Content Primer #1: Like a Little Black Dress | Business 2 Community

This recent post by Carolyn Cohn about content creation being more than blogging got me thinking. Generally this is a dangerous pastime, but after having being employed as a blogger ? whoops! I mean a ?content writer? ? for some years, I?ve come to a conclusion on the subject. No matter what a writer calls him or herself, the main issue at hand is providing appropriate and timely content for clients. Often miscommunications occur between client and writer ? but is the problem that the writer calls himself a ?blogger? rather than a ?content provider??

In my opinion, no. There are many different kinds of content that are part of a comprehensive content marketing campaign ? blogs, articles, white papers, site content, social media pieces, press releases, and the beat goes on. What?d I?d like to do here is offer a little primer on the many different kinds of content and how they are used to enhance content marketing endeavors. One of the biggest communications issues that I?ve noticed between clients and writers is a different understanding about what sort of information should go with what content. Of course, at the end of the day the customer is always right, but having the perspective of a content writer in mind when speaking with professional writers can help you get what you want faster. In sum: before you go, know the lingo.

Without further ado, welcome to Content Primer #1. In this edition, I explain the mystery behind static site content and how it works for your business. In future editions, I?ll be touching on other cornerstones of content marketing ? blogs, articles, white papers, and social media.

Static Site Content

Static site content is the content that you see when you land on a page. It?s generally not updated too often, and therefore needs to pack enough information and sales pitch in order to show the visitor that you know what you?re talking about ? and that there?s more where that came from. If you?re looking for some great tips and tricks when it comes to writing static site content that counts, check out this post at Digital Landscape for a great primer on the subject.

Static site content is much more general in scope than many other kinds of content. When working for clients, sometimes the observation comes up that this particular content isn?t as information-rich as they thought it would be. There is a definite method behind this madness ? your site content needs to appeal to the broadest cut of the surfing population. There is something to be said about site content that informs ? but the information should direct the visitor to a blog, or an article bank, or send them searching for more information about the product for maximum impact.

Get the consumer interested ? get them wanting more. Static site content, in essence, is a tease. It?s a professional tease, a responsible tease, but a tease. You want the consumer to want more. I remember an idiom my grade-school teacher used to tell me about writing in general in comparison to a woman?s skirt: it should be long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to keep it interesting. This is static site content in a nutshell. Or, rather, in a cocktail dress.

So, static site content might not change often ? but it shouldn?t need to. The little black dress is iconic for a reason. Your site content should be as intriguing, and it should stimulate a desire to learn more, just like the woman in the cocktail dress.

Who said that conversion writing had to be boring?

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