It’s easy to get caught up writing content that either is focused on search engine optimization or the latest software or service you’re selling, but what about your customers?
They should be front and center when you write new content for your website, because not only are they the ones you’re trying to please the most, writing great content that keeps people on your page, naturally helps your SEO too (lower bounce rates, more time on page).
How do you write attention-worthy blogs, emails, and webpages that will have your visitors returning for more? It’s about putting yourself in their place and considering what types of content you like to see when the shoe is on the other foot and you’re the one browsing a business site.
Sharpen that pencil (or keyboard!) and read on for several helpful tips on how to write awesome content that will leave your customers wanting more.
Tips for Writing “Must Read” Content
Content marketing works and is one of the main fuels for your tech business site’s marketing engine. Several studies show that content marketing is better at generating leads than other methods, and costs less.
For example, content marketing costs 62% less than outbound marketing and generates more than 3x as many leads. Small businesses that have blogs get 126% more leads than those without one.
But to make your blog and other website content as powerful as possible, you want to make it engaging for your readers, otherwise they might just bounce from your page and not have a reason to pay much attention to your future content.
Did you know? 47% of buyers read 3-5 pieces of a company’s content before engaging with a salesperson.
Here’s how to write better content that your customers will enjoy and thank you for.
Answer Customer Questions
What kinds of questions do your customers ask you? Chances are that if one customer is asking about something, such as “What’s the best software to defend against phishing?” that others are wondering the same thing.
A blog addressing common customer questions can not only draw in new leads but can also be a piece of content that can become part of an FAQ for your site.
You can approach customer question & answer articles in a couple of ways:
- Write a blog about a single question; or
- Write a blog answering several common questions
For example, a blog answering several questions might be titled something like, “Top 10 Questions Small Businesses Ask about Network Security.”
Discuss Current Events
Another way to draw readers in is to be current and address things happening in the news cycle that have to do with technology. Think about what topics might be of interest to your key customer types and where they are in your buying cycle.
Studies show that targeting users with content relevant to their position in the buying cycle results in 72% higher conversion rates.
Plus, you keep yourself relevant when you’re discussing current events. It lets your customers and leads know that you stay apprised of the latest happenings in the tech world, which reflects well upon your business.
Here are examples of a few topics currently in the news that could draw the attention of both business and residential clients.
Business:
- “What Phishing Attacks are Hitting Business Networks in 2019?”
- “Staff Data Security Training Tips for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month”
- “What is the New DoD Cybersecurity Standard Going to Mean for Contractors? (CMMC is Coming!)”
Residential:
- “Recap of Streaming Services Launching in November (Disney, Apple) and How to be Equipment-Ready”
- “Wi-Fi 6 Just Launched! Here’s Everything You Need to Know”
- “A Smart Oven & Alexa Enabled Ring… Amazon’s New Gadgets to Put on Your Holiday Wish List”
Address Your Customers’ Pain Points
In any business there are always those questions that you know you’re going to get when going through a sales cycle that have to do with customer pain points. They may be about pricing, responsiveness, or issues they’re struggling with at their office.
There are two main categories of pain points and you can get a jump-start on your buying cycle by addressing them in your content.
1. Pain Points that customers are dealing with at their business (or in their personal lives)
These might be productivity issues, communications problems, or the fact that they have too many cloud platforms with similar features. Here are some questions you can ask and answer in your content that will be of interest to readers and also, in a non-“salesy” way, let them know you can help.
- What is your company’s biggest inhibitor to growth?
- What does your boss/manager obsess about when it comes to technology?
- What is taking up most of your staff’s time during the day?
- What’s keeping you from getting more repeat customers?
- What tasks do you wish you had more help with during the day?
2. Pain Points that leads mention before purchasing your services or products
This is the type of pain point that stops a purchase from happening and that your salespeople (or you) have to address time and time again to try to close the sale. By answering them in your content, such as a blog or sales cycle email, you can speed up your lead’s decision-making process.
These types of pain points might include objections such as:
- I don’t know if we can afford that monthly rate
- We haven’t been hacked yet, so why do we need more security?
- What if we need your help on a Saturday evening?
- Can I cancel without a penalty if we’re not happy?
- What kind of warranty do you offer?
Put Things into Perspective with Statistics
There is a ransomware attack every 14 seconds, how can you stay protected?
Statistics not only grab the reader’s attention they also help to put things into perspective and bring out an important point that your customers may not have realized. They can also create a sense of urgency.
For example, knowing that 91% of all cyberattacks are launched via a phishing email stresses the point to your website visitor that they may need to invest in anti-phishing software.
Sometimes just one statistic can launch you in to a great blog and be a cornerstone to telling a story that engages your readers.
When using statistics in your content, here are some tips:
- Keep them current, a stat from 2014 is not going to be a relevant to a reader as one from 2019
- Cite your sources, it’s always good to cite/link to sources and let the reader know where a statistic is coming from
- Look for stats relevant to your customers, you don’t want to just use stats for the sake of using them, make sure they’ll mean something to your target customer types
- Search for statistics by using “statistics” or “statistics (year)” in your keyword search (such as “business data breach statistics 2019”
Tell a Good Story
Since the dawn of time, storytelling has been a way to engage people. Disney is the master at this and will refer to it often in their marketing. Hearing a story is going to be much more memorable to a lead than just facts about a topic.
Content delivered as a story can be up to 22x more memorable than just facts alone. Check out the two examples below:
“Websites can be hacked at any time, especially with the vulnerabilities that content management systems bring. Responsive sites using WordPress or other CMS programs typically have to use multiple plugins for the features they need, and many hacks are initiated by exploited code found in plugins that aren’t updated.”
OR
“You walk into the office on Monday morning and your site has been hacked! Customers are wondering if you’re still in business and you’re losing sales and potential leads every minute the site is down. After hours of research from a paid consultant, it was non-updated plugins that were the culprit. What do you do now?”
Both of the paragraphs above present the need to keep your website plugins updated to avoid a hack, but the second one offers a more compelling story to your readers and one that will evoke more emotion than the first, thus be more memorable.
Write about Local Events or News
People find local stories and news the most relevant to them, so tapping into your local scene for your content writing is another way to engage and provide content your customers want to read.
According to Pew Research Center, 57% of U.S. adults get their news from television, and local TV is their #1 place to go. That’s because something happening locally could impact them directly, where something happening in another state or country, may not so much.
How can you bring an IT spin to a local topic?
Look for things like data breaches or ransomware attacks in your state. Telling your Orlando, FL customers about ransomware attack ransoms that were paid by their neighbors in the next city over will be more relevant than ones in the U.S. at large.
You can also highlight any new data privacy regulations that will be impacting your city or state. Due to all the issues with information security today, many municipalities are looking at enacting their own regulations.
Another way to localize your content and write compelling blogs is to highlight a new tech advancement in your community, such as the library using a new digital card system or the city adding security cameras downtown.
Highlight Reviews & Testimonials
Nothing can sell a lead like hearing from someone else that’s done business with you. Not only do testimonials garner more trust than you just writing what you’ll do for them, they are also often more interesting to the reader because they’re in the words of someone they can relate to.
Testimonials have the highest effectiveness rating (89%) than any other type of content marketing.
If you have a method in place to bring in fresh reviews and testimonials for your business, that’s also fresh content for your blogs, emails, and social media posts, making your job easier!
Not only do reviews and testimonials directly impact your sales by upping your trust factor, reviews also help your business in a number of other ways, such as helping you hire the best talent and boosting your local search engine rankings.
Engaging Content Means More Conversions
When you regularly post engaging content, it keeps leads and customers coming back to your site and subscribed to your newsletter, which equals more sales conversions for you and a built-in base for recurring revenue.
What is your biggest challenge when it comes to writing content your readers will enjoy? Let us know in the comments.
