SonFisher has created a great-looking website for you and even provided you with some guidance about critical content it should have, such as About Us and Contact pages (see Kerry’s 4/7/2020 blog on this.)

Writing is a challenge for many people. It’s one thing to write a product description or explain what a WordPress hook does, but something personal like an About Us page or even a FAQ can take more time than you might care to spend. For one thing, you probably know so much about your business that it’s hard for you to find words a layperson can understand, especially if your service or products are a technical nature.

Does writing frustrate you?

What should you do? Hire a writer, of course!

Writers Provide Technical Services You Need

A professional writer provides technical services for you in the form of written content and perhaps strategy as well.

 A good writer will research your business and at a minimum, review your website to gain and understanding of how you help your clients/customers. They may interview you to gain unique insights and in effect, put themselves in your shoes as best they can based on the information you provide.

I try to speak to my clients by phone or videoconference. If it doesn’t work because of time zone issues (I’ve written for clients in Australia and South Africa) then email will have to do. In those cases, I send specific questions and encourage clients to just type out their thoughts to me. My job as a writer is to use those thoughts to create content to attract potential customers. I don’t want complete sentences or anything – just information, however raw, that will help me help them.

And believe it or not, I really enjoy doing this. We writers like this line of work!

Writing to Boost SEO

Good writers are also aware of how website software works. I’m a WordPress user myself, which has trained me to think about SEO a lot.

In addition to using keywords while keeping the natural tone and flow Google and other search engines like best, I also understand how to use metadata to further boost site content. So if you give me access to your site, I’ll take the time to add photo captions, insert alt content, and create snippets and page summaries.

Do You Like Writing?

Let’s say you’re one of us – you like to write. That’s great! And by no means would I ever discourage someone from writing their own content.

Still, it won’t hurt to get a second pair of eyes to look over your content. I know from experience it’s difficult to edit your own work. Most people write in a passive because that’s how we speak. Active writing, though, works better when you write for the web.

Writing for the web also means structuring content so that it’s easy to skim if it’s technical or you work in the B2B arena. If your focus is retail or more B2C, content should be easy read on a smartphone where customers are more likely to find your business.

Moreover, that second pair of eyes can give you ideas on how to repurpose your content.

• Web page content can be used in blogs to further expand on an idea or service
• Blogs can be used for e-newsletter topics
• Page and blog content can be used for video scripts, social media messaging, and infographics

Web Content Should Be Regularly Refreshed

You might have good content on your site, but is it current? Have you added new services that aren’t reflected or emphasized on your site? Does it read like last year’s carefree, mask-less lifestyle?

Writers will notice typos, outdated expressions, uneven spaces, and other minor items that added up, can make a site read like an old but still useful brochure. If you’re updating your site design, this is an excellent time to hire a writer to review and refresh your content.

Ruth Ann Monti leads the writing service TimeStorm Communications LLC.