Websites: Content = Employees

[Mark Walters]

So many businesses have terrible content on their websites, and yet I'm sure those same businesses probably have good employees working for them, and it got me thinking that businesses need to start viewing their website content as their online employees.

This is taken from a longer article I just published on my own website...

Online, your website’s content speaks for, and represents, your business on your behalf, just as, offline, employees speak for, and represent, your business on your behalf. You want employees to be knowledgeable and well presented, and that’s how you should make your content too. Use it to show customers your expertise and that you not only sell something, but that you believe in it too.

You wouldn’t want employees who don’t tell customers anything worthwhile, and for the same reasons you don’t want content on your website that doesn’t say anything worthwhile. All of your content needs to add value to your site in some way. One bad page of content can lose you many sales. It’s like walking into a store/office and dealing with a terrible employee.

If your content isn’t working out for you (which you can determine by using Google Analytics to assess how long people view each page for and what action they take after viewing it), then do as you would do with an under-performing employee – improve or replace. You don’t need to spend a lot of money paying a professional copywriter. In fact, it’s generally better if someone from within your business writes your content, as you/they know about the business better than any outsider can.

You should aim to write in the way that you would speak to customers who walk into your store/office. Use the same tone and pass on the same knowledge and expertise. It’s really as simple that – write as you would speak. Doing that, more than anything else, syncs the online and offline experience that you provide to customers.

As well as writing authentically, you need to write comprehensively. Have answers on your site to all of the questions that you commonly get asked in your store/office. If you leave out important information, people will assume that you either don’t know or don’t care – either way, you’ll lose that sale. Very few people who visit your website will phone an in-store/office employee to find out what you should have told them on your site.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

 

[Annoying Donkey]

In fact, it’s generally better if someone from within your business writes your content, as you/they know about the business better than any outsider can.

Well I disagree with the above.

Generally employees are up their arse in industry jargon (bit like this forum ) and forget those outside the business don't know as much as they do, or perhaps misunderstand exactly what the jargon means. Despite spending some 35+ years in the computer industry, I've sat through many a meeting (in the computer industry) and left thinking what was just said in there...?

A lot of small businesses put a junior in charge of web content, because 'they know the internet'. The people who might have a chance, those on the front line, are usually considered too valuable to use for such a task.

If you want to connect to customers you need first to understand them. And the best person to do this is an outsider with little knowledge of the industry. They will be coming in fresh and asking the questions that all customers are likely to be asking.

You also need to ensure that your overall message is congruent right throughout the organisation. Most employees have their own little empire that they focus on, often missing the overall picture. An outsider will almost always see through this...

I'm not usually a fan of TV business programs, but I did take to 'the Fixer' because I could identify with many of the things in the program. OK, it's made for TV, but illustrates a simple concept of an outsider taking a hard, no nonsense look at a business.

 

[Mark Walters]

"The people who might have a chance, those on the front line, are usually considered too valuable to use for such a task."

These are the employees I'm talking about. The ones that actually deal with customers on a day to day basis. These are the people that should be writing the content for a business's website.

Too valuable for such a task? This is a problem that I regularly see. Businesses see their website content as a minor task, when it shouldn't be, as their website can make them a lot of money.

If they see their website content as a minor task, then that's up to them, but they can't complain about only getting minor returns from it.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

My problem is that sometimes employees write in code, they use industry terms, they use acronyms, and I simply don't have a clue what they are saying.

I agree that it could be best to get an employee to write a skeleton piece of content, but are they really the best placed to achieve the aims of the piece?

the classic mistake in sales is telling not selling, and unless these employees are sales orientated mentally, they are unlikely to be able to construct content that achieves the goals of that page.

 

[Mersey Developments]

I agree with Old Welsh Guy - every piece of content a business creates should be created with 'sales' running thorugh it of some sort.

Employees are great for insight on customer behaviour, industry info, what works what doesnt etc byt this data should be then passed to a 3rd party professional content writer with sales experience to shape into the best possible piece.

 

[Mark Walters]

My problem is that sometimes employees write in code, they use industry terms, they use acronyms, and I simply don't have a clue what they are saying.

But who are the employees in a business that sell to people on a daily basis? That answer customer questions?

Get those people, who deal most often with customers, to write the content. They're the ones best placed to know what to write.

They're already shown that they're capable of communicating with customers. They just need to change it from verbal communication to written.

 

[Mark Walters]

This data should be then passed to a 3rd party professional content writer with sales experience to shape into the best possible piece.

But this doesn't happen in the business's store/office on a daily basis when they're dealing with customers?

Why, when it comes to website content, is a 3rd party professional suddenly required?

Anyway, whether or not a professional copywriter is required, is besides my original point really.

Get a copywriter's help if needed, so long as the end result is something that does justice to the business's offline presence.

It's the disconnect between online and offline that I'm trying to highlight. Business's invest time and money in employees, but not on website content.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Why, when it comes to website content, is a 3rd party professional suddenly required?

Why, when I re-write clients' copy, do I almost always win in split-tests?

Surely that's the proof of the pudding?

They know more about their businesses, yet my copy converts at a higher rate.

What does that tell us? I'd suggest it tells us that "knowing the business" doesn't mean being able to write good copy.

Steve

PS There's also the question of whether the people who deal face-to-face with customers are genuinely good sales people. Usually they aren't.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

But who are the employees in a business that sell to people on a daily basis? That answer customer questions?

