Issue #003- Interactive Content and Writing to Sell

Let's talk about content! -Scottie

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What is Content? Part II

By Scottie Claiborne © 2004

Both search engines and customers love fresh, updated information. Some people groan at the thought of having to work so hard at adding new content, but it's not as complicated as you think!

Fresh Information

Weblogs or Blogs

Blogs exploded on the scene about a year ago with services like Moveable Type and Blogger making it incredibly easy for anyone to publish on the web. A blog is basically a series of posts that appear by date posted- the oldest ones scroll off to an archive. It's basically an online journal. Setup is minimal and the interface is easy to learn- it's as easy composing a word processing document and hitting save… BAM… you are a web publisher!

Blogs are a hit with people who like to keep an online journal and personal blogs are a huge part of the blogging community. But blogs aren't just for angst-ridden teens and conspiracy theorists; they can help your business too!

Blogs can be integrated seamlessly into your site so that they have the same look and feel. You can use a blog to publish a running event calendar or comment on industry news developments. A blog can be strictly professional, announcing specials, daily interest rates, or new product info or it can be casual and create a "personality" for your company.

What can a blog do for your business? Think about what your customers want to know.

Newsletter

Start a newsletter! Ask visitors to sign up for your newsletter (never send unsolicited e-mails) and set up a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly schedule to deliver your newsletter. Then stick with it!

I bought some printer ink online from a vendor that offered me the opportunity to sign up for specials. Every month like clockwork, I get the latest specials in my inbox and it always prompts me to check my supplies before deleting it. If I didn't get that e-mail from them, I would have probably bought the next round from whoever came up in a search!

Your newsletter may be product offerings and specials mixed in with useful product reviews, or it may be a recap of what's going on in your industry. If you aren't a writer, find articles available for reprint in your industry. Make sure the newsletter has some value to the reader. Archive the newsletter on your site for additional content and make the archives available for browsing.

Most webhosts have some sort of mailing list capability, or you can compose and mail your newsletter in Outlook. There are many third-party mailing services that are idea if you plan for a large list- check out Constant Contact.

Interactive Pages

Forum

A forum is an incredible tool for building content and a community. It's not a task to be undertaken lightly; it requires a lot of time and energy and some technical knowledge (or a tech budget!)

If your industry has a need, or your product has a loyal following, a forum is a great tool to build content while drawing like-minded individuals together. A forum is great for market research, technical support, building a fan base, trading ideas and knowledge, and many, many other benefits.

Forums work best when you start off with a core group of people willing to post- no one wants to talk to an empty room! Try to get people from similar business or industry experts to post at your forum. It's exposure for them and helps to build a solid foundation for your information.

If you decide to start a forum, be sure to use one that is search-friendly, such as InvisionBoard or phpbb, and set aside a good chunk of time to promote it and administer it.

Feedback & Reviews

Unsolicited feedback is a powerful convincing tool! Let your customers tell other customers why they love you. It's much more compelling than your own claims, if handled well.

There are many ways to handle feedback- the easiest way is to simply set up a form to allow customers to submit their feedback. You can then publish the ones you choose (with permission).

There are many scripts and other software solutions that will allow people to review your products or service online. This can be risky if you aren't willing to take the good with the bad! Used well, it's a powerful selling tool.

Often people can be enticed to write a review or testimonial for your site in return for a link back to their site. This helps them with link popularity but it helps your site as well it shows a real person wrote that review.

Weblogs or Blogs (again)

Several blog programs come with a "comment" ability built in. This allows general users to create an account and post their comments to your blog. This is something to be careful of as you can get negative comments along with the positive.

Ask The Expert

This is a great idea that I've seen recently. Using forum software, users submit questions and someone at the company answers them. The Q&A are both published on the site for users to read once they are answered in a "knowledge database". This is less time-intensive than a full-blown forum but a great way to keep a finger on the pulse of what customers want to know while still adding content on a regular basis.

Summary

I've often heard the argument, "My site doesn't need to be informational, I just sell things." That may be true! There are plenty of sites that are lean and mean and built to sell; they usually rely on things like PPC advertising and offline promotions for traffic. That's a viable business model and it works well.

But if you are interested in building loyalty and interest in your company as well as repeat business and you want to get increased traffic from the "editorial" or free listings in the search engines, you have to offer more to your users. If you create a plan for content that offers value and interest to your customers, you can have a site that is built to sell AND drive repeat business.

