How Important is Content?

Ever wonder why it costs money to get really good content? Never mind the time that goes into research and keyword implementation, never mind that proofing and editing for maximum punch takes time.

The real reason you pay for super fantastic content is the lead in. It doesn’t matter what your site is about, if you can grab attention in the headline, and hold it through the first paragraph, you can hope to keep the attention of your audience.

The first step is deciding what you need to get across to your visitors, which means figuring out what they want. In many cases, they think they want one thing, and it is your job to create an urgent need that only you can fill. This requires researching your target demographic to see what they respond to, and directing traffic to special landing pages.

Each landing page needs a title that is direct and to the point. If your visitor has arrived via a link promising to help them train their dog, you need to honestly have something to back it up, and reassure them that they are n the right place from the get go. “Train Your Dog In Ten Easy Days” is good, but only if you can back it up.

Once you have them hooked, set the line. Make your opening paragraph compelling enough that they have to read the next sentence and the one after that. A question is always good. “Do you dream of halcyon days spent with a perfectly behaved pet?” Then answer it “Every dog owner wants that perfectly behaved version of Man’s Best friend.” Next, pose the problem. “If like many, your pet simply doesn’t have the perfect manners of your neighbors’ dog, you can soon get him or her up to speed with our simple ten day system. In just minutes a day”

See how easy that is? You want of course to not over sell, but conviction in your product is a must.

This is very important for affiliate sites and sites where you sell products that have to be delivered through a third party. You also have to be sure that you have full confidence in the third party to follow through and treat customers right, or you could end up with the fall out.

Strong content that both convinces, sells and reassures is worth paying for, even if it eats a few bites of your budget. If you can’t afford it, maybe it’s time to attend some freelance courses yourself, and get in the habit of writing optimized copy in-house.

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