Content. Such a pleasant little noun – sitting there all passive and non-threatening, right? Just try to create all the content for your web-based project, and see how non-threatening it is. I’ve seen grown men in the throes of a website re-development project weep at the mention of content delivery.
Content delivery has got to be the number 1 stumbling block for web projects. It seems easy – you know your product, your company, your service. The user testing and information architecture have already told you how it needs to be organized – you just need to write it down. Why not save on your budget by doing it yourself? Simple.
Two weeks later, you’re knee-deep in re-written drafts, chasing 12 other team members who owe you information, and pulling your hair out by the roots. Not fun.
Content creation is tough. It’s time-consuming, detail-focused, and research-heavy. Just because someone runs a fantastic business and knows every in and out of that business doesn’t mean that that person is qualified to put all their knowledge into words.
If you’re thinking of writing content for your web-based project, consider these issues first:
- Time – How much free time do you have right now? Do you want to start spending that free time writing web copy? For every page of text on a website, you can assume about 2-4 hours of a professional web copywriter’s time went into research, writing, and editing. Non-professionals can easily double that. Take a moment and put a price tag on your time and your team’s time before you decide to write it all internally.
- Objectivity – It’s tough to write about yourself. It’s the same when trying to write about your business. You know everything about it, so naturally, when you start writing, you start communicating everything. Your target audience doesn’t want to know everything. They want to know enough, not be inundated by information. Can you be objective enough to know what to cut and what to keep?
- Tightening your writing – Tuitive’s benchmark statement on writing for the web is “write down what you think needs to be said, then cut it in half, then cut it in half again.” The copy for your web project needs to be simple and informative. Readers should be able to scan for the information they want and move through the site quickly and intuitively. Do you know what keywords your readers are really seeking?
- Search engine optimization (SEO) – Do you know how to optimize your content to be maximally enticing to search engines? How about writing header tags? Entering alt text? Setting up 301 redirects? Are you sure you’re not doing something that will get your blacklisted? Google pays mathematicians truckloads of money to create search algorithms, and SEO companies spend truckloads of money figuring ways to manipulate those algorithms. Take advantage of their knowledge. We do.
Knowing what information is appropriate for a project and the most effective way to present that information is an art form, not something that can be dashed off in a few hours. Anyone considering a new web-based project should carefully consider the short-term expense of paying a professional copywriter vs. the long-term costs of “doing it yourself.” Leave it to the professionals.
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