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Forget the "What" - Focus on the "How"

By Karon Thackston © 2004

If there is one thing copywriters love to talk about it's "Features vs. Benefits." To us it makes all the sense in the world. However, many business owners who want to learn to write their own powerful copy struggle with the concept.

Features are the properties of a product or service. The features of a car might be anti-lock brakes, leather seats, or rear-window defrost. Benefits, on the other hand, show how those features will actually be of benefit (hence the name) to the user. Anti-lock brakes keep you safe if you have to stop quickly. Leather seats are more durable and luxurious than cloth. In copywriting, benefits are much, MUCH more important than features. Let me show you a real-world example.

Stainless Steel Shaft or Priceless Cooking Tool?

Have you ever read a product brochure or Web page that sounded something like this?

The Braun® Multiquick Hand Blender offers a 200-watt motor, stainless steel shaft, five-blade chopper attachment, and aerator head.

How do you feel when you read that description of the hand blender? You're probably thinking, "Well, OK. That sounds all right."

That's how most people feel. It's not very exciting, is it? The thought of a stainless steel shaft doesn't really get your heart pumping and instill the thought that you *need* one of these hand blenders, does it? That's because the copy above focuses on the "what" of the product. Now read this version:

The Braun® Multiquick Hand Blender is a priceless tool for any cook with a busy schedule. Its powerful motor enables you to chop, whip, puree and blend with lightning speed. Its stainless steel shaft holds up to years of use without bending or breaking. The Multiquick's five-blade attachment gives you the ability to finely chop or grate even the hardest cheeses and nuts with ease. And the specially designed aerator head incorporates air into the liquids and sauces you blend, making them light and fluffy. You'll create delicious meals with ease and be out of the kitchen in record time.

The first example focuses on the "what" of the product… the features. It simply lists the nuts and bolts of what the physical product offers. However, the second copy example focuses on the "how" of the product… the benefits. These benefits show the reader how this product will make his/her life easier or better.

Focusing on the "what" and not the "how" of a product or service is a common mistake novice writers make. It is also a deadly mistake that can cost you sales. But how, exactly, do you create benefits out of features? Easily!

Five Easy Steps to Creating Powerful Benefits

Here's my five-step process for turning boring features into eye-popping benefits. Let's use the example of a marketing e-book for this practice session.

1. List the features of your product or service. (Created in PDF format, information on email marketing, search engine optimization, PPC ads, etc.)
2. Next, list the concerns or needs of your customers. If you don't know… ask them. (Finding affordable ways to promote their websites to bring in the most qualified traffic and increase sales.)
3. Next, ask yourself, "Why does this feature matter to my customer?" Write your answers on the list. (PDF format means both PC and Mac users can view the e-book. Search engine optimization is one of the most effective, highly targeted tools there is… and it costs nothing once you learn how to do it.)
4. Finally, take it one step further. Ask yourself, "What problem or concern can this feature address?" (Getting more qualified buyers to the reader's website so they can buy!)
5. Write down the benefit and you're all done!

So, instead of writing copy about a marketing e-book that reads like this:

…you can write copy like this:

Which one sparks your interest more? I thought so!

When it's time to write your next piece of advertising copy, take some time to develop a solid list of benefits. Focusing on the "how" instead of the "what" will practically guarantee a better response and more sales.

Karon Thackston is owner of Marketing Words, Inc and author of The Step-by-Step Copywriting Course. Be sure to check out Karon's latest e-report "How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)".

Wrap Up

Wow- we've had a ton of new signups since the last edition. Welcome to all the new subscribers! I've also gotten a landslide of offers for sites willing to be guinea pigs... oops, I mean case studies for the newsletter. It's great to have so many examples to choose from!

The usability examples will be briefly outlined in the newsletter, but most of the details will be on the site. The newsletter is already long enough!

The case study example will go along with the theme of the newsletter for the most part so that we'll have some "real" examples to go along with the information you read here. If your site is selected, you will be notified a week in advance via e-mail.

The next issue is on web statistics so we'll talk about why stats are important and define the terms you are likely to see. I'll show you some warning signs in your stats that some pages aren't doing what you want!

See ya next time! - Scottie

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