Ardath Albee has a word for the marketing copy that loiters at your website without any clear goals or ambition: Unemployed. "[C]ontent, to be of value to anyone, must do something," she says in a post at her Marketing Interactions blog. In other words, it should have a job.

According to Albee "unemployed" content includes:

• Informative copy that piques a reader's interest, but offers no obvious way to learn more or take action.
• A topic that appears initially to match a headline's promise, but then veers wildly off course.
• Jargon that caters to search-engine optimization, not reader comprehension. In other words, Google loves it, but customers can't figure out what you're trying to say.

The solution? She recommends:

• Writing for your audience. Engage readers with a welcoming tone and language they understand. Be a good host by focusing your attention on them.
• Offering substantial content. Get right to the point, then expand on it with relevant, high-quality material that involves your readers and invites interaction. In essence, make them happy they clicked on the link.

The Po!nt: "If your content is not written with the express intention of helping your audience learn, understand or take action about something (or all three)," says Albee, "it's just sitting there on your web page, taking up space."

Source: Marketing Interactions. Click here for the complete post.

→ end article preview
Read the Full Article