Why do you need content?
If you’re here, you probably know you need some content. It’ll help you sell. But is there more to it than that?
And is it really worth paying someone hundreds of pounds a day to produce content for you?
Well, I think so.
Let’s start with why you need content. And then, why we should work together to produce it.
Content gives your brand ‘presence’
It’s increasingly hard for customers to tell which brands are ‘real’ and which are substandard or outright scams.
One way to check is to view the brand’s presence on different platforms. Or even to google “Is XX brand legit?”.
Content on multiple platforms reassures your customer that you are a genuine business, not just a shady storefront designed to steal their money or data.
If you only have a website and no content, when people google you the only results will be what others have to say about you - on TrustPilot, on LinkedIn and on casual social media. Take control of that narrative!
Content builds trust
Now your customer has found you and believes you’re ‘real’, they want to know if you’re good enough.
Content showcases your expertise. And this is the fun bit! Create content that dives into the details of your business - the things that make you so passionate about it. I’m talking:
How it’s made
A day in the life of…
The secret to a top-quality…
This will also start to build your authority with search engines. Now, when people google “best low-cost X”, Google knows you’ve written “How to buy amazing X on a budget” and serves your page up to the customer.
Content makes sales
Yep, even your blog can sell. Place direct-response content between your more functional trust-building posts and blogs with links to your products.
And I’ve largely written about blogs here, but content is so much more than that. To make sales, your web content (that is, everything written on every page of your website) is crucial.
And depending on your industry, email content (newsletters, automated messages, etc) can be a key driver of revenue.
Of course, there is also social media (which I don’t touch, unless you count LinkedIn) where video content is particularly effective. And some brands will benefit from White Papers, reports and other in-depth pieces (which I love working on).
And even better, all of these things can be repurposed into each other. Your White Paper can become a blog series, video shorts, ads and a podcast.
Why work with a freelance content writer?
Now you know why content is more than just a ‘nice to have’, what are you going to do about it?
You could hire a content writer. But if you want to get started right now, a freelancer is exactly what you need.
A great freelance content writer will learn your brand, products, tone of voice, audience etc. Then, you can sit back and relax (/f ocus on other areas of your business) while they generate the goods. This is extremely efficient – I’ve got myself up to speed and producing content within ten days of meeting a new client.
And with content, consistency is more important than volume. It’s far better to hire a freelancer for one day a week for two months than it is to get them to hunker down for a week and a half all in one go.
This helps you manage the flow of money (and content), and allows the writer to respond to the latest data and trends.
Why not write it yourself? Well, for one thing you’re too busy. You’re probably also too deep into the business to know what your audience doesn’t know - so a fresh pair of eyes can save you from alienating (or worse, boring) potential customers. And finally, if you’re not a trained writer, you risk sounding like one of those scam businesses we are trying to persuade our customers we aren’t. A simple typo can jeopardise trust.
I’ll write more about choosing the right writer shortly, but in the meantime if you want a no-obligation chat about how I could support your brand with regular content, get in touch!
