Maybe you’ve heard the expression, “Content is King,” maybe not, but it’s a well known and true success principle in web design. It certainly won’t take much web surfing to see that most web site content is in fact sitting on the throne, just the wrong kind of throne.
I could list off any number of reasons web sites fail to deliver effective content but when you peel back all the layers, I think these two are primarily at the heart or root of the problems.
- Lack of appreciation or recognition of value for great content
- Focused on self instead of the target audience
Great content has to be well planned and skillfully crafted. That involves time, energy, even pain, and certainly money since you’ll either pay someone for everything else required, or lose money and opportunity going through the process yourself. Worse yet, if you’re not experienced or qualified to be the one creating content, your losses are hidden from view but still very real. All the lost opportunity you could be capturing translates to an expense when you’re not getting the desired results.
The second root problem above is probably the biggest pitfall, especially when the business owner fails to be objective enough. Here’s a rule you need to know and remember:
It’s not about you and it’s not for you!
It’s very difficult to be objective when you pour your heart and soul into your business. The very thing that makes you successful in doing your best for your business is your enemy when it comes to objectively evaluating content for your promotional materials. Here’s the harsh reality: No one else shares your love of your business. They have no skin in your game.
Too many web sites are just people talking to themselves. You need to be inside the customer’s head. Why should they care? Why should they buy from you? What benefit do they receive? This is Marketing 101 but ironically, the basics are among the most violated principles of marketing.
There is good news to close out this post. Since the majority of web sites are lacking, in many cases seriously lacking, flat out crap, you can really stand out. By standing out, you attract business. In other words, opportunity awaits you just by being willing to put in the effort because most people opt for the easier and cheaper route that yields the mediocre results that go with it.
