Content creation
Content creation is essential for all businesses. Honestly, it is. Content creation isn’t just about blogs and articles; it’s also about:
- Web content
- Brochures
- Emails
- Reports
- White papers
- Policies
- Internal communications
I’m sure you can think of a few other things, too.
What all these content forms have in common is that they’re designed to connect with your audience, drive leads and, sometimes, close sales.
Or at least that’s what it should do.
What if yours isn’t doing any of that?
The problem could be several things, but for this post, I’ll look at one: you are looking in the mirror.
Who is reading your content?
Where do you get your ideas for your content creation?
Does this sound familiar?
You’re not sure what to write, so you ponder the question: ‘What have we done recently that’s great?’
Your company’s done a lot of fab stuff, so you want to write about it because that’s what your readers want to learn about. Right?
Nope.
That’s what you want to talk about; it’s not what they want to read about.
The thing that’s important to your readers is them. They want to know how you’re going to make their life easier. What you (or your copywriter) must do is think about why you do what you do. After all, you must have created your business to address some need.
So, rather than thinking:
- What have we achieved recently?
- Ooh, we won that award last month; they’d love to hear about that
- We’ve just launched this new product, let’s tell them how great that is
You need to think about:
- Who are your customers?
- What’s important to them?
- What benefits do they get from your new product?
- What problems are they facing?
- What information can we give them that will help them right now?
See the difference?
Content creation reality
If you want your content marketing to positively impact your business (and ROI), you must ensure it’s written for your reader.
Concentrate on what they want to know. That means don’t describe your product’s features and leave them guessing how it will help them. Show them the benefits it offers and how it will make their life easier by solving the problem they are facing.
Every word you write has to be focused on your reader.
So, don’t look in the mirror the next time you write something in-house (if this post hasn’t persuaded you to try a professional writer). Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and write from their point of view.
Sally Ormond, professional copywriter and content creationsit.