Good persuasive copy is really important for a website to convert well.
But what about the other kind of content, the kind provided for information and education. It's not meant to sell, right?
Not on its own. Marketing content is meant to make clients want to buy what you're selling, but without overt sales techniques. It's meant to build credibility, enhance likeability, and earn trust. Think about things like:
- news releases to build familiarity with your offerings
- case studies that show exactly how your products or services have helped your clients in the past
- white papers or reports that share your expertise
- an e-mail series focused on a single topic of interest
- videos that let viewers see your operation in action, show a step-by-step solution, or let a happy customer tell her story in her own words
- a blog or newsletter that can focus on issues important to your market and provide updates about what your company is doing
These are not only the first steps to building interest in your offerings from a new buyer, but are also a venue for ongoing client communication. A client who subscribes to your blog's rss feed or your company newsletter is likely a repeat client.
Here's the key: your content has to be interesting and relevant.
If you have customers, you probably know what solutions they're looking for. After all, they're buying your products for a reason. So you know what they might find relevant, even if you've never formally expressed it. And if you aren't sure, you can find out by doing a short survey or by asking a few of them.
That helps you decide what specific content to provide.
But what makes it interesting? For that, you need to tell your story.
Your real, authentic, nobody-else's-is-the-same story. It's the only thing that matters when you're trying to engage another human being. Search engines only care about keywords and links, but people want to feel empathy.
Good marketing content needs to please both interests, and that's where a good writer can make all the difference. It takes some finesse to tell a good story that paints a positive picture about a business without ever turning it into a sales pitch.
Every bit of content a buyer reads should be part of a cohesive plan that helps him make a decision about hiring you. So it's your job to make sure it has value to him and makes him want to know more.