getting started with content
You’ve finally made the decision to get started with your website. Now you just have to come up with what you want to say – which often is not as easy as it sounds. A good place to start is with any existing brochures, postcards, letters or other sales material that youve already developed. If you’re starting at ground zero, here are some things you can do to pull your content together:
First, start with the facts. Who are you, where are you located, how do people contact you and what products or services do you provide? Those are the basics that must get onto your website.
Now stop and think: why you? Not in the dramatic, “woe is me” sense, but why should people want to work with you? Since small businesses usually don’t have the economies of scale to make them the lowest price seller, it’s all about what makes working with you unique. Don’t forget that good products and great customer service aren’t selling points, they’re expectations, so you need to think about what else differentiates you from the rest of the pack. Is it your craftsmanship? Your expertise? What makes you better able than the next guy to deliver a quality product or service? This is the information that should motivate your prospect into making a call or sending an email to you.
Next up: images. Images can have a powerful visual impact, but they also take time to load. Website visitors are impatient, so make sure that the photos you do have on your site are relevant and convey your business image or message. If you’re an artist or if manufacture a product, then people are going to want to see what you can do. If you sell a service, images can help break up the text and make your website more visually appealing. There are lots of places from which you can acquire inexpensive images. Here are just a few: shutterstock.com, istockphoto.com or dreamstime.com.
Still at a loss for words? Don’t try to compose it all at once – start by listing the facts and your differentiators. You can always take advantage of copy writing or editing services to help you bring it all together – and a good writer will take the time to learn a bit about you and your business before attempting to put pen to paper. Those lists will help them get started, too!
Tags: content, copy writing, image sources, images, marketing