The High Price of Cheap Copy
An old English adage Penny wise and pound foolish is used to describe someone who pays attention to small details but does not see the big picture. It comes from the British currency of pennies and pounds. A penny used to be 1/240th of a pound, or a very tiny amount. Even after decimalization of the currency in 1971 the penny still had a small value in relation to the pound: 1/100th.
If you are a busy entrepreneur you may be out searching content providers on freelance sites or content provider sites for cost-effective content for your blog or website. Or, you may even ask your website manager to find content for you. Go to any content provider space and see requests like these:
Need native English writers. Pay $2/500 words
Write some Articles Related to Various Niches $10-$30
Help me write something - I need you to write some articles. Jurisprudence $10-$30
You can do this! It more than fits your budget. You post a content writing job. You get something back. You give it to your website manager to put on your site.
And here’s where it all goes wrong.
You may still need to check the grammar because not everyone who says they are fluent in English is. You will have to add your own statements about how this content ties to your business. You will still need to find at least one image and process it, write alt tags, and give it a title.
Most importantly...
Customers Aren’t Looking for Something
Whether it’s great pizza
or a solid hammer
or a new home
or getting a clogged drain fixed now
or getting a complete smile makeover
having something on your website is not going to get them to buy.
Your competitor is down the street or across town and they are getting new customers while you seem to be on stall.
Your customer wants to know how you are different. You content needs to tell them specifically how your business best fits their need.
Generic content that takes up space on your website and could be on any other website in the same business is not helping your customers understand why they should buy from you. That content can be replaced with your passion and expertise--the reason they want to buy from you.
Content isn't homework. If you treat it like homework, all you'll get is a Gold Star, an A for Effort, and a Participation Trophy, but no meaningful engagement or sharing. The biggest problem I see, personally, is a glut of content aimed at the Lowest Common Denominator, i.e. the 'Amateur Hour' crowd who need everything spelled out for them in small words and big letters. https://plus.google.com/+EliFennell/posts/LLaTP52nnNU
If you want your site visitors to read your content, give them the context of your business. Tell them exactly how they will enjoy your pizza with your unique recipe or why your 24 hour service will unclog a drain at any hour of the day or night at no extra charge. Give them a reason to want you. Because if you don’t, and give them generic content instead, they’ll go somewhere else…
Most likely your competitor.
Generic content doesn’t draw people toward your business it pushes them away. However much money you “saved” for that content is actually costing you customers and losing money.
Search Engines Aren’t Looking for Something
And, of course, to get people to read your content you have to get them to your website. Ten years ago filling up a website with content...any content...worked.
Now, search is looking for answers to questions people enter in the search box.
Great pizza near me?
Where can I find a good hammer?
New homes in My City?
Get my drain unclogged now?
How can I get a beautiful smile?
And what if your hardware business had written “Choosing the Best Hammer”? And your article was the second search result after images?
If your content is buried several pages in without the best, most succinct and customer focused content you will be buried. And, search will miss the key concepts that differentiate your business from all the others that use generic articles written in generic language. Your $20 copywriter is not going to take the time to research your market much less tailor the writing to the specifics of your business or refine the language to how your customers talk.
Great Content Differentiates Your Business
Well constructed content sets your business apart for potential customers and for search engines in an invisible balance.
Take a look at your competitors not to imitate what they are doing, but to know how to distinguish your business from theirs. Use competitors to spark ideas, but do not copy what they do.
Let the world know exactly and precisely what you do, how you help. Know your
David Kutcher of Confluent Forms says it well.
Creating an online presence that is focused on user intent to drive action isn't just a content strategy, but a holistic business strategy.
Write Your Own
The best person to write your content is you. No one knows your business the way you do. And no other person has the commitment, fire, and passion about your business as you do.
Why would someone like me who makes their living writing say that? Because it is true. Your passion and unique voice breathe through your writing.
Of course, a trained and skilled writer can help you tweak your content for
search optimization details
check for your title tag
metadata
grammar and spelling
staying on topic
Image optimization
All those processes are editorial functions. They are important, but only you have your unique voice--the way you talk to your customers.
That unique voice is what creates your business identity that resonates with customers and tells search engines exactly who you are and what you do.
Need help with your content? Get in touch. Or, talk to me directly +1 503 468 7008.
