Myth: All I have to do is use the text and images of my brochure on my web pages.
If only it were so easy. Unfortunately, the marketing materials written for offline use do not directly translate into online marketing material. The offline marketing materials are usually too wordy and need to be rewritten to connect with the average person. It needs to be organized with navigation and keyword considerations for seo (search engine optimization) and visitor use. Do a search to learn more about seo and navigation for your website.
Myths About Writing Website Content:
Myth: I know the point I want to make, and I did well in English in school.
While it's great that you did well writing English essays in school, keep in mind that website writing is almost like writing in another language, as you are writing for your human visitors AND for the search engine "bots". Consequently, your text content must be keyword-rich, but at the same time be easily readable by human beings without sounding "spammy" (that is, don't make it sound like you are only writing for the search engines.) Try writing your copy with different variations on the same keyword or phrase.
Consider hiring a writer who has internet writing experience.
If you are not up to the task of writing your own articles or content, consider hiring someone to do it for you. Although a copy writer may not know a great deal about your site's subject matter, this is actually an advantage. The writer you hire can think like a typical customer, not someone who is already knowlegeable about your industry. If you're worried about costs, you need to look upon hiring a copy writer as an investment. You may be losing out on many sales, because your content is poorly written. Often, the return on investment of hiring a writer is very high, considering all the extra sales you would make. Try to determine how many sales you would need to cover the costs, to put it in perspective and help you make a decision.
There are endless resources on the internet for copy writers. Many webmaster forums have a "buy and sell" or "services" section, where you can find very reasonably-priced writers who would be happy to help you.
||||||
Let's look at some of the myths about writing web site content, from a novice point of view: