of fluff.
Make a backup copy of your text, then edit mercilessly! Having a copy of the old text allows you to edit without reservation. Then if you decide later to put something back, it’s easy to do.
First drafts are often full of fluff. We tend to babble until we figure out what we are trying to say. The trick is to go back, re-read, and rewrite. It may take several passes but it makes a difference.
Is it relevant?
Write from your audience’s point of view. Write about what’s important to them. How can you know what they want? Try Asking. You can do this with email, social media, online forms, or personal conversations. Most important of all… Listen.
Often, business owners don’t think about what customers want from their website. As a result they drone on about things that readers don’t care about, when that happens people stop reading. and move on to something else.
Is it actionable?
Ideally, content should encourage action. You may be writing about a product you want to sell. A “call to action” gives visitors some action to take. “Sign up”, “Learn More”, “Buy Now”. Your content should clearly guide the reader to the next step to do after reading. Get them fired up and wanting to learn more.
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