Helpful Tips for Content Creation
Begin Early and Follow These Six Tips
One of the most challenging things for anyone creating or redesigning their website is filling it with great content. One secret is to begin early. Underestimating how long it will take to write up a few pages of text for your website can cause a lot of stress if you are planning to launch your website before an important event or deadline. Giving yourself plenty of time is key to creating great website content.
Even if you do start early, creating content can be a daunting task but if you follow these six helpful tips, creating content for your website will be much easier.
Organize/Collect/Repurpose: Before you start creating content from scratch, look at your present website and any printed materials you may have to see if the content can be repurposed. Dig deep into your files and desk drawers for past brochures, reports, events and descriptions. After rounding up all the information, organize it so that is corresponds to a page on your website. Repurpose this material so you have something to start with and build on.
Create a list of talking points for each page (bullet points). This will help you organize yourself and make sure you do not miss including some vital information.
List a call to action for each page. This is what you want people to do on the page. For example, click a link, buy a product, sign up for an event. Have this in mind as you are writing.
From the bullet points and the call to action you can now create the text for the page. This should be about 400 words. If the page is too short, Google may not regard it or index it as a page.
When creating content, think of your audience. People scan websites, so be sure to create short paragraphs, use headings and bullet points to divide up information. Make sure that anyone who just scans headings and bullet points and lists would understand what your page is about.
Assign someone to edit/proofread. It’s a good idea to get a second pair of eyes to edit/proofread what you have written. One of the things that lends credibility to your website is excellent spelling and grammar.