The Value of Creating Online Content Without the Sales Spiel

There is no question that good quality content drives the Internet; however when you are creating content for your business or website, it is important to remember that consumers are looking for information that solves a problem or question, not to be blasted with sales pitches.

There are many different ways to reap the rewards from using content such as blogs, video content, email newsletters, infographics, white papers and downloadable reports. In their own way, all of these types of content can provide information regarding the benefits of a particular product or service, while also creating credibility and authority surrounding a particular subject area.

Interestingly, it’s the individuals and businesses that provide valuable content minus the sales spiel (perhaps with dotted with minimal and discreet branding), that enjoy the most successes online.

Repeated exposure to a brand and its key messages builds a strong consumer relationship that provides multiple opportunities for converting prospects into customers and repeat purchasers, rather than the ‘one-trick-pony’ sales approach. Undoubtedly, by using interesting and engaging content with a targeted method, it is much more likely that you or your business will obtain permission to deliver your content directly to your consumers via email or by other means.

While copywriting techniques should certainly be applied to content created for marketing purposes, it’s not the only thing that needs to be considered. Content marketing needs to deliver information with value in a strategic way that engages and empowers your key target audience.

So what’s the difference between content strategy and traditional copywriting?

In short, content marketing is the development of good quality content such as a blog, video or report designed with the purpose of marketing in mind. Copywriting on the other hand includes website copy, marketing collateral and direct mail shots which have been created in order to take the reader on a journey with a specific call to action.

Undeniably however, the two things must walk hand-in-hand.

A well thought out use of copywriting techniques will encourage readers to subscribe to and share your great content with other readers, perhaps via Twitter, Facebook or other social networking tools, which is essentially how you can start to build your customer base. This combination of strategic copy and ‘unsalesy’ content will help to deliver your messages while also leaving your potential customers feeling like they want to come back to you in the future.

How are you using content and copywriting on your site to drive traffic and engage your audience? Let us know in the comments section of the blog.