Your website is your primary marketing machine on the
internet. It’s the headwaters people go to when they want to swim upstream to
find out what you’re really about. It’s also the place where you convert email subscribers,
donors and volunteers. This is why your content has to be awesome!
Following are five things you can start doing today to make your
website content more remarkable:
1. Tell Meaningful Stories
Have you ever wondered why getting people to volunteer and
donate seems so difficult? It’s not the economy is hurting or your cause is uninteresting.
It’s about telling a story that moves people. And motion requires emotion.
Creating emotional stories is easier when you keep these
tips in mind:
- Includes Your Supporters –Stories that matter include
the chapters your people have written. Take a look at how Livestrong
does this.
- Plot Points--Make sure your stories have a
beginning, middle and end (conflict, challenge, resolution).
2. Use Second Person Narrative
Use second person narrative to speak more directly to your
reader. The internet is a very solitary medium where individuals not, groups, read
content. Rewrite your copy as if you’re writing a personal email to one of your
constituents. This is also where Personas will come in handy. Read more about second
person narrative here.
3. Use Large Images
Images are steroids for your webpages. They speak the
language of the subconscious and keep people interested in what you have to
say. Along with video, images are ultimately what cause people to act.
Another thing about images: Awesome images on each of your
webpages are more important than ever with the emergence of Pinterest. And if
they’re awesome, they’ll get pinned
and repinned. And the more repins, the more traffic you’ll get to that
webpage!
4. Edit Your Title Tags
Awesome website content gets found more often on Google.
Help yours get found more by making sure your title tags are optimized for
search. An effective title tag is one that encourages people to
click on it once it does show up on the first page of a SERP. Learn more about
the nitty gritty of editing
your title tags here.
5. Use Bigger Fonts
A study conducted by Stanford
University revealed that font size influences the credibility of a website.
And when you think about it, it makes sense. I mean, who trusts fine print? 16
is the new 14.
Go forth and be fruitful
These are tactics you can do right now! Yup, you can stop
reading this and start making your website more awesome today.
by John Haydon
Now that you know how to make your website awesome thanks to John Haydon, find tips to make your online copy more accessible and compelling. Register for Sarah Durham's September 27th webinar, "Making your website an easier read."
