Don't Save the Best for Last: Start Your Content Early
Posted on December 13, 2016 Mary Merritt
Late content causes project delays. But more importantly, neglecting the writing process can decrease the overall results of your website. That means less engagement, less social sharing and less conversion. A beautiful design cannot make up for the failures of unengaging, poorly executed writing.
4 Phases of Winning Web Content Development
You must have a great design; it’s that first impression that keeps potential customers from running away. But you must back that great design with remarkable content. They work together to form one, cohesive structure for your business online.
Discovery: Set the Stage for Your Content
At the beginning of a project, we use a discovery process that sets the stage for your website. We’ll work with you to identify key things that will strengthen your design and content. Your answers during this process give insight into these types of questions:
- Who are you attempting to reach?
- What are their goals?
- What problems do you help solve?
- When will they start looking for your solution?
- Where are your competitors, and how are they doing?
- Why would a customer purchase from you?
- How will you convince them to do that?
Understanding your brand at this level helps with both design and content development. You can refer back to these discover documents as you stare down the blank page and try to write.
Planning: Get the Right Content, Every Time
Consider the following scenario: Your web design team puts together something phenomenal. It looks beautiful, and you can’t think of anything you would change. Except, of course, the placeholder text. (Who is Lorem, and why does he always Ipsum, anyway?)
Okay, yes. You must get to writing. You can’t very well have your website full of Latin; that’s the not language of your target audience, or anyone for that matter. Luckily, you’ve got a list of pages and needed content from the navigation planning document.
- Homepage
- About
- Why Us?
You get home from a long day at the office, sit down and start writing. A couple of hours and several hundred words later, you finish. Finally! The next day, you shoot off an email with your completed content. Proud of what you’ve accomplished, you sit back and wait for the praises and accolades of the development team.
Only, that’s not what happens. They send back an email saying what you wrote doesn’t fit the design - they’re going to need another 1-2 weeks to rework the design now. Yikes! This scenario happens very often with web development firms that lack proper process.
That’s why, at NerdyMind, we created a system that puts content at the forefront of our design. It starts with a wireframe of each important page and element. Then, we outline exactly what type of content are needed. This process helps our clients know exactly how to write based on user goals and our mutual conversion-optimized design vision.
Publishing: Crush Your Competitors With Stellar Content
Once you have everything written, it’s time to publish and launch the website. Your great content will engage readers, move your target audience to action and generate conversions. (Not to mention, help crush your competitors!) If you start your writing early, work with a strong process and produce good work, you will have great content. No delays means launching on time, getting your name out there and beginning the path to online success.
Moving Forward: Content Marketing Development
Content development doesn’t stop with a website launch. You will have ever-evolving needs as your company grows and expands. The rapid growth of content marketing will have a large implication in a successful marketing strategy. In the months after your launch, you may need a variety of content types, including (but certainly not limited to):
- Engaging blog posts
- Email auto-responders
- Email newsletters
- Email sales copywriting
- Well-written case studies
- Whitepapers
- Landing page copywriting
- Social media posts
- Lead generation magnets
There’s a reason people say, “Content is king.” Without it, your website and marketing efforts will fall flat. Investing in content means investing in the success of your business. You can make it an investment of your own time, or you can elicit the help of a professional team. But either way, it’s an investment.
Content is King and Design is the Castle
No one wants to live in a run-down castle. Even the greatest of kings would have a hard time showing authority if he lived in a place that didn’t visually communicate his authority. Likewise, a beautiful castle without a king is just another building. You need both. And so, your business needs both great design and great content. This holds true in both web development and marketing endeavors. It’s up to you, the brave business owner, to invest in your kingdom. Ready to invest in both design and content? Reach out to us today! Our nerdy team would love to help your business become more efficient, successful and awesome.