What You Say and How You Say It
When you want to connect with customers with your writing, think of them first. You want to talk to them in their language.
For example, if you are writing for consumer home sellers, you’ll want to keep your language simple, avoiding technical terms. But, if you are writing to commercial investors who want to sell, you can use more sophisticated technical language. You can go into depth about these terms. But if you are aiming to sell your services to first-time sellers, keep your language simple. Adding technical jargon will not only confuse them but will also put them off.
Understanding your customer will help you address their needs. Take the time to know the basics about your customers’ needs.
- What matters to them?
- What are they looking for/what problem are they trying to solve?
- What do they most love about your product and the experience?
- How would your most passionate consumers describe your brand and the benefits?
You want to convey how your inspection helps them. Let consumers know your inspection is objective, professional, and unbiased. Stress the benefits to them. Help them understand how your health and safety awareness allows them to make wise decisions.
Keywords Now
Searching for keywords in your industry helps you understand what terms customers use when searching for something on the web. You can use a tool like Answer The Public to identify search phrases.
Keyword research tells you the most frequent search terms and the terms that are narrow but specific to your business. Use these keywords to find relevant topics to address in your online writing.
But instead of asking how you can use a keyword in your writing, think about how you can answer the query. Think of the keyword as identifying the input for your article or web page. Then think of your answer as the output.
Use the narrow but specific keyword phrases (long-tail keywords) to create answers to particular queries. You’ll build supporting content that is relevant to your main keyword, say exterior walls. The more supporting content you have on your website, the better your chances of gaining visibility for your main topic.
Focus on Answering a Question
Focus each web page or article on one topic. Your goal is to answer one question, the question raised by the keyword or topic phrase used in search. Show how your business provides the solution for the search.
You don’t want to overload your site visitor with too much information. Your business may offer a variety of services but focus on one topic at a time. People retain focused information presented in small chunks but get lost in overwhelm if you try to tell them everything.
- Distill your article down to one idea.
- Be clear on who your audience is.
- Write to one person.
- Keep the tone conversational.
- Identify the problem you are solving.
- Illustrate how your service solves the problem.
- Invite the reader to buy your product or service.
It’s really that simple.
Present Your Material
Make your page look good and easy to read. Break up text into small, easily-read paragraphs.
Organize the page with headers. Headers make it easy for a visitor to scan the entire page to see that you are answering their question.
White space is your friend. Website visitors want their information fast. They will skim or skip long text paragraphs. So, get to the point and keep it simple.
Add an image that relates to your topic. People remember images. Be sure to add the alt text to the image so search engines understand the image’s content.
When you provide a solution in your customer’s language and follow these simple guidelines, you’ll reach the customers who are right for your business.
Why Your Content Matters
You’ve probably heard the phrase; content is king. It is, and it isn’t.
It is because good content keeps your business top of mind with potential clients and helps search engines identify your business for expertise, authority, and trust. If someone is out there searching for a home inspection answer, search engines can provide your solution.
It isn’t because content for content’s sake is meaningless. If you are putting stuff up on your website just to have content, you’ve missed the point. Post those little bits on social media and link back to your vital content pieces on the website.
Online marketing and search engine optimization writer, David Amerland, said:
Content, to truly work, needs to resonate with its reader. To do that it needs to have value, it must help the reader do something they really want to do, understand something important or help them in some way they can feel. In order to do that content must have real meaning and in order for it to have meaning it needs to address the context of the reader’s need. That requires empathy. A true understanding of your audience. A deep understanding of your own value proposition. When all this aligns, content is truly king. – David Amerland
Steward your time by creating one or two strong content pieces each month that will live on your website forever. It’s called evergreen content, and it works.
Inspect.com supports independent home inspectors. When we all succeed, we raise the bar for the industry and consumer awareness of our contribution to the industry. Create your listing today. We’ll help you get new clients.
