As a solopreneur you have a lot of roles to play. For example, some days you’re mainly CEO, some days CFO. And each role has a variety of tasks assigned to it.
One of the most important tasks is content writing.
Creating content can be intimidating and overwhelming. Since so many of us have a fear of writing, actually a fear of sharing what we write, we often procrastinate.
We usually think we aren’t very good writers.
But you know what? You don’t have to be a professional writer to write good content for your website.
There’s a difference between content published in newspapers and various magazines and content published on most websites.
Who is your content for?
Your web content doesn’t need to appeal to a broad audience. Nor does it need to be on a broad topic. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Your content will be quite specific.
Let’s look at this example: “Ten tips to bake better peanut butter cookies.”
It provides value to a very specific target audience. And if you have a website about peanut butter or baking, then you can write this article without thinking much about it. You know how to make the cookies. The information is already in your head.
What is the style of content writing for the web?
And as you visit various websites, you notice that web content is also more conversational. It’s written to feel personal – as if you’re speaking to your audience directly.
You’ll use words like:
– You
– Your
– You’ll
– You’re
– And sometimes you’ll use “I”, “Me” and “We”
You don’t generally find these words in pieces of journalism unless they’re in quotes. For the most part, newspapers and magazines are generally more formal. They communicate from the third person perspective.
How is content formatted on your site?
Web content is also formatted for easy reading. You’ll most likely use bullet points, numbers and headings and subheadings to break up your content into bite-sized pieces.
So how can you use all of this if you’re not a “writer”?
You can recall this when you start to write content. This mindset can help you remember that writing content for your website is fairly straightforward.
You:
– Write what you know and what provides value to your audience
– Write with a conversational tone
– Write and format so it’s easy to read online
One of the simplest methods to use when you’re writing your online content is to spend a few minutes creating the structure for your post.
Start with a rough headline and subheadings.
Next, fill in the content.
Try writing as if you’re writing a letter to a friend. A trick is to use a salutation…but don’t forget to remove it before publishing.
Don’t worry about grammar and spelling errors initially. You will go back and edit later.
Once you have your thoughts down on paper, edit until you think it’s ready to be published.
Experiment and track your posts and content to evaluate what your readers respond to.
With some confidence, a plan, and tracking, you can write content to build and grow your business.
So tell me, who are you writing for?