Writing Website Content Doesn’t Have to Be Hard

Many of our clients hate the idea of writing website content. That’s what brings them to our company in the first place. They’re looking for a way to offload the burden of writing new material for their websites and blogs.

In some cases, it’s a matter of time constraint. The client simply doesn’t have enough time to sit down and write website content. They might have the skill — heck, they might even have a knack for it. They just don’t have enough hours in the day.

But in most cases, it’s more akin to fear and loathing. The client finds the idea of writing for a public audience downright intimidating. They don’t know where to start. They don’t know how to approach the subject matter. And they certainly don’t know how to finish strong. If these statements describe you, then rest assured you are not alone!

That’s where this little tutorial comes into the picture. Over the years, I’ve learned how to simplify the process of writing website content. I’ve learned to make it easier and more efficient, without sacrificing quality. These are the things I want to share with you in this lesson.

Writing Website Content Starts with the Audience

I talk about this concept a lot, because it’s mission critical. It also needs to be done first. Before you start writing website content, you need to outline the specifics of your particular audience. Every web page or blog post has a specific audience in mind. Your job is to flesh out the details of this audience, so you can serve them well with your content.

This article has a specific audience. Before I started writing this blog post, I thought about the type of person who would benefit from it. Here’s what I came up with:

My audience consists of business owners who realize the importance of adding new content to a website on a regular basis, but find the writing process difficult.

This audience statement is short and to the point. But don’t let that fool you. It’s also very helpful to me, as the writer. I now know (A) who my reader is and (B) what problems they have. The only thing left to do is help them solve their problems — by offering tips on writing website content.

You can see how the content practically writes itself, once you identify your audience. That’s why you need to do this first. It seems like a simple process, and it is. But it really helps you unlock your “inner writer.” All of the pieces are now in place. You have an audience. Your audience has a problem or challenge you can help them with. Or maybe they just want to learn about a subject that you know well.

At this point, you have everything you need to get started. Well, almost. You just need two more things before you actually start writing the website content — some keywords, and a content outline.

Keyword Research is Always Helpful

You refer to your products / services in a certain way. But your potential readers and customers might use different terminology when talking about the same thing. This is why I recommend using a keyword research tool before you start writing your website content. It will help you in several ways.

• First and foremost, it shows you which relevant keywords and phrases could bring in the most traffic.
• It also helps you identify topics for other articles, blog posts or web pages. It’s a good brainstorming technique.
• Lastly, it helps you pull in additional web traffic by incorporating phrases you might not have used otherwise.

Google’s keyword-research tool is one of my favorites, because it suggests similar phrases and topics. Other keyword tools only show you extensions of the exact phrase you start with. Google’s tool will show you those extensions, plus a variety of similar phrases. So it can also serve as a springboard to help you come up with other writing topics.

I used this tool when preparing to write this article. I started with a handful of phrases on the subject of writing website content. Then I hit the “search” button, and the tool generated a list of keywords that people use to search those topics. It also shows me how much potential search volume there is for each phase. This allows me to focus on phrases with the highest potential for traffic.

Here’s a snapshot of the data generated by this search:

Writing website content is a lot easier when you do this kind of research. You might even find this tool fun to use. Many of my clients get “addicted” to it. It’s a great way to generate topics for additional content. And remember, the more content you have on your site, the more traffic you’ll pull in!

Behold — The Content Outline!

If you only absorb one idea from this lesson, make it this one. A content outline will make the writing process much easier for you. When you have an outline on paper, all of your questions will be answered. You know where to begin. You know which points to cover over the course of your article. And you know when to finish the piece.

There is often a temptation to plunge into a writing project. I get the urge to do this every time I start writing new website content. But I’ve learned to resist the urge. I start with an outline 90% of the time, and for all of my client projects.

If you start working on your content without an outline, you may find yourself lost in the woods. This is a common plight for beginners and professionals alike. You lose sight of the end-goal. You forget what your purpose was to begin with. You get stuck in Middle-ville. The ending eludes you. Use an outline when writing website content, and you can avoid these problems.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just include the following items:

1. Write down your audience statement (which we covered earlier) at the top of your outline.
2. Introduction. This is where you identify your audience, as well as the subject of the article. Tell people what you are going to help them with, or what they are going to learn from your website content.
3. Key points. Jot down a list of items you need to cover along the way, in order to accomplish your objective. This might be steps in a series (like a “how-to” article), different parts of a product or service, or a collection of tips.
4. Conclusion. Summarize the most important point(s) made in the article. Tell the reader where she can learn more, or what to do next.

Voila! You now have everything you need for writing your website content. You know who your audience is. You have a list of keywords and phrases they use when searching for the topic you’re covering. And you have an outline to keep you on track. This is how the professionals do it. And it will work well for you, as well.

Of course, if this still seems like too big a challenge for you, we can help.