I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say you want your business to make money.
I’m going to make the further wild assumption that any investment you fork out for should bring in the cash.
So it makes sense that you’d like, very muchly, to make sales with content because seriously, why else would you bother with it?
Content can mean anything. In this article, I’m talking about content writing, coz, if you don’t know, that’s my thang.
You might enjoy writing (sweet), and you might be ‘passionate’ about the guff you bosh out (lovely).
However it is still work and work that needs doing.
There’s a possibility you hate writing. Like really detest thinking up new stuff to entice your people. See, content creation takes serious toil so if writing bums you out, you’ll resent the time it steals away from the things you enjoy. You’d certainly like to see a return on your efforts.
Let’s say you can’t be arsed with all that and you hire a writer, hang about…
Content writing is a saturated market.
There are hundreds (probably more, I haven’t counted) of content writers (oh, hi there). So many in fact, that these bastards are making the place look untidy
And like any market, it is, in part, saturated with shit.
You can’t tell if a writer is a Dacia or a Rolls Royce. And is it really your job to know?
Doesn’t the burden of proof fall to them (I mean, me)? Aren’t they supposed to be demonstrating their expertise so you can make an informed decision?
Whilst those in my industry squabble about the difference between content writing and copywriting, you stand, open-mouthed, wondering when anyone is going to notice you.
Notice your cry for help.
You know the cry for help I mean, this one: hey, you over there, how does content writing make me dosh?
I see you, gurl! It’s a ruddy minefield. And that’s one of the many reasons I blog. To demonstrate my expertise.
Content has loads of benefits.
Coz you is smart, you already know that content does this:
- Brings more traffic to your website (organic and direct)
- Builds trust and authority
- Is the answer to any question a prospect is ever likely to have
- Is the reason someone says yes to your product/service
All the above indirectly and directly makes you cash.
Some of those things take time and others happen quickly. Content should always be working hard to attract yo peeps and keep them interested long enough to buy/sign up/download.
Sounds pretty rad (anything but rad).
Yeah, you could learn to do this yourself.
If you have the inclination you can buy books, sign up for courses and learn the art of content writing.
Freelancers do that shit all the time because they don’t have the resources to hire people.
But the boss of a small business doesn’t have the time for that.
And if they do, I doubt wanting to write their own content would excite them enough to learn. (And there’s golf to play. I do love a stereotype, don’t you?)
These business folks have the money to hire someone to take care of content.
But they usually don’t.
Like I’ve said before, people in business don’t understand the importance so they ask someone unqualified within their own organisation to do it. Often a person who already has a day job.
I teach you to write your own stuff.
I show you how to make your content good.
This blog tells you to get your content arse in gear. Because even a subtle improvement will be a huge step in elevating you above your competition.
Why?
Because most business content is terrible. Again, businesses are getting unqualified people to do it (or doing it badly themselves). If you don’t believe me, go and look at your competition.
Read the copy on their homepage, I’m telling you, it will be average. And by that I mean, dull, cliched, and full of meaningless garbage.
Listen, if you’re learning to do all this yourself, you understand why it’s important. So you’re investing time (lots of time) to get your content better than it was before.
You’re gaining new skills – yay! And you understand the value of the words you type for your biz. (Also, yay.)
Hold up, value is subjective.
Lemme explain: when I tell you about my services, what I charge and what you get for that cost, I’m deciding what my value is. You’re free to agree or disagree.
You are sitting here now (standing or reclining) reading this for a reason. There is value in this for you.
Maybe you’re here for the LOLs. Perhaps you want the free help, and maybe one day you’ll decide to hire me in some content capacity. It isn’t my job to tell you what the hell you’re getting out of all of this.
Content makes you cash.
And that’s a pretty good incentive to get serious about it.
But let me skip back to value – just for a moment.
I am expensive. So I offer a high-value product in terms of monies (It’s all about the monies, monies, monies.)
I charge more than your average content writer.
I don’t give you the ‘best price’ or a ‘reasonable price’ nope, I do not. I cost up my services based on what I think they are worth.
Let’s suppose I pen you a piece of long-form, a wondrous article that lives on your blog.
The purpose of that piece is to help warm leads make a decision.
They need to decide whether to buy from you or to bugger off and stop fucking about, umming and ahing. These prospects understandably have questions about the product you sell. They want to know exactly what’s involved.
So off I pop, writing tasty content that answers all those questions.
I throw in the benefits – the reasons why your prospect should be hot for this great new thing you got. And at last, they have everything they need to make the best choice for them.
That bit of content is valuable straight off the bat.
There’s a lot of juicy info in that article, all organised logically in one easy-to-access place.
But it’s the gift that keeps on giving because it saves you time.
(Lorra lorra time.)
The time it would take for you to learn to write such a sexy bit of long-form and the time it takes rehashing the same tired conversation with each tepid lead.
What tired conversation, you scream?
The one that drones on about price resistance… what’s involved?… what do I get?… and something about cheese.
(There’s nothing about cheese. I just got so bored writing for a second. It happens sometimes.)
Time is money (and all that jazz) so although you haven’t made any (yet) you haven’t lost any either.
We all waste so much time explaining stuff to prospects. This kind of content stops that and it also gets rid of the tyre-kicking arseheads who have no intention of ever hiring you.
See, LOOK AT ALL THAT VALUE!
Here’s how you make sales with content. (At last!)
This is surprisingly easy.
Let’s suppose you spend £1500 on a single blog article.
(Yes, £1500 on ONE blog. I can hear the price buyers shitting a brick.)
If you lump all the value on just the spend, that cost will immediately make you run. Good, you get an enthusiastic hand clap from me because if you’re that shortsighted I’d rather you sod off now.
That beautifully written, detailed article (that’s saving time, building trust, and driving traffic) is also going to convert a potential client.
If that blog post is banging on about a product that costs say, £6K and you only sell one as a direct result of that blog, that would be money well spent.
But you’re not aiming for one conversion.
You’ll be using that article time and time again.
And as long as the content remains relevant, that will continue to make you money – and you only paid for that piece ONCE.
The price of an article/blog/sales letter/case study will depend on how much the offering is.
Any content writer should charge a price that reflects the potential earning power of that product/service (so think on next time you crib about the cost).
If you wanna know more about conversion rates with content marketing, read this article.
Ill-conceived content is as useful as a gelatin condom.
This is why you need a purpose.
Remember the three W’s: who is it for, why are you doing it and what do you want it to do?
Keep in mind the three S’s: strategy, strategy, and strategy.
(Yeah, I’m making this up as I go along.)
But remember this…
There are no guarantees content will make you coinage.
WHAT?!
(Really, did you think this would be a safe bet?)
Humans don’t work like that. There are so many variables when you’re selling. If the conditions aren’t right, magic doesn’t happen.
And what works for one audience may not work for another. Investing in your written word is a long term thang. (Ah, long-form, long term. LOVE THAT.)
You try stuff out, you record the results, and you make the necessary improvements.
Every day is a school day with content creation.
And that’s why hooking up with a writer on the regular will benefit your business.
They can focus 100% on the task at hand and no one is shoe-horning the role of content writer into their current day job.
So maybe it’s time you started behaving like a proper grown-up business and got serious about the blurb you’re churning out?
If you’d like to know how you do that, click here.