5 Gold Mines to Pan for Content Ideas

(Updated: October 20, 2011)

Problem: You need search engines to bring potential customers to your website, but without sufficient "content" (info pages) they won’t index you. A lot of site owners take the easy way out and create fake content. (Read Karon Thackston’s "Do You rite Fake Copy?" and Jill Whalen’s "You Can’t Fake Real Content.")

But I’m here to tell you that real content is what sells, and it’s not that hard to come up with. In fact it’s a LOT easier than faking it!

1. Write about your USP (unique selling proposition). You should have at least one page that’s completely devoted to the factual reasons a person should buy the product or service from you. Do you have the best price, or the best guarantee, or the cheapest/fastest shipping, or the best quality? Just one caveat: You have to avoid using those superlatives (good, best, etc.).

Hire a good copywriter if you have trouble writing this page, because it’s important to do it right.

2. Answer questions in advance Most business owners find themselves answering the same questions over and over again.

Every question a potential customer asks you is a content opportunity.Yes, you should have a list of common questions and answers in the standard one-page FAQ on your website, but expand to a full, more detailed page for each of the meatier questions. Then you can steer your potential customer to that specific page when they ask for that information. Or you can copy & paste and then customize it in an email to them. Be constantly on the lookout for new questions to answer.

3. Collect and compile accolades. What are testimonials, but stories from real people who were once in the same boat as your prospective customer? We identify with people who are like us in some way, and their success stories are far more compelling than anything a business owner can say about his/her products or services

4. Archive your e-newsletter content. Make sure you have some “evergreen” content in your monthly newsletter, if you have one. (If not, it’s time to start!) If an archive is available on your website it’s not only extra content but it will help people decide whether to subscribe to your newsletter as well.

5. Write lists. People love finite numbers of things! This article of mine is an example. I could have just titled it "Content Ideas for Your Website." But I wanted to give a clue showing it’s short enough for the most time-strapped to read. You did, didn’t you?