When it comes to content, it is not all about reading. That’s the truth, even if you think you are the next Hemingway or Rowling. The reality is that the web content you have in front of you will most likely not be read by humans at all. Instead, what you are trying to get is the search engine optimization (SEO) value of the content for web spiders to crawl and find. Truth be told, you don’t have to be a great writer to do this. It is only advertising and marketing after all. That being said, there are some ways to approach getting content when you are simply not a writer.
Eighth Grade Reading Level
The average reading level of adults online is eighth grade or that of a 13-year-old. Not quite in high school, this is also the same reading level as the Harry Potter books. Here is the reality. When you go online to read content on a business website, you are looking out for your own self interest. If you need information or want to buy a product, you expect it to be available there for you. If you can’t find it on a site, you will just click out and go to a new website and utilize another business. Those are the facts about how the internet marketing world works.
You want to make your content readily available at this reading level. Therefore, avoid the jargon and excessive in-house speech that no one understands but you and your team. You want to focus on providing the reader and audience with content they want and can digest—and at the same time. Along with doing your reader research regarding market behavior to pinpoint content information, you also have to keep things simple.
Hiring a Content Writer
This is where you may want to skip straight to the front of the line and hire someone else to do the content writing for your website. Whether you consider yourself a writer or even an author, chances are you are not up to speed with the web content side of writing. Here is where online web content collides with marketing and advertising in the print media industry. Along with providing content that is reader-friendly and grammatically correct, the content must also be visually appetizing enough that web users will actually read it.
Because that is the bottom line. While the web bots are doing their thing with scanning your SEO and finding more information for the search engine registries, you want to help your customers. You want to answer their questions. You also want to entertain them so they like your brand more. You want them to trust your company and the information you put out there. You need the customer to engage with you and ask questions that lead to more products and even more content. All of this starts with attracting and maintaining their attention.
This is why hiring a content writer who is professionally skilled at SEO and online web content will serve your company the best. Not only will you save time and energy on getting the right content in the ideal style and language, but it will be ready to publish for you without any additional work from you. This saves you the mental energy of learning and practicing your writing skills—something that most professionals would love to do but simply don’t have the time. Just as you would hire an expert to do most anything else that requires, well, an expert, content writing is one of those areas where the pros really do know what they are doing.
Give Video a Go
Some things are better left unsaid—especially in the case of YouTube videos. In addition to being the leader of the social media platform pack, you also gain momentum in an important area. First of all, there is a misconception that all content is written. It is not. Visual content and graphics are also content, as well as infographics and comics. Plus, video content requires descriptions, titles, tags, and other written forms of content that involves SEO.
So if you are not someone who likes to read or to write, fear not! The video content arena is most likely your jam. Of course, you can also hire a freelancer or expert videographer to manage the scriptwriting and video editing. But for some individuals who struggle with writing, video creation tends to be a welcoming creative outlet. Whoever you have on board with video content, the basic premise remains the same. Get on board! Video content provides businesses with a gold mine of wealth and ad revenue.
Reuse That Content
Finally, when it comes to bringing home the content bacon, using what you have already got works wonders. Start with your blog content and refresh anything that has a date in the title. Yes, this goes for those Top 10 Lists for 2011 and beyond. You do not want to have dated content. Instead, update the information to be evergreen and applicable to a larger audience.
By reusing content, you can also source new ideas that branch off from old ones quite efficiently. Search through analytics to find the most popular blog posts with the highest number of visitors. Use those as a starting point, since you already know that this content will attract the most readers. Whether it is due to content or keywords, you can also link back to the high traffic post for better SEO strength.
Choosing Affiliate Marketing for Content
Affiliate marketing also helps you increase your content value and online marketing potential for your business. To learn more about how to make money from content, check out affiliate marketing at Green Affiliates. This is an optimal way to increase the value of your online content.
That’s it! Affiliates send you business, and you make more sales!