Three ways to make website content creation less painful!

Note from Sarah: This article was originally sent via my newsletter. Newsletter subscribers receive essay style pieces like this before anyone else. Click here to subscribe!

One of the struggles I hear over and over again is that creating content for websites is freaking HARD!

Whether it's your about page, your blog or a description of your services, it's just plain painful. And I get it. We're working on this at SM&Co, too.

But, ultimately, without written content, websites are just pretty shells. And while we'd all love to hire a top notch copywriter, it's not feasible for many of us. There is light at the end of the tunnel, though! Here are three tips for creating content when you feel uninspired:

#1 - Steal from yourself.

There's a good chance you've explain a concept, your mission, or your big idea to someone at some point. Read through your old social media posts and look for verbiage you can lift. I also love digging through emails for FAQ content (it's amazing how many common questions pop up there).

The little blurb you wrote when sharing an article on your business Facebook or LinkedIn account can be great jumping off points for blog posts and series. (I have several social media posts that will be newsletter topics in the future myself.)

#2 - Talk to clients and customers (or borrow from their reviews).

One of the problems most businesses and organizations have in their content is insider language and jargon. There are two good reasons to meet your audience where they're at instead.

1) Humans search for natural language, not technical terms. (Think saying "dog" instead of "canine.")

2) Technical terms and complicated verbiage can make people feel alienated. Give them a chance to connect with you by talking to your audience or reading through their reviews of you and your competitors to learn how they talk about what you're offering and adapt that language.

Our team writes homepage copy for our custom design clients and the entire tone is set by what our clients' clients/customers say in reviews.

#3 - Pare back what you want and focused on what your audience NEEDS.

This is the hardest one! But when it comes to crafting content, what you WANT and what your audience NEEDS are often miles apart.

I struggle with this a whole lot, because I sincerely want people to have all the information so they can make a good decision. But, step back and take a landscape view, focusing on your audience, setting aside your wishlist. Creating five pages of website content is a whole different story than creating ten or twenty. Maybe you don't need a page for all your services, and can consolidate them into one, moving some of the details into blog posts.

Perhaps not every page needs a standalone FAQ. Maybe you can get by with just headshots for your team and not bios for everyone? (See, I said it was hard!)