Your website is just one of many tools that you can use to promote your small business, turning potential clients into paying customers. While deciding what domain to use and what graphic designs will speak the loudest to your target market, one other important consideration you need to make is the content you are going to use to sell your goods.
Are you going to craft words so beautiful that your ideal client will want to read them over and over again like reading and rereading their favorite passage in a book? Or will your content lie flat on its back, lifeless and in desperate need of life support?
If your goal is the former, there are some things you can do to make sure you hit your mark, effectively persuading your potential clients to do business with you and only you. In fact, here are seven tips that can get you started when creating (or updating) your web content:
#1: Repeat Main Points Again and Again…and Again
As the great Dale Carnegie is quoted as saying, “Tell the audience what you’re going to say, say it; then tell them what you said.” The reason this works is simple. People learn best by repetition. It is the same reason certain jingles stay in your mind after hearing them over and over again on the television or on the radio in your car.
#2: Retain Consistency
If your website content isn’t in a consistent voice and tone, you could lose a potential customer before he or she learns what your small business is actually about. Consistency helps people get to know you and your products on a personal level, much like you get to know a new person who may become your friend. So, if you jump around and flit from here to there changing personalities like Sybil, expect to be the friend that no one calls when they get together.
#3: Tell Your Small Business Story
Everyone likes a good story. Whether it is something heart-warming that makes them say “Awe…” or it literally makes them laugh out loud, stories have a way of touching people’s heart, which is a great way to make them want to do business with you.
#4: Use Emotions That Drive Action
There are two main emotions that can drive a person to take action—pleasure and pain. Ideally, you want to use pain to highlight that you understand your consumer’s problem, then transition into the pleasure they will get from using your product or service. Take them on an emotional roller coaster ride that ends with you being there to make their life better, happier, or whatever other –er applies.
#5: Address Objections Before They Can Be Made
When you are creating your web content, it is best to address your consumer’s potential objections before they can be made. This does two things for you. First, a little bit of honesty goes a long way, so if there is some area where your product or service lacks, admitting it may be the one thing that compels them to want to do business with you. Second, the more objections you address and help your viewer overcome, the fewer that remain and could cause them to make the decision to not use you as their product or service provider.
#6: Think Like Your Consumer
I have had some clients ask me how I create such effective content even if I am not the right demographic to be the ideal client. My answer? I work to put myself in the same type of mindset as their potential consumer. Because you should already be intimately familiar with your target market, you should find this fairly easy. And if you don’t know your consumer’s mindset, you want to find out if you have any hope of crafting content that connects with them on a personal level.
#7: Don’t Be Afraid to Show Your Personality
This is actually the first step in Copyblogger Heneke’s article titled How to Turn Bland Text into Sparkling Online Content because if your content is akin to someone calling customer service and receiving an automated responder, then it isn’t going to be very effective. How do you know if your copy is that dull? Heneke suggests looking for too many wordy sentences, passive content, and language that is too hard for the average person to understand. Instead, aim to show a little of your personality and you could win your potential client over with your wit and charm, or whatever endearing qualities you possess.
Implement these seven suggestions and create content that is as compelling as flies are to fly paper. Okay, maybe that is kind of a gross example, but you get the picture.
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