Get those people, who deal most often with customers, to write the content. They're the ones best placed to know what to write.

They're already shown that they're capable of communicating with customers. They just need to change it from verbal communication to written.

So you want your best salespeople those with people skills, to write be expected to transfer that ability into a completely different format and medium, as in non interactive text?

I agree with some of what you are saying but disagree with other elements. I would say that some sort of joint effort is needed where the sales person could dictate notes and a copywriter then flesh it out into sonctent that converts.

 

[Mark Walters]

Why, when I re-write clients' copy, do I almost always win in split-tests?

Because their copy was probably terrible to start with and almost anything would have have been an improvement on it.

It doesn't mean they're not capable of writing good content - just that the wrong person wrote it or the person who wrote it spent very little time on it.

What you say does prove a point though: that rewriting and adding to (by someone) the existing content on a business's site nearly always results in an improvement.

 

[Mark Walters]

I would say that some sort of joint effort is needed where the sales person could dictate notes and a copywriter then flesh it out into sonctent that converts.

Fair enough. This probably would work best. The sales person knowledge of the products/services and the copywriter's writing skills.

Either of them alone would most likely do a better job than what most business's currently have on their sites though.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Because their copy was probably terrible to start with and almost anything would have have been an improvement on it.

Why, thank you.

If you go here:

http://www.stevegibsonconsulting.co.uk/website-split-testing.html

and do a search fro "track record", you'll see screenshots of split-tests where I...

- Increased a clients conversion rate from 5.88% to 8.28%

- Took a client from 31.6% to 37.1% conversion (17.4% improvement)

- Boosted a 34.8% conversion rate to 41.0%

And there are plenty of others (that page was written in 2010 - and I've had lots of other big winners since then).

So, I'm going to suggest that blows a hole in your, "Well, you can do it if their copy is terrible" excuse.

Steve

 

[Mark Walters]

Steve, I'm not doubting that you're a great writer, and can write better than me or most business owners.

My point is that most businesses have the capabilities to write content of a good standard themselves, but they don't take the time to do it properly.

For most businesses, their website's content is an afterthought, which is a mistake.

Their website content can be as important to their business as their employees who deal directly with customers.

Online, in the absence of any employees, their website content represents their business.

Also, this issue of who writes the content was just 1 sentence in my original post. What do you think about the rest of what I wrote?

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Steve, I'm not doubting that you're a great writer, and can write better than me or most business owners.

My point is that most businesses have the capabilities to write content of a good standard themselves, but they don't take the time to do it properly.

I understand that was your point. I'm disagreeing with the point.

Also, this issue of who writes the content was just 1 sentence in my original post. What do you think about the rest of what I wrote?

I think people are focused on that one sentence because that it was the most concrete/actionable piece of advice in your post.

If you take that out, what's left? "You should have good content on your website"?

Steve

 

[Andy Alderson]

Mark
you're right, it should be the owners and/or the employees that write the content. At the very least they should produce the meat of the content. I'm just in the process of producing a very detailed faq for all of our main finance products. There's about 30 questions minimum on each. I've given the job of answering the questions to three of my staff. The brief to them was answer them as if they were talking to the customer on the phone and to not use Jargon. Ive had the first two back and the results are first class. The grammar may need tweaking a bit but the content is real, original and relevant. More importantly it's accurate.
There is no way i would have given this job to a copywriter and got the same results, there's also no way it would have been as accurate. I don't care how many million percent they've increased conversion rate for other sites, the expertise should be already in the business it just needs teasing out.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

Mark
you're right, it should be the owners and/or the employees that write the content. At the very least they should produce the meat of the content. I'm just in the process of producing a very detailed faq for all of our main finance products. There's about 30 questions minimum on each. I've given the job of answering the questions to three of my staff. The brief to them was answer them as if they were talking to the customer on the phone and to not use Jargon. Ive had the first two back and the results are first class. The grammar may need tweaking a bit but the content is real, original and relevant. More importantly it's accurate.
There is no way i would have given this job to a copywriter and got the same results, there's also no way it would have been as accurate.
I don't care how many million percent they've increased conversion rate for other sites, the expertise should be already in the business it just needs teasing out.

So you expect your visitors to search for answers that are not already in your sales pitch...?

Take a look at the Claude Hopkins/Schlitz Beer story - search google to find it. The Schlitz management weren't impressed by Hopkins' ad, but it took Schlitz to the top selling beer in America. Wonder why the Schlitz employees didn't come up with it and save the company Hopkins' fee?

 

[Andy Alderson]

So you expect your visitors to search for answers that are not already in your sales pitch...?

No, but we want to help those that don't want to call us or send an online inquiry form. There's a whole load of our visitors will be at research stage - the more info we give then for free the more likely they are to convert into inquiries later. BUT a decent SEO would know that . Oh and ther's no sales pitch, just consultative selling.

Take a look at the Claude Hopkins/Schlitz Beer story - search google to find it. The Schlitz management weren't impressed by Hopkins' ad, but it took Schlitz to the top selling beer in America. Wonder why the Schlitz employees didn't come up with it and save the company Hopkins' fee?

Fair enough but your comparing two diferent things, there's a difference between being able to best describe your products and services to branded marketing copy.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

There's a whole load of our visitors will be at research stage - the more info we give then for free the more likely they are to convert into inquiries later.

Except the majority will forget you, unless you capture their details and remind them...