The name of the online game is Content. Good content is the primary factor driving traffic to your website – it will help you move up in the Google search rankings, encourage other sites to link to you, make or break you in social media and persuade prospects to buy from you.
It’s a lot like my offline life here in Donegal. I have to encourage friends to visit me in Donegal in much the same way as I drive traffic to my website for work. If I expect my bedraggled city-living friends to drive four hours on bad roads then there better be some enticing trip content to persuade them to make the effort.
So here are a few quick writing tips on the basics of how to make your content work for you.
1. This is not about you, it’s about them.
Provide knowledge and information that your audience will find valuable and want to share. Don’t babble on about yourself. Selling by recommendation has never been so crucial and yet so easy.
(Each friend needs something different to make their visit fabulous – I unleash a 3 mile beach on the pale city office worker; the tired new mum gets demolished with licks from our labrador and a night of wit and charm from the old guys in the Glen Bar; and anyone from a hot climate gets a turf fire, a hot whiskey and a chat from old Uncle James. That’ll get them talking.)
2. Brevity is the soul of lingerie – Dorothy Parker.
Whatever it is, keep it short, concise and effective. Do not waffle – unlike me and this blog.
(I never let a guest over-stay to the point where the novelty wears off…got to keep an air of mystery about life here…)
3. Eye-catching headlines
You have to grab the attention of a reader in split seconds or your great body content is irrelevant. Take time to think of short, irresistible headings.
(Mouth-watering Sunsets, Homemade Guiness Bread For All, How to Breathe in the Atlantic.)
4. Write with passion.
You’re passionate about your business so show it. Your enthusiasm will be infectious. Think about your tone, style and language and use them to write clear, effective copy.
(Thankfully, Co Donegal has breathtaking scenery and amazing, funny people – very persuasive content and defintely passion inducing.)
5. Give something away for free.
In my case it is a home-baked scone or a tasty grass fed locally produced steak on the bbq. In your case, it could be a free product sample, a discount voucher, some research, a report copy – whatever will attract your prospects to want more. Put the offer on your website, announce it on Twitter, blog about it, pass it on through Facebook.
Free and irresistible home-baked scone.
