I have a friend living in Berlin who is constantly trumpeting his winning SCRABBLE® Worldwide scores on FaceBook. His posts include his high scoring words (most of which I have never come across before) and the points these words have earned. To win at SCRABBLE® you can’t afford to just put any old word on the board. You only have so many turns so your chance to score is limited. To be a SCRABBLE® champion you must carefully and strategically choose your words to obtain the maximum results.
The same principle is even truer in producing website content. The most effective websites are largely produced by ruthless editing…removing everything that does not contribute to the focused purpose of the page. In my previous blog, I discussed how knowing your target was the critical foundation for an effective website. The second critical element is the willingness to offload everything that doesn’t “score.” And by the way, YOU don’t get to determine how effective your choice of words has been, your website visitor does…right or wrong, THEY decide.
Too many websites are overloaded with content; information the website owner wants the visitor to know. Too much content obscures and/or dilutes the focused message your website needs. Website visitors have little patience for content overload and quickly lose interest.
A focused and effective website has a specific target visitor in mind and strategically presents only the most attractive and engaging content while stripping everything else off the page. Don’t waste time telling them things they already know or sharing information they have no interest in knowing. Answer the questions they are bringing to the site. Clearly the website can’t be all things to all people. You must choose who it is that is the best fit for your product or service and “dial in” the content to engage them, knowing that some visitors will be unmoved. Know your target and seek to engage them while the others are free to listen in and participate if they like.
The challenge of how to engage this target customer is no simple thing. Choosing the appropriate “call to action” for the target visitor is vital. What is the next step they might be willing to take strengthen the engagement? That will be the focus of the third part of this blog series, “The First Step is a Doozy!”
Friday, September 11, 2009
Principles of Effective Content (Part #1) – Defining a Target Prospect Profile
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where..." said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
--Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Until you have clearly determined who you are trying to reach and what you want them to do, you cannot expect to generate effective content for your website. You cannot be effective if you try to reach everyone…you must narrow your focus! In a very real sense this task is very much like fishing...the kind of bait you use and the technique you employ depends entirely upon the kind of fish you are hoping to catch. If the bait and the technique suit the kind of fish you are seeking, your chance of being effective are greatly enhanced. If you are using the wrong bait or the wrong approach you could just be wasting your time.
The most effective websites have a very specific target prospect in mind and a well-developed sense of the kind of bait that will get their target's attention. How well do you know your target prospect? What will get their attention and encourage them to "bite?" Take the time to define a target prospect profile for your product or service offering.
Click here to download a free “Target Prospect Profile Worksheet” to help you work through the process of defining your focus.
Once you have defined your target, you are ready to orient your content to engage your prime customer. Avoid the impulse to tell the prospect everything you want them to know. Instead, restrict yourself to answering questions your prospect cares about. Seek to educate and engage that target in a compelling way.
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where..." said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.
--Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Until you have clearly determined who you are trying to reach and what you want them to do, you cannot expect to generate effective content for your website. You cannot be effective if you try to reach everyone…you must narrow your focus! In a very real sense this task is very much like fishing...the kind of bait you use and the technique you employ depends entirely upon the kind of fish you are hoping to catch. If the bait and the technique suit the kind of fish you are seeking, your chance of being effective are greatly enhanced. If you are using the wrong bait or the wrong approach you could just be wasting your time.
The most effective websites have a very specific target prospect in mind and a well-developed sense of the kind of bait that will get their target's attention. How well do you know your target prospect? What will get their attention and encourage them to "bite?" Take the time to define a target prospect profile for your product or service offering.
Click here to download a free “Target Prospect Profile Worksheet” to help you work through the process of defining your focus.
Once you have defined your target, you are ready to orient your content to engage your prime customer. Avoid the impulse to tell the prospect everything you want them to know. Instead, restrict yourself to answering questions your prospect cares about. Seek to educate and engage that target in a compelling way.
3 Principles of Effective Web Content
Throwing a bunch of money at your website is like throwing a bunch of money at the economy or at education…there is no guarantee the money will do any good if it isn’t handled well. There are numerous ways to put together websites these days and you can pay as much or as little as you choose. Paying a lot is no guarantee you will be getting an effective website. Paying a little doesn’t mean your site cannot compete with other competitors in your niche.
When all is said and done, it is your content that will cause your website to thrive or to languish. “So how do I get great content for my website?” you might ask. It is no easy task or else everyone would do it successfully…and they don’t. The challenge is that the content has to be YOUR content… about YOUR business…and no one knows your business like you do. A business owner asking some web designer to build a beautiful site that drives business and then leaving it up to them to generate the quality content is unrealistic and naïve. Web designers know web design, not your business or your market niche.
Writing quality content is challenging but it can be done…just don’t expect outsiders to do it for you. I am going to introduce three principle concepts to guide you in composing the kind of web content that gets results. Each concept will be further developed in subsequent blogs so if you find these insights helpful be sure to come back to the MYDNNWeb blog often.
Here are the 3 Prinicples of Effective Web Content:
#1 Every page must have a TARGET
#2 Every page must ELIMINATE the SUPERFLUOUS
#3 Every page must have a CALL TO ACTION
I will be breaking down each of these principles in following blogs to help you sharpen the content on your website but be warned…these principles are going to make you think and make decisions that cannot be abdicated or outsourced. If you do the work and focus your content to fit your business, I guarantee you will see marked improvement in the effectiveness of your website.
gzhapkx9md
When all is said and done, it is your content that will cause your website to thrive or to languish. “So how do I get great content for my website?” you might ask. It is no easy task or else everyone would do it successfully…and they don’t. The challenge is that the content has to be YOUR content… about YOUR business…and no one knows your business like you do. A business owner asking some web designer to build a beautiful site that drives business and then leaving it up to them to generate the quality content is unrealistic and naïve. Web designers know web design, not your business or your market niche.
Writing quality content is challenging but it can be done…just don’t expect outsiders to do it for you. I am going to introduce three principle concepts to guide you in composing the kind of web content that gets results. Each concept will be further developed in subsequent blogs so if you find these insights helpful be sure to come back to the MYDNNWeb blog often.
Here are the 3 Prinicples of Effective Web Content:
#1 Every page must have a TARGET
#2 Every page must ELIMINATE the SUPERFLUOUS
#3 Every page must have a CALL TO ACTION
I will be breaking down each of these principles in following blogs to help you sharpen the content on your website but be warned…these principles are going to make you think and make decisions that cannot be abdicated or outsourced. If you do the work and focus your content to fit your business, I guarantee you will see marked improvement in the effectiveness of your website.
gzhapkx9md
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