Clients put in orders all the time for content. About half of the time, it is a head shaking experience. The instructions are vague, the details about the content are vague. It makes one ask what is it that the client wants? In some cases, you know that the client has no idea what they want. They know they need to have a blog, so they want to pay a writer to create blog posts. Without direction or a goal those clients are just throwing away their money.
Content — It Is a Broad Word
Content is more than just text on a page. There are different types of content — blogs, articles, white papers, eBooks, etc. Content also consists of different styles and different voices. Content is also written with different goals and for different audiences. So already the word content means many different things.
Say What You Mean
The word content is too broad to enter into the instructions that clients provide to writers. You don’t want content. You want a blog post. You want an article. Those statements are where the conversation starts.
When you say to your writer that you want content we want to know more. What kind of content? Do you want a blog? Do you want an article? Do you want a white paper? Do you even know what you want? It is okay to say you don’t know. A good writer can help you discover what you need content to do.
Content is more than just a Blog or an Article
Ordering content should start with a goal, and that goal should be given to your writer. What is that you want this blog or article to do? Do you want a blog or an article that attracts new visitors and potential customers? Do you want content that helps to convert visitors into followers or into subscribers? Do you want a blog that converts shoppers into buyers? Do you want content that helps support customer satisfaction after the sale? There is a variety of content types, and each does a different job.
Who is the audience?
Start with the type of audience. Don’t just say women from age 35-45. Which women in that age group? Are we talking to Latina’s or African American women, women who are Souther Baptists, democrats, republicans, single mothers, grieving mothers, women who are overweight? There are a lot of different types of audiences. However, understanding who your readers are can help your writer produce content that is relevant and valuable to your audience.
What do You Want the Content to do?
If you want to attract visitors to your site, then you need content that is broad in terms of its audience, but specific in terms of the topic. Your goal would be to attract as many people as possible to the topic. That is a slightly different role than a piece of content that is designed to convert people from just being visitors to being more of an audience that is interested in what you sell. This type of content offers a strong call-to-action with a specific goal in mind. So in just two steps your content choices have gone from an audience that shows some interest in a topic to one that has a higher interest or who want more information and who is willing to provide an email address or who may fill out a form with a phone number, mailing address or other contact information. So think about what it is you want your content to do. Content — a blog, article, or white paper — has a job to do.
There is a lot that goes into the word “content.” A good writer can help you do more than just created outstanding content. They can help you:
- Develop ideas for content
- Change content so that it performs another job
- Develop other types of content such as social media content, eBooks, and resources for your audience such as white papers.
- And more
When you decide you want “content,” choose a writer who can help you in the most amount of ways. We do more than just typing words on a page. Discover what a professional writer can do for your “content” today.
David S loves to tell stories. He came from a fishing family, so storytelling is likely genetic. His writing style translates easily to both blog and article formats.
