Why is content so important?

In the competitive world of getting the search engine's attention and also the readers, you need quality content that is unique. You need content that will convince your customers that you are the perfect business for them. They need to look and see that you offer exactly what they are looking for and that you are a business they can trust. Internet users typically look at a website for 5-10 seconds and within that time they determine whether or not they want to stay or go back and look for another site. This means that your content needs to be set up in an easy-to-scan manner and the content needs to be convincing enough for Internet users to believe in your company. Every headline and every sentence needs to be perfectly written.

Second, optimized web content (through articles or site content) will improve your rankings in the search engines. Keywords determine success in today’s Internet era. If you sell exercise equipment and you only mention it one time throughout your content you will most likely not be placed at the top of the search engines for the keyword phrase “exercise equipment”. Optimized content combined with an optimized website will dramatically increase your chances to be indexed highly in the search engines for your given keyword phrase. Web content can determine success or failure. Our writers have 2 important skills that will increase your website’s success:

• They know how to create effective content that glorifies your business

• They know how to optimize web content and the other important areas of your website such as the title-tag, site description, keyword list, alt-tags, anchor text etc.

Your Website's Content Could Be the Key to Your Success

You have invested a a lot of money into you website and in Internet marketing. Unfortunately, you can invest a ton of money, but if the search engines do not find what they need to see to index your site properly, it will be almost impossible for potential customers to find you. Investing in an online copywriter will increase your chances of success. Google is one search engine that says they want web content, and lots of it. The right writer can help you gain more traffic and help your website get high rankings for the keyword phrases that will benefit your company.

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Exactly what does make your site stand out?

Whether you are working on your own site or that of a client, look at the home page and ask yourself, what makes this site or business stand out from its competitors?

There is tremendous competition online. How many web sites are you competing with? How do you make your site stand out from those other web sites? And finally, but nonetheless important, how can you get your potential prospects to buy from you instead from your competition?

To answer those questions, what you do is emphasize how you're different and better. Marketers call it "USP" or "Unique Selling Proposition."

Focus on what makes you unique; bring your audience in with a benefit that is clearly understandable and different from everyone else; and provide a distinct advantage or offer. After determining what's unique about your products and services, you can emphasize this uniqueness on your web site and set yourself apart from competitors.

Here are some ways to achieve that:

- Provide your USP, benefits, and site description at the top of the page.
- Use words and images to make your site unique.
- Target your audience in your headline and first paragraph.
- Use benefits that appeal to your audience.
- Know who your audience is, and create the right content for them.

What can you say, in tens words or less, that will make a reader pause and access a whole new area in their minds when they see your website? Study your competition and then be different, look different, and give them benefits the others don't.

In other words, they won't dump you in with everyone else in your industry, but will always perceive you as separate, as offering something different and of real value.

When you find these few words, a true value proposition, it will transform not only your web site, but also your business. It not only gives your prospects and customer a unique sense of who you are, but also does the same for you.

When you have that line, add it to the first screen of your home page, right in the middle, so it's the first thing everyone reads.

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Finding the Personal Connection

Grabbing a reader's attention requires more than just a good website design. You must have engaging content. To do that, you drill down to the details of your story. Get to their level where you're having an intimate conversation with them.

If you are selling a car, don't talk just about the features, talk about them enjoying the drive to the cottage.

If you are selling a vacation package, don't talk about the beautiful hotel, talk about how the person enjoys the beach.

If you are selling a business service, don't talk about how the service saved money, talk about how it changed the career and life of one customer.

We respond positively to situations where we can see things at a personal level. It's the same with any form of communication - from news, stories or even online content. Whether you write for consumers or to business clients, it's the same. We make purchase decisions based on how we feel.

That is why a sales story that appeals on a specific, personal and individual level is powerful. So when you sit down and start writing, make an effort to find a personal connection.

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Creating Content for your Email Newsletters

Regardless of which industry you work in or the the focus of your email newsletter, there are lots of ways to get good content for every issue you send.

You should, more often than enough, find enough original content within your own company. You can easily outsource your content needs to freelancers, but before you outsource too much, think about the content you have in-house. You might be surprised by how much content you generate in-house without even realizing it.

Here are some examples:

- Your customer service email correspondence: A client asks has a troublesome issue and asks a question and your company sends back a useful reply. Why not include that as a Q&A in your e-newsletter?

- New product/service announcements: With a little editing, you might be able to find something for your readers that they would find interesting.

- Look at your market research information: Yes, that information is used internally, however, if repackaged properly, it might also be very interesting to your email subscribers.

Whether you get free content externally, edit internal materials or write your e-newsletter with completely original and new content...be sure you have a great editor.

A good email newsletter editor can take different sources of raw content and bring it to life. It's a matter of deciding what to include, how to present it, determining the best sequence...and ensuring that the voice flows evenly from beginning to end.

The last thing you want in your e-newsletter is a collection of three blocks of content, all with different writing styles and voices. So even if you do outsource content creation, just make sure someone has the role of editor. That person can be inside your company, or outsourced.

Regardless of where your content comes from, the skills of your online editor will be the most important factor in determining the quality of your email newsletter.

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