In any industry, attracting new customers can be difficult. For example, did you know that 97% of potential loan applicants fail to complete their online forms? This could be for a variety of reasons. Maybe the application process was too time-consuming. Perhaps they realized what you’re offering wasn’t the right match. Or, more likely, they had questions but didn’t have the resources (live chat, FAQ page, blogs) they needed available to them, so they didn’t feel confident enough to hit submit.
According to a recent study, 41% of people prefer live chat over 32% of people who like phone support. With all the information readily available on the internet, if people have questions about your product or service, they’ll scan your website and check reviews to see if you can help them. If you don’t have answers to their questions, they’ll use your online chat, send you an email, or maybe, if you’re lucky, give you a call. But most of the time, if you don’t have the answer on your website, they’ll continue searching online for someone who does have the answer. Which means they leave your site and head over to your competitors. If they find the answers on your competitor’s website, their business may stay there.
A lot of individuals within companies can be hesitant when it comes to writing content. They may lack the writing and grammar skills, or maybe they lack the knowledge, or they might just not have the time. One way to overcome that is for ownership/management to set an example by leading the charge, and then set clear expectations for everyone to contribute. Another way is to simplify the writing process.
So, let’s jump into it.
One of the easiest ways to simplify writing is to create a blogging brief/best practices. This way, there are clear expectations before you begin to write. Of course, blogging briefs will be different for everyone, but here’s a pretty adaptable example:
Creating a standard outline allows you to gather your information efficiently and effectively. In my outlines, I try to answer three questions: what is it, how it works, and why do customers choose to use it? After all those questions are answered, they can be turned into a blog, webpage, or email quickly.
Another great way to gather information is to have a product specialist create and record a training video. From there, you can make a blog or a video script. This way is fantastic because you're gathering information for marketing content (website pages, blogs, etc.) while simultaneously building up your training videos.
It's important to remember that your outline/rough draft will be rough. This first draft is about gathering accurate information. Your second draft is where you'll start to clarify your message and organize your content, so it flows.
When it comes to clarifying your message, I like to abide by these four rules with any piece of content.
When content is easy to read, the chances of a potential customer sticking around to read more are a lot higher. Unfortunately, this is where a lot of people can become hesitant about publishing content. They might think that their writing “skills” aren’t good enough or don’t know the best way to put their knowledge to paper. The key is, once you’ve written your outline, to apply these simple concepts.
Once you have your topic, writing style, and information nailed down, using the Story Brand brand script or Brain Dean'sHow to Write a Blog Post: A Definitive Guide can be excellent tools to formulate the entire blog.
When it comes down to it, there are three parts to writing great content:
You don’t need to be Ernest Hemmingway to write great content. You just need to have a clear message, keep things simple, and let people know there’s a human behind the words they’re reading. I hope you find these tips helpful!