3 Tips For Writing Content That Will Make You Sales
Content is king. Without content your website is an empty
shell, a skeleton with no flesh, an empty vessel. Content can
redeem the worst designed website. The right content can make
your phone ring off the hook and flood your inbox with people
wanting your product or service. Content is the most important
ingredient in the recipe for your website's success. If you have
engrossing, valuable and relevant content you are onto a
winner..
Tip 1 - Keep It Customer-Focused - What You Like Is Irrelevant
I land on the homepage. I want to buy a bathroom from this
company. I want to know what bathrooms they have available. I
want to know how much it will cost, when they can deliver, if
they have any special offers and what their previous customers
have said about them. Instead, upon landing on the homepage I
get the following all-time classic;
"Welcome to ABC Bathrooms. Our company was formed in 1985. Our
Managing Director John set up the company at the age of 25 after
spending thirty years in the position of.."
Who cares?! I want to know exactly what you sell and how much it
will cost me. I have 10 spare minutes today to find this
information out and if I don't see it on your site in a few
seconds I will click off to your competitors so don't bore me
with the life story of your managing director. I do not care.
Give me content that I like - not what you THINK I would like.
Key difference.
Tip 2 - Sell Benefits, Not Features
Potential customers do not want to know how your product was
built, how old the production manager is or what colour the
wallpaper is in the production plant - they want to know how
buying it will enrich their lives. They want to see evidence for
the benefits of owning your product or using your service.
People don't buy things - they buy benefits and they buy
feelings. People buying a Ferrari are not buying a mode of
transport they are buying prestige, luxury, envy, success - they
are buying a symbol, a way of life.
Think about your product or service from a customer's point of
view - what are the real, measurable and provable benefits to
them of buying from you? Include these over and over in your
content and it will bring more sales for you. Don't be afraid of
blowing your own trumpet - stick the benefits right on the
homepage for a start!
Tip 3 - Include Calls To Action - Everywhere!
Excellent - you've written killer content and people are coming
back to your website time and again for the information. Your
traffic figures are shooting through the roof. It's brilliant!
You can't believe you've cracked it. And then you look at the
number of orders placed last week - zero. Oh. What happened
there? Better to have one person visiting your site each month
who actually places an order or produces a sales lead rather
than have 1000 people who do neither.
If you don't have clear benefit-focused calls to action peppered
throughout your content people will not get in touch with you or
place that all-important order. You hook them in with the
winning content and then you offer them more information vial
email or a free quotation if they phone you - anything! You must
have calls to action present throughout your site - combine this
with the other two tips and you are on the way to having content
that actually makes you sales.
Michael Cheney Sales & Marketing Director, magnet4web.com