Content Acquisition Tips

One of the toughest things in web design and search engine marketing is getting good content for the site. Clients are almost always the best source for the content needed, because they know the business best. However, they often don't know what it is that you want, or just don't know how to write it. To make things more difficult, most design studios require that the client supply content or the cost for the work will increase. To get the client started, I always ask the following:

1. What is your target market, or to whom are you trying to sell? This question helps me out immensely for keyword research not to mention turning their existing content into something that creates an emotional response in the visitor or sells the product/service. If I need to write the content, this gives me a very good starting point. It also helps me know to whom I am writing. Plus the client really needs to know this information. It helps determine marketing venues, the marketing mix, length of campaign, and how to measure results.
   
   
2. What are the benefits of your product/service? Visitors want to know what the product/service will do for them. They don't want a list of features. If the client can't give you benefits, ask for the features. Then really scrutinize the product/service features for the benefits. Note that you have to give the visitors benefits above and beyond the stale "saves you time and money." That's been done to death, and on the Internet it seems as though everything saves time and money.
   
   
3. Have the client do some research. Look for statistics, quotes, etc. to use in the content. Make sure to ask permission and list the source, preferably with a link.
   
   
4. Ask the client to contact customers for comments, feedback and testimonials. If they won't do it, ask the client for customer contacts and do it yourself. Make sure to get permission to use full names and URLs if available. Testimonials are much more powerful if accompanied with a full name rather than just a first name or initials.
   
   
5. Have your client look at competitors and see what kind of content they are using. I'm not saying copy it, but competitors can give you some ideas.
   
   
6. Have your client check content feeds. They may cost money, but they can usually be incorporated with little effort. With content feeds, such as news, you are virtually guaranteed to have fresh content every day, week, month. That will help get customers to keep coming back.
   
   
7. Suggest installing forums or bulletin boards to your client. Let visitors write some of the content for you and your client. Get your client to invite current customers to make the first few posts (perhaps by enticing them with a discount or freebie) so that the forum or bulletin board does not start out empty.
   
   
8. Company information is fine, but visitors don't read it much. Tell your client to focus on the products and services themselves first. That's why visitors are there.

These ideas work just as well if you are writing the content for your own site or for a client's site.

That should get you started and may even provide you with more than enough ideas and information to get you the content you need to fill out several pages.

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***About Bill Gentry: Bill Gentry has been a professional Web designer since 1999 and a Search Engine Optimization and Online Marketing specialist with Look Sharp Designs since February 2000.

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