We can all agree that Bill Gates knows a thing or two about business. He once famously said ‘content is king’ – and who are we to argue? You see – content is often swept under the rug by businesses but in the digital age it’s a big mistake. Content is a goldmine for potential revenue – you just have to see the bigger picture to recognise this. I’ll be the first to admit that before I did my research I never understood the true potential of content, but with time I came to appreciate its power.
‘Content writing’ takes on a number of forms but for the purposes of clarity we’ll split it into two types – blog writing and copywriting. Below we’ll discuss the benefits of both, how they come together and why you as a small business owner need to invest more time and resources into content writing.
Blog Writing
Writing a blog is just for teenagers wanting to get stuff off their chest right? No. So then it’s for bloggers, people who share their travel experience and write about the latest makeup or discuss their political opinions for no reason other than to share their thoughts with the community, right? No again.
Blogging is widely misunderstood and deemed to have little value due to the misconceptions stated above. It is important that when discussing the idea of a blog you think of it in a business sense. At its core – blogging is the creation of content with the purpose to entertain or provide value. So, how then can I say that blogging is so valuable to a business if all it does is entertain and it’s free of charge?
Well when content creation is harnessed correctly – it can create an organic funnel for potential consumers who already have an interest in your subject matter. Let’s say for example I run a sports business. I proceed to write a blog on how the latest football boots have revolutionised the market and all the famous footballers will be wearing them. This is good entertainment content and a way for me to discuss my opinion right? This is correct to a certain extent, but the true reason I’ve written this blog is so that those people who are interested in sports will come to my site and see I am a sports retailer. They already have an interest in sports as they’ve found my blog and read it, I’ve then reinforced my position as a knowledgeable and reputable sports retailer with my insightful blog post.
All that’s left for them to do is look around my site, make sure I’m the business they want to buy from, and then add a product to their basket and buy. But how then do we take this potential customer (who we already know has an interest in sports) and convert them into a paying customer. This is where copywriting comes in.
Copywriting
So we’ve written an excellent and informative blog that’s driven traffic to our website and we know that these visitors have an interest in sports. But now they’re on our site, how do we make sure that they purchase something from us?
We now need to essentially give them a sales pitch. We must convince them through written words that they must buy from us. In essence that is what copywriting is. It’s the process of employing proven sales techniques in written word, to ensure that your targeted audience purchases your product/service.
Outside of our sports retailer analogy, copywriting can take many forms. These include written adverts, social media, email marketing, television or radio scripts, product information, white papers etc. The list is almost endless. Anywhere you can employ sales techniques to win over a customer/client – copywriting is required.
Why do I need a Content Writer?
Having taken you through the above example, it should now be evident that content is a journey in which we very deliberately tap into psychological sales methods to nurture potential customers to the point that they purchase from us. This is why content writers are absolutely paramount for every business.
As a small business owner you are likely way too busy with your day to day operations to truly focus on your customer journey and how to nurture them using blogs and copywriting. You can see from this article just how much thought and planning goes into creating and planning a customer journey from beginning to end. It isn’t as simple as one blog and one piece of copywriting. It’s an ongoing process which requires constant attention, but if crafted correctly, the rewards can be huge. Imagine the growth you’re currently missing out on without this expertise.
If this article has kept your attention for this long then you have every reason to get in touch with us. If we can ensure that you’ve read this far down the page – imagine what we can do when we directly target your consumers? If this is something that interests you then you should get in touch with the team at Atlantis Digital and we can begin to sculpt your content plan.