What's An Easy Way To Improve My website?
Last time we talked about improving the content on your websiteto retain more of the visitors that initially find you. You could redesign your whole websiteto address this, but there is an easy and cheap way to add new and updated content: a blog.
Say "blog" to most small businesspeople and they immediately think of something that's put together by a teenager as a boring electronic diary. What you should be thinking about instead is a blog as cheap, direct, dynamic content for your website.
What should you put into your business blog, though? Blogs tend to work when they have these qualities: honesty, urgency, timeliness, pithiness, and controversy.
Honesty means not only being strictly truthful about what your write, but also being honest in how you write. In other words, don't try to be some-one you're not and don't try to imitate another popular blog.
Urgency means having blog posts people want to read. What are the top ten questions that you get asked? There's at least ten blog posts right there. Even as common a question as, "What are your hours?" can be a good jumping-off point for a post. For example: A snowmobile shop I ran across recently notes on their hours not to even bother contacting them on Sunday, because they're out riding. That's a great way for them to connect to their customer's interests.
Timeliness is obvious; you don't want the lead item to be about a sale that is already over. Fortunately, most blog software takes care of that for you by putting the most recent posts first.
Pithiness means be short and to the point. Long, long blog posts have to be very compelling to be read fully. Concentrate on getting to the point quickly.
Most business blogs try to stay away from the last quality, but "controversy" doesn't mean a topic generating as much heat and vitriol as a talk-radio program. It means having topics that generate responses by your readers. GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz had a blog where he took the opportunity to defend the quality of new Pontiac models - which is pretty brave for a GM executive.
Blogs can and do help businesses by creating cheap word of mouth and advertising and easy dynamic content.
Compelling Marketing Communications and Talcott Mountain Media will be discussing more about website improvements in our next issue, which comes out the third Tuesday of every month. We'll see you on November 17